Schitaake Mushroom Planting Day Party

We have 12 acres of land here, so you'd think we would have lots and lots of room for crops, right? Actually, not as much as you would think. We may have only about one acre of open, relatively level ground for growing food.  The rest of our land is quite rugged and rocky, very steep in places or is wetland, ponds or streams.  It is really beautiful and diverse and is home to countless bird species and all kinds of wild animals including bear, coyote, fox, and many smaller mammals too.

Trying to obtain a yield from the wooded parts of our land is really fun and interesting.  There are obvious things to harvest e.g. firewood and building lumber and tree fruits such as hickories and acorns. 

Under the trees is the perfect habitat for logs impregnated with mushroom spores so we are trying our hand at Shitaakes.  We have already spread Winecap mushroom spores in beds of compost covered with wood chips under our fruit trees. That species will take more sun exposure than the Schitaakes.

To pass on the knowledge about this fun "farming" activity, we invited a few of our closest and earthiest friends over on a Sunday morning recently to help us plug the fresh cut oak logs with the mushroom spore plugs.  Of course, it was the coldest morning to date at about 20 degrees so we made a makeshift firepit on the driveway with cinder blocks.  The fire really threw off a lot of heat and kept everyone comfortable, along with hot tea and coffee from a never-ending pot.

The first task is to drill small holes into the logs in a uniform diamond pattern around the circumference  of each log.  Then we pounded the plugs into these small holes with rubber mallets.  The last task is to seal the plugs over with melted wax painted on with small paint brushes.  The fire came in handy to keep the wax melted - since it was so cold out, the wax only stayed melted for a few minutes at a time.

When all the logs were done, they were set out under trees in a very moist area as close to the house as possible.  It will be important to keep an eye on them from next spring on to see if they start to "flush" the mushrooms.  When the mushrooms emerge, they must be harvested as quickly as possible otherwise flies or slugs will infest and ruin them.

We've been told that once the logs start producing, they may continue, on and off, for a few months, and then again in subsequent years.  That would be really lovely!  Either way, though, we plan to do more next year and keep a continuous supply coming.  We can sell them to restaurants, at farmers' markets or preserve them by drying or freezing, for our own use.

All intrepid helpers enjoyed a sumptuous pot luck brunch afterwards and took home a couple of logs to try at their homes.

I'll be sure to post pictures next year when our logs start producing.

Farmers Occupy Wall Street

My choices are now predicated on 2 beliefs:
1. The planet can no longer sustain a consumptive lifestyle that has been perpetrated during the industrial era, advertising agencies, and the notion of a continuously, and forever, growing economy with disregard for the finite nature of natural resources, on which that growing economy is based.
2. We can mimic nature, because we are part of it. By doing so, we can design a new “old” way of living that will sustain itself and be healthier and everlasting.
In these beliefs I have, of course, been influenced by many great thinkers who have written on many subjects stemming from these core ideas. There are also many writers and thinkers who have used their art or science to demonstrate what is wrong. There are many who are demonstrating how we can try to put things right.

To join people who are demonstrating publicly, in the streets, I journeyed to New York City on Sunday, December 11, 2011, with my friend, Jennifer, to be part of "Farmers' March Occupy Wall Street". This rally of several hundred people gathered at La Plaza Cultural at 9th Street and Avenue B, a lovely community garden space in a Lower East Side area with a lot of visible gardens on many blocks. After 2 hours of speeches by prominent activists in the national farming and Permaculture movements, we formed into a broad column to walk to Zuccoti Park at Wall Street.

Speakers at the event included Karen Washington, Founder of City Farms Market and board member at NYC based organization, Just Food; Jim Gerritsen, a Maine organic farmer and lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit against Monsanto and was named one of 25 World Visionaries by Utne Reader in 2011; Severine von Tscharner Fleming, food advocate and producer of the film "Green Horns" profiling young farmer entrepreneurs; Jalal Sabur, Founding member of the Freedom Food Alliance, an alliance of black urban comunities with black rural farmers; Mike Callicrate, Colorado rancher, entrepreneur and rural political activist; Andrew Faust, Permaculture expert and educator.

What struck me vividly was the cross section of generations at this event - the aging baby boomers and older generations, and many young people from all walks of life. The younger people will have to carry the torch for food security and social justice now. It won't be an easy task but I am confident, after seeing the vitality and enthusiasm of those present at this event, that it will happen.

No Frost Yet

We are 3 weeks past our usual first frost date here in the northwest hills of Connecticut. The garden is slowing down and we're pulling out some plants that have obviously stopped growing and producing. We are protecting others with makeshift cold frames made with hay bales. I will be posting pictures of those later.

