The Land Nurtures us...

It's harvest time again at Old School Farm.   The Benner family and Dave Campeau are picking vegetables as fast as they can, but can barely keep up.  The fertile soil of the Dyberry river valley has again produced a bountiful harvest of delicious and nutritious produce.

Favorites on our list this year include the "Dragon's Tongue" bush bean - a cream colored bean with purple stripes.  These plants are very prolific and continue to bear very large, flat beans for several weeks.  We are steaming, sauteing, freezing, selling, and giving them away as fast as we can!   We also have an abundance of purple tomatillas that are prized for salsa or can be eaten fresh as they are quite sweet.

Oh, so sweet tomatillas 

Our Cherokee Purple, German Johnson, and Snow White heirloom tomatoes have withstood the tomato blight that plagued our region to produce rather large quantities of flavorful fruit.  We also have two varieties of roma type sauce tomatoes and are cooking down and freezing sauce for pizzas and pasta.

Our Carmen, Lipstick, and Jimmy Nardello sweet red peppers are starting to come in heavy right now - one taste and you are hooked.

Sweet Red Peppers and boys with Garter Snakes

What is perhaps most exciting in the garden these days are the 300 or so asparagus plants we trenched in back in early May.  These plants must really like our sandy and silty river bottom soil, as they continue to explode with growth, with many plants exhibiting upwards of twelve shoots in just the first season!  We expect to even be able to make a small harvest next spring - unheard of in asparagus growing, where it typically takes 2 - 3 years to to be able to do any cutting of shoots.

It's not all rosy in the garden...We continue to struggle with production from the alum family - onions, garlic, and leeks have really been disappointing for us for two years now and we continue to try and dial in on exactly what the issue is, but we believe it to be something to do with our soil chemistry.  Our parsnips were also a complete failure even after two plantings.

The sheep are thriving.  We have now moved them into their 5th pasture area on the far side of the road.  This is easily done by "leap frogging" additional sections of electric netting to form a new enclosure adjacent to where they were grazing and then letting them in.  Then the moveable shelter is easily towed to it's  new location with tow straps attached to our pick up.

The boys and Dad have finally come up with names for three of the four lambs.  We decided to go with Lenni Lenape names in honor of the first occupants of our land.  The ewe lamb names are: Opala (bald eagle - these circle our river valley- the name also means: helper, success) and Nesca (short for Nescalenk or black face - she has a black face).  Our ram was named Uncas by Owen.  Uncas was a lead character in "Last of the Mohicans" book by James Fenimore Cooper.  Cooperstown is just a couple of hours to the north.  The nearly full grown lambs' names will be registered with the Canadian Sheep Breeder's Assn. later this week.

Al & Coleman dance on the clay/sand/straw mixture

The earthen domed oven for bread and pizza is really coming along.  Here are some photos and a video clip that show the progress.  Dave constructed the base from field stone on site that came from collapsed farm walls, and the top of this base has now been lined with wine bottles and chinked with the earthen cob mix to produce an insulating surface on which we will soon lay a layer of sand and then firebricks for the cooking surface.   The cob mix is made by working a 3:1 sand to clay mix with straw and water with your feet until it is uniformly mixed.  This was fun (for a while :) )  for the boys...

Wine bottles with clay/sand/straw mix ("cob") to insulate oven

Oven base will now dry before fire bricks are added

Owen in Orchard with Elderberry stand behind him 

We also have a rapidly expanding patch of wild Elderberries in our orchard area where the turkeys range.  Every morning when they come out of the coop they run strait for the patch, scavenging ripe berries that fall to the ground.  Both these plants have high levels of anti-oxidants.  Autumn Olive can be used to make fruit leather (we made this once) and Elderberries are prized as a healing and wellness ingredient in elixirs, tonics and wine.   We are now experimenting by growing a cultivated variety that will produce larger fruit.

Owen and Coleman spent the first week of September at the farm with Dad and some of
 their escapades are captured here for your enjoyment as well.

6 Year old chef - Coleman cooks dinner for  himself and his brother - really.

Monarch caterpillar - they only eat Milkweed

Until next time, enjoy the great outdoors and some fresh, locally grown produce - nothing is better this time of year...


Our produce is being offered for sale at the Mill Market near Hawley, PA http://www.millmarketpa.com/    

If you plan to visit the Honesdale area, be sure to check out the new music, food, and cultural venue on main street - it's really great:  http://thecooperageproject.org/

"Lazy" Days of August...

