July 2007 Archives

I promised everyone an update on the visit from my Dad.  As anticipated, it was less than a couple of hours before he was out in the garden pulling weeds.  We managed to tame some of the weeds but when you grow without sprays and pesticide this is a never ending task.  We also have a nice organized basement/packing area with storage shelves for all of our tomatoes and produce - I couldn't have done this without his help.

We are very grateful for the help around the farm and the boys enjoyed spending time with their Grandpa.  Grandpa also got to see our oldest, Cooper, get baptised as well as watch Eston enjoy a birthday cake with three candles.  

Dad has made it safely back to Kansas and is having a restful "vacation" from his vacation at Burns Best Farm.

We love you Dad!

Yes, I know technically we're only a month into summer, but something about the middle of July makes me think the season is already half gone.  Public school starts here on August 2, so those poor children are on a countdown for sure.  For us, I'm a bit more uncertain about when we'll start back.  We haven't done nearly the out loud reading that I'd aspired to in late May.  I need to set better goals and post them in a place other than my brain.

The garden continues to perform well, for what we have planted.  We've had some daily, sporadic rain most of the last week.  Isolated thundershowers, in the local jargon.  We'll take it any way we can get it.  The weeds are growing so quickly that it's almost audible. 

We've begun to pull some of the medium sized tomatoes that have ripened.  Most of them are tennis ball sized, like the Black Prince.  I had forgotten how much flavor that particular variety has.  Mike made a gorgeous tomato platter on Sunday night using the BP's to celebrate the arrival of Grandpa from Kansas.  Very, very tasty.  He also grilled slices of a round zucchini we got from Bill Yoder and then put a fresh chunky salsa with vidalia, a bit of basil and a dollop of goat cheese on top. He called it his "chef's offering" and it was as delicious as it was beautiful.  We really need to grow that round zucchini next year.  It is so good grilled; we're buying one a week from the Yoder's as it is.

The Matt's Wild Cherry, Lemon Drop, and Yellow Pear continue to flourish in greater numbers every few days.  We've picked a couple of cucumbers so far with several more on the vine for tomorrow.  The squash has slowed down some, which is OK.  I can never stay ahead of it, or at least I've never been able to before.  Maybe next summer, when my kitchen is complete and functional, and I can freeze it all and waste none.

The blackberries are coming to an end.  The June bugs are my steady companions when I pick; makes me want a flock of ducks out there to graze the bugs.  I should still get a few pints this week, but with last week's market rejects, I need to get some juice made so Mom can make some jelly.  We really need some jelly. 

Pictures tomorrow, I promise.  It was just too rainy today.  I get so happy when I type that word.  Rainy......rainy.......

Tonight I was working out in the tomato patch and noticed some black droppings by a few of our Green Zebra plants.  This could only mean one thing - the dreaded tomato hornworm (see photo).  I quickly investigated and sure enough found a good sized worm blending nicely on the underside of one of our stems.  I picked it off the plant and showed it to our oldest, Cooper, who just the other night told me that he wanted to be an entomologist. 

I was impressed that he even knew what an entomologist was.  Anyway, we observed the offending bug and doing what men do, quickly put it down on the ground and smashed it.  Hopefully another tomato plant saved.  Of course minutes later William and Cooper were looking for more of the bugs so that they could smash them.  There's something about bug guts that provides boys with the "ooooh gross" factor. 

Normally when the boys catch bugs they run them over to the portable chicken pens and feed them to the hens - it's free family farm entertainment to see which hen can catch the bug first.  However, a friend of ours informed us that the hens have a strong distaste for the tomato hornworm and to exterminate in the field.

It seems as if the data piling up in favor of organic fruits and vegetables just got a little taller.  A 10-year study at the University of California shows that when compared to standard, conventionally grown produce, organic tomatoes have almost double the levels of antioxidants called flavenoids.  Flavenoids have been shown to prevent high blood pressure, which reduces the risk of heart disease.

The full report will be published soon in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry.  I might be looking to pick up a copy of that one.

I often hear skeptics say that there is no difference in conventionally grown produce (chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides) and organic produce, with the "possible exception" of residual pesticides on the outer skin which can be washed off.  The higher prices for organics are a total waste of money in the minds of these people. 

As this study shows, when research can stretch into several years and as organic farming techniques become more common and easier to measure, the nutritional benefits skyrocket in favor of organics.  A carrot isn't a carrot isn't a carrot any more.  It's a nutritional powerhouse. 

If a farmer takes time and skill to build soil fertility, the composition of the soil is bound to change for the better. And if the soil is better quality, then the plant and it's harvest will be more nutritious.  It's very easy for me to understand; why is it so difficult for other people to see and accept? 

After selling at the Marietta Market today and talking with loads of people who love good food grown free of the chemical haze, I am thrilled to read the summary of a study like this one.  With a growing season like the one we've had this year, we need all the encouragement we can get!

Mike and I outsourced our new farm website design to a third-world country and I couldn't be happier with the new look.  Seriously, Mark Read, famous sailor and all around great guy, moved us onto Moveable Type and incorporated my blog journal onto the Burns Best Farm website.   He happened to do this great and mighty work while in Mazatlan, Mexico, readying his sailboat Calpurnia for the next leg of the Read family sailing adventures.

Many thanks to Mark for his hard work and thanks, too, to Amy for allowing him the time away from sailboat projects to get us set up. 

The sidebars and link pages will be under some additional content provision in the next few days so if you don't see something right away, come back and look again.  Mike will be posting farm tour photos to a link in the gallery in the coming days. We're also picking beans and blackberries and squash, too, which keeps us busy.

Did you seen my little tomatoes?  Aren't they cute?