May 25, 2004
The Deluge
"Wow, you could go swimming in here", Lorenz said as we dodged some huge puddles up in the field this afternoon. Seeing as I had cut my weekend of paddling short because I was tired of being cold and wet, I was not inclined to test the idea and instead opted for the soggy but only ankle-deep mud route.
We were up in the field because Lorenz needed to pick the asparagus. That's the thing about asparagus, if you don't pick it, the shoots become ferns and there won't be any more to pick. So even if you have to stomp through mud to get to it, and even if it's a holiday Monday and you've given all of the staff the day off, you still need to get out of your dry house and go pick asparagus. Fortunately, the vague "you" in this case means "Lorenz", not me - but I tagged along anyway.
The asparagus here has been going for about two weeks. You pick it when it gets to a certain height, regardless of how thick the stalks are. If you get lots of skinny stalks, that's one of your indicators to stop picking it - the way it works (or at least the way I understood the asparagus wisdom Lorenz imparted today) is that energy and nutrients are stored in the root. While there is plenty of this, the roots will keep on sending up shoots. If you keep on picking them, they'll keep sending more. As the roots become depleted, the stalks get skinnier and skinnier - and you have to stop while it still looks like something you could harvest, because these last shoots become stalks which become ferns which then merrily synthesize away all summer and recharge the roots. The fertility is also helped along by generous applications of composted manure (though not while the shoots are coming up). The more vigorous your roots, the longer they can keep producing - so the first year you harvest, you may get a week out of the asparagus, but after a few years, you can get four or even more weeks of production. Obviously, asparagus is a perennial crop - and perennial crops are very susceptible to weeds. Unlike beds for annuals, you can't work the ground thoroughly to kill the weeds, so you end up doing things like mulching and Lorenz went over it with the cultivator just before it started producing too.
Besides the perennial crops being harvested right now (asparagus, rhubarb and chives) and the ubiquitous puddles, the field is full of things that are growing like weeds. Oh, wait, many of them are weeds. Between the weeds (and yes, I'm exaggerating, the farm crew has been working hard at keeping the weeds down) there are all sorts of things. Under the row covers, the brassicas and some lettuces are coming along nicely, safe from the flea beetles. Then, not under row covers, there's baby lettuce mix which is almost ready to be harvested, and spinach which will be ready in a couple of weeks or so. If the whole field doesn't disappear under a lake...
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The deluge didn't start until Saturday night. Until then, Lorenz had plenty of time to devote to his tractor - and of course you're going to get the gratuitous farmer on a tractor photo here. I think Lorenz is getting more tolerant of my buzzing around with the camera - when I decided to climb up into the bucket while he took a short break, he didn't automatically respond by tipping the bucket to dump me out.
Also before the deluge, the interns under Sean's leadership got the roof up on the farm stand. All who were loitering about the farm (and those who were working here too, I think I was the only loiterer) were commanded to help lift the roof up. I even put in a genuine effort, but very quickly ran out of height to help with the task and thus went back to my usual farm voyeur position behind the camera.
I think the farm stand looks great. They're going to put walls on it, obviously, and a steel roof - and then there is the potential of an awning. If that doesn't make people slam on the brakes and come check out what good things there are at Greenfields, I don't know what will. Ok, I have a few ideas of what would get people to slam on the brakes, but they don't grow those things here. In any case, the cops will hate it - they've been using the pad for the farm stand as a place to set up speed traps on the Guelph Line. No more! Besides, people can't speed if they're crowding around the spiffy new farm stand!
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Given the wet, the interns will be doing some seeding in the greenhouse tomorrow. I asked, hoping Lorenz would say that they won't have anything to do - in which case I would have suggested they build us an ark! If this keeps going the way they have been the last couple of days, we'll need it. While things are growing during these wet spells, field work grinds to a halt when the farm starts to resemble a sopping sponge. I think the only one who really doesn't mind the wet is Boris - after all, this dog decided to go for a swim today, when just walking through the fields (at his height) meant getting completely soaked.