Walk-In-Cooler-O-Rama.

The farm is officially the proud owner of a real, walk-in cooler! For about 500 bucks, I now have a giant room to store produce in a way that uses WAY less energy than standard refrigerators. Let me introduce you to the CoolBot!

That first number? The temperature of the room. Yea, it says 37. 

This $300 little contraption was engineered by farmers up in New York. It is basically a small microprocessing brain that communicates with the air conditioner, telling it when it turn off and on, to achieve temperatures down into the 40s. But here's the real genius. If the differential between the temperature I want and the temperature of the room is too big, it will do the best it can and shut off, instead of running running running even though it will never get to what I asked for. Otherwise known as energy efficiency. Genius, man! Here's some pictures of my long walk-in cooler journey.

Always easy on paper. Screws, sytrofoam, washers. 

Mess, mess, mess.

That ladder really got exhausting after awhile.

A nice collection of mess. 

Can't say much about the city, but the drills are second to none. 

R-Tech = R-Mess

This fridge doesn't stand a chance.

Where the magic happens.

Cya later, ya old farts! Hand over my $30 PNM
rebate check, please!

Let the produce storage begin!

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I though it would be interesting to give everyone a little info about the only 'chemical' I use on the entire farm--alpaca poop.

Pretty cute little fertilizer makers. 

Pure grass feed makes for incredibly rich manure.

Hello there, do you happen to have any food? 

In the world of animal manure (which I frequent every Sunday), alpaca manure is worth its weight in gold. It is not considered a "hot" manure, like cow or horse, so I can just throw it right out on the field without composting. Easy as pie! Every crop rotation gets manured, rototilled, and planted. Because when it really comes down to it, if I mine the soil of nutrients and give nothing back, eventually the soil will stop producing food for me. Crop rotation and healthy soil eliminates so many problems on an organic farm (excessive bugs, weeds, soil born viruses/pathogens, etc). So the rule of thumb is: if I take, I gotta give.

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And now for some bad news. The guinea hens have turned to the dark side and become omnivores. They ganged up and wiped out 6 entire rows of kohlrabi, collard greens, chard, and beets. So I spent almost all day yesterday trying to herd and wrangle them. I managed to catch eight of twelve, which I then gave away on good old Craigslist. I got almost 30 phone calls from people wanting the crazy birds. There are still four left, so it looks like I'll be doing more bird wrestling today. It's really unfortunate to have to get rid of them, but I really don't understand what got into them. But such is life. See ya later, ya crazy old birds.

They were fine in the winter when there was no food growing. 

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Let's talk about happier things, like the chickens! They're happy the weather has finally warmed up. Their egg production is up into the 70s per day and they're loving all the farm greens.

They all come running when they see me.
"Run, the food  lady is coming!"

They're quite the bunch. Never a dull moment
with 130 chickens around.

Black Sumatra rooster. He keeps a tough eye on
everyone, including me.

This is Lucy. She's got a leg condition and can't stand up for very long.
She lives in the backyard VIP (VIC?) Suite.

I've been thinking about letting them hatch some huevos, because, well, baby chickens are pretty darn cute. 

Awwwwwwwwwww.

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Ok I've got some farming to do! All the summer flowers are being planted today. And there's four more guineas to catch........

Cheers!

-Christina

PS. I'm looking for a volunteer Wednesday weeder. Let me know if you're interested (505-620-1516).

T-Minus 2 Days!

It's time everyone! The first CSA pickup is this Saturday! That's got to be some of the most exciting news you've heard in awhile, right? The first box has got some very tasty items, but I'm not giving away any secrets until Saturday. 

The farm has gotten some excellent farmy additions recently. My handy dandy boyfriend Adrian and I built a nice shade structure, under which I get to relax and drink iced tea all day. Ha! Just kidding. It's actually for washing veggies, because washing head lettuce in the hot sun is bad news. Check out this excellent before and after:

This looks like a good spot...

...to wash veggies! 

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The farm is also half way on its way to becoming the proud parent of a real, life size walk-in cooler. I'm lucky enough to live in a crazy house that has an existing structure for a walk-in, but no way of making it cold. In no particular order, an angle grinder, duct tape, Great Stuff, and a 12,000BTU window a/c joined forces and the room is maintaining a cool, steady temperature. With a little electrical fanagling to the a/c, it will keep the room at 45 when I tack up more insulation. There's no such thing as too much insulation. After that, I'll have an 8'x9' walk-in for less than 500 bucks. Not bad, even for a farmer!

We measured twice. Maybe three times. 

The angle grinder cut through it like butter. 

Artsy fartsy picture of Adrian cutting
 the hole from inside. 

Please pull up the first window. 

Wa-la! Easy as pie... sort of. 

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It's about time for some chicken pictures... (chix pix? get it!?) The mamas are very excited about the arrival of spring and their egg production is up into the 80s per day. They got their first taste of the farm this week... turnips greens that were thinned out. Lucky ladies!