Here is a nice picture of some of yesterday's harvest, taken by Suzanne Elliott.

HURRICANE IRENE EXPECTED SOON

The following information is being circulated by the Connecticut Department of Agriculture to help you prepare for the coming hurricane expected to hit our state on Sunday morning. Even if you are not an agricultural producer, this is , helpful. If you have a garden, it would be a good idea to harvest as much as you can of sensitive crops that may be damaged by heavy rain, or provide protection for them. Hoops or cold frames should be securely anchored. If you have greenhouses and the plastic sides are rolled up, unroll the plastic and anchor securely to the ground and bury the edge of the plastic so wind cannot get underneath and whip the plastic off your greenhouse.

Also, make sure you have adequate supplies of drinking water on hand. Emergency personel recommend 1 gallon of water per person per day. If power goes out, we don't know how long it will be for, so over compensate!

From Agricultural Commissioner Steven K. Reviczky: An important message regarding Hurricane Irene


Dear Connecticut Agricultural Producer:



The latest report from the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (http://www.ct.gov/demhs), issued at 8:15 a.m. today (Friday), indicates that Hurricane Irene is expected to arrive in the Bridgeport, Connecticut, area around 11:00 a.m. Sunday morning as a strong Category I hurricane.



It is imperative you take the necessary precautions to ensure the safety of yourself, family, farm, and livestock.



The first effects from Irene are expected to begin Saturday afternoon with light rain, which is expected to become heavy at times by midnight. Heavy rain is expected to continue from midnight on Saturday through the passage of the center of Irene late Sunday morning (especially in Western Connecticut). Tropical storm force winds are expected to enter the state before daybreak on Sunday and hurricane force winds are expected by mid morning on Sunday.



Information has been posted on the Connecticut Department of Agriculture's website, www.ctgrown.gov, to help you prepare your farm for the storm. Additional information from Governor Malloy, available at www.ct.gov/Irene, can help you prepare your home and family.



The Connecticut Department of Agriculture will be collecting information about storm-related damage to farms in the state. If you incur damage to your livestock, crops, equipment, or buildings, please fill out and return the attached form to us as soon as possible.



Please return the forms via one of the following methods:

Email: ctdeptag@ct.gov
Fax: 860-713-2516
USPS: CT Department of Agriculture Marketing Department, 165 Capitol Avenue, Room 129, Hartford, CT 06106.


This information will be used to prepare damage reports for Governor Malloy and the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection if needed. It also may be used to seek federal assistance if the extent of the damage warrants. Therefore it is very important that we receive information that is as accurate and complete as possible as soon as possible.



Thank you for your assistance. Please stay safe and feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.





Sincerely,



Steven K. Reviczky

Commissioner

Beautiful native beetle

The photograph accompanying this post is of the brown prionid, Orthosoma brunneum. The insect was given to me by a friend who was concerned that it may be a nasty pest beetle such as the emerald ash borer. However, the latter is a very small insect and is literally emerald green in color. This insect is about 4cm in length! and red/brown. It is an awesome-looking creature and fearsome in appearance although it is a native species of Connecticut and a beneficial insect which lives around wet, rotting wood. According to Katherine Dugas, an entomologist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven, Connecticut, the larvae of this insect "feed on the rotting wood, usually fallen logs and tree stumps. As adults they will emerge to mate and then disperse to find a new feeding site for their larvae. They are one of our natives that helps with the natural composting process".

As a soil scientist and being that I'm fascinated by anything to do with the soil-food-web, I'm thrilled to have found out about this shy insect which I've never seen before, despite having worked in the woods for 30 years as a soil scientist and have poked around fallen logs and tree stumps looking for stuff.

This individual brown prionid is recovering (hopefully) from stress at the moment. It came to me in a sealed plastic container with no air holes and was obviously stressed. The current heat couldn't have been pleasant for this insect that usually lives in damp, cool soil conditions. At the suggestion of Ms. Dugas, I have moved the insect to a larger, glass, container with a wet paper towel and a small piece of banana. I see that he/she is alive and appears to be interested in the banana. I am hoping it isn't too late for this lovely beetle and it will revive enough for me to release it in my woods soon. Unfortunately, it has lost one of its posterior legs but I think it could survive without it.

For more information on this insect,or others, Ms. Dugas recommends the website: http://bugguide.net/node/view/5031.

From "Inversnaid" by Gerard Manley Hopkins

What would the world be
once bereft
of wet and of wildness?

Let them be left
wildness and wet;

Long live the weeds
and the wildness yet.