Spreading compost on the land
Soil, perhaps our most precious asset! One of the major differences between organic farmers, and non-organic farmers, is the organic farmers' commitment to not use any synthetically-derived pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and even fertilizers to grow their crops, as most, (if not all), of these chemicals have both short, and long-term detrimental consequences to the soil, the crops, and ultimately to human health. That's not a very difficult decision for many of us farmers, (especially beginning farmers!), to make -- let's not poison ourselves by how we grow and process our food! Another, though less frequently mentioned, (but just as significant), difference is the organic farmers' incessant drive to continually improve the health, and condition, of the soil which the organic farmer has entrusted to his (or her!) care. The making, and the application, of compost is one of the tools that the organic farmer utilizes to achieve that goal, and here we are at the end of the season spending several weeks making, and spreading, compost onto our fields. While the actual fertilizer value of the compost (as measured by conventional agronomists as units of N, P, and K (Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium)) is quite minimal, and hence why we can often come across manure from any kind of livestock farm or operation in our area for a relatively cheap price, since the livestock farmers (whether large scale commercial operations, or smaller hobby farms) don't want to do all the labor involved in collecting, and spreading the manure (either fresh, or 'aged') back on the land, to the organic farmer the goal is not simply to put back into the soil whatever nutrients were taken out of the soil, but to maintain and increase the organic matter levels, the beneficial bacterial and fungal populations, the earthworm habitat, etc., all of which the compost plays an important and dynamic role. So despite in a cost-to-cost comparison of the expenses to raise an organic tomato, for example, compared to a 'conventional' tomato, some expenses would be higher for the organic farmer, it is our steadfast belief that in the long-term health of our agricultural ecosystems, the organic approach is far cheaper than the 'chemical' route, because of the organic farmer's long-term care of the productive capacity soil, and the fewer incidents of cancer, gastrointestinal issues, etc. that the conventional systems engenders.
This week's offerings: We have some garlic to share with you this week, after pulling aside a good percentage of the bulbs that we will be planting next week for next year's crop. (Garlic is one of the few crops which we keep and plant our own seed stock from; most of the rest of the vegetables we purchase the seed from seed merchants or other farms that specialize in that endeavor.) We have never come close, in our 32 years of growing for our CSA, to satisfying the desire to have more garlic to share with you all, but at least we can slowly build up our seed stock so that in the future there will be more available to you all! Mushrooms for this week are from Gourmet's Delight, a (certified organic) mushroom farm not too far from us, whose spent mushroom compost is also integral to our supply of local materials that we combine in our compost piles.
Coming next week: Many of the same cast of characters, but also parsnips, and butternut squash! And maybe some bigger celery, now that we have some warmer temperatures so it can grow some more! (For those on the every-other-week schedule, this week's box will be your last, instead of next week's!) Thanksgiving shares and December Storage shares still available to purchase from our website; details there!
Available for ordering for the final regular season delivery (November 11th): frozen organic blueberries from Pleasant Hill Farm in Michigan, and Freis von Kiel butter from Pine River Dairy in Manitowoc. Head to https://app.barn2door.com/e/32GNQ to see details, and order. (Those items will not be available through the Harvie extras.)
2021 season plans: We will communicate with you soon about the 2021 offering! But in the meantime we are happy to get feedback from you if you can write down your suggestions for us!
Have a great week!
Peter & Bernadette