Just hanging out in the shade.

The three stooges. 

She was knocking to come inside. 

That's one big chicken! She does a lot of egg-sitting-on.

Farm fresh turnip greens.

I dunno... ya think they were excited?

One day's worth of huevos. Busy mamas!

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Sooo, the garlic is HUGE. Just look at this picture. It looks more like a small forest than anything. And what's really, really great is because it's so big, it's overpowering all the pesky weeds growing around it. Meaning, weeding is not necessary. Meaning, music to a farmer's ear. Let the plants do the work for you.

It hit a growth spurt.

Guinea hens poking around for bugs. 

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Here's some pictures of whats cooking under the row cover. Everything looks beautiful, but... I've got growing suspicion that the guinea hens are pecking more than just bugs. I've uncovered a few rows, and they always come around and seem to peck for the sake of pecking! They don't eat what they pick off, so I'm am a little confused. Luckily all this means is that the greens might have a few holes until I figure out a solution. But seriously... a few holes on organic produce versus no holes on pesticide produce? It's a landslide.

Broccoli, happy to be covered from grasshoppers.

The strawberries took very well and have grown very fast.

Anyone dare to name this veggie? 

Red Russian kale.

The first troopers to be planted without row cover. This
killer kohlrabi survived the May 1st snow and 21F night.

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Okay, okay I gotta skip outta here. I've got hungry mamas and thirsty seedlings to take care of! So I'll see everyone on Saturday for the first pick-up @ Los Ranchos market, 7-11am. I'm so excited! 

Happy CSAing!

-Christina

Busy as a bee.....

Yet again, it holds true: if you're not working hard, you're hardly working. Here's some farm updates, rapid fire style:

1. The farm got bees! No really, ZMH is now home to three hives of lovely honey bees. I just couldn't say no to extra pollination of the squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplant, strawberries, watermelons, cantaloupe, peppers, green chili, and eeeeeverything else that needs pollination. They're off to a great start and already collecting pollen from nearby trees and flowers. I highly recommend skimming the Wikipedia article about bees, it's fascinating beyond belief.

Two hives containing established hives were placed first.

A third hive was added later to ensure they have enough space.

2. Nine veggies have sprouted in the field, including kale, salad mix, carrots, beets, turnips, and more. For now, they live under toasty white fabric (Remay), which protects against wind and frost. 

Dark red beets are 50 days away!

Remay is like a toasty blanket to keep the tiny plants warm.

3. Also living under toasty Remay are 200 strawberry plants! They arrived in the mail via FedEx Express, spent the night in the fridge, and were planted the next day. They arrive almost totally dormant with some roots, but are quick to grow leaves and berries once planted.

The strawberries were planted in perpendicular rows
so I could make use of the shade on hot summer days.

4. The greenhouse is about to explode with seedlings. I'm not sure I could cram more seed trays in there if I tried. Chard, kale, and broccoli are headed out to the field this week. New to the greenhouse includes tons of herbs,  lettuce, and peppers.

A small pac choi forest.

Onions galore!

5. The garlic is loving the spring sun. It'll be ready to harvest as green garlic in just a few weeks. Believe it or not, it hasn't needed water once since November. Talk about a super crop.

8000 (más o meno) garlic plants growing strong.

6. I can hear about 130 hungry, squawking chickens outside. Otherwise known as my exit cue.

Sharing the very demanding duty of sitting on eggs.

I hope everyone has excellent plans for the weekend... 83 degrees this Saturday! Don't forget the sunscreen. :)

Until next time, happy farming!

-Christina

CSA Sign-Up Information

It's time to sign up for this season's CSA! If your ears perk up at the thought of fresh, local (North Valley!), and organic produce on a weekly basis, don't touch that dial and listen here for more details!

What a typical weekly box will look like.

Here is a link to the Sign-Up sheet (no viruses, I promise!):

2011 Zia Mañana Harvest CSA Sign-Up

You'll find all the information regarding dates, times, locations, etc on the flyer, but I'll recap here.

The tentative dates are May 7 - November 12. Pickup will be every Saturday at the Los Ranchos Farmer's market. Here's a link to the Market website for directions and general information:  

Los Ranchos Growers Market

You're given a choice for subscription length-- 4,6 or 8 weeks. The cost is $20 per box and I've offered discounts for 6 and 8 week memberships. See the flyer for the looong list of what you can expect in the box throughout the season. I will also offer discounted egg prices, and am hoping to have organic bread, beef, and chicken available later in the season. 

I am accepting 20-25 members, so if you're on board, I recommend joining sooner rather than later. I will accept sign up sheets and payments at the next Los Ranchos market (April 9, 10am-noon), or they can be mailed to:

Zia Mañana Harvest

c/o Christina Profazi

PO BOX 10493

Albuquerque, NM 87184

As always, don't hesitate to email or call (505-620-1516) if you have questions, concerns, or suggestions. This is my first season and my ears are always open for advice and opinions!

Until next time, happy farming!

-Christina