The lazy days of August are here at Old School Farm, but they are far from lazy for Dave and WWOOF farming volunteer, Hayley Otterness.  Lots of vegetable harvesting and preserving is going on along with the continued building of the bread/pizza oven.  The bees are also busy, and as their numbers multiply, so does their need for space.  Dave is seen here replacing the hive cover after adding another level of forms on which the bees will build more combs for honey.

WWOOF Volunteer Hayley Otterness

Hayley came to the farm back in July to help Dave in Al's absence, and decided to stay on a couple of extra weeks.   Here are some photos of Hayley helping out at the farm along with a few of her own words about the experience...

Hey!

So, my name is Hayley and since I'm spending some time here at Old School Farm, I guess I could tell you a little about myself.

 I was born and raised a city girl, but have always loved the country.  I am so happy to have this opportunity with OSF to explore farming, get some fresh air, and eat really great food. 

 Wwoofing attracted me because it connects people all over the world with a common interest: organic farming.  Trading work for food is all I really need at this moment in my life, so this was a cool way to spend my summer.

Hayley harvesting cucumbers

 I will take many things away from this experience, many things.  Honestly, there are just too many to list them all.  For instance, the night the turkeys decided they wanted to roost outside in a peach tree instead of kindly going in to their home.  We had to pluck them off the tree, one by one, and put them safely into their coop.  Trust me, it is much more difficult to wrangle up some turkeys then it sounds.  Turkeys don’t exactly love being picked up.  They tend to squawk and flail and it takes a lot of arm muscle to not let one go, which I did a couple times.  All the excitement did eventually end with all fifteen turkeys safely in their coop. 

But, don't think the turkeys are the only exciting part!  Everyday I get to feed my destructive and heroic sides simultaneously by ridding the garden of weeds to save the vegetables! 

 My favorite task in the garden is harvesting potatos.  I mean, seeing as I am an experienced pirate (only in my imagination), I can say it is very close to digging for treasure.  Aaarrgh.

 Well, that is about all I have to share today.  But stay tuned for I go potato hunting regularly...

The farm wall stone base for wood fired oven - roof bump out added above 

Other activities at the farm continue in earnest in preparation for the fall season.  Dave is currently working on finishing the wood fired bread oven and has just finished the stone base.  Next come the fire bricks for the base of the cooking surface and then the tricky part - the earthen dome, made primarily of clay.  The dimensions have to be just right or the heat won't disperse evenly, causing burning on top or bottom of bread or pizza.

Portable, solar powered fencing with mineral feeder in foreground

We continue to move our sheep and portable shelter to fresh grass around the 12 acre pasture and are currently planning a temporary containment area in one corner of the barn.  This will house our two mature ewes, Elska and Freya along with our young ram (as of yet not named) for the fall and winter months for the purposes of breeding.  The three young ewes are not yet old enough to breed and will remain in the shelter in the pasture.  Icelandic sheep are incredibly hardy and only require a wind break and shelter from rain and sun.  Cold temperatures alone will not adversely effect them, as they have two coats of wool - a soft inner layer and a coarse outer coat.

Purple Broccoli (turns green when cooked)

The garden is churning out loads of produce.  Some is being sold locally at markets, but much is being frozen or canned (in the case of pickles) for winter use.

Beds are re-planted with fall crops - spinach, rutabagas, etc

We are also re-planting areas with fall and early winter crops.  We obtained a grant for high tunnels from the USDA and these hoop houses with raisable lower flaps will be used for season extension in our garden.

Some serious roof garden carrots and an old snowmobile
a kindly neighbor gave Dave for easy winter access to
upper pastures

Our young Ram -his horns will soon completely curl around

Snow White cherry tomatoes - amazing flavor

Blanching Broccoli for the freezer

Until next time, enjoy the rest of your summer and please feel free to pass on a link to our blog to others if you are enjoying it...

Beet Sorbet, Ideas from Maine, and Bread Oven update

Wild low bush blueberries are easily "raked" along the coast of Maine. 

Late July marks the start of blueberry season in Downeast Maine, and the Benner family is fortunate enough to be able to spend some time in this glorious part of the world each summer.

Recently Al Benner paid a visit to an off-grid hostel/farm on Deer Isle, where virtually all the structures, food, and energy are produced right on site by the proprietors.  This experience touched a nerve with Al as he found the simple, yet elegant structures and grounds to be very much in line with the vision he and Dave Campeau share for Old School Farm.

Deer Isle Hostel - Hand built from stone and wood on site

Thanks to Anneli and Dennis for the wonderful tour and all the information they shared about their experience to date.  To find out more about the hostel, visit: www.DeerIsleHostel.com     

The new "hut" made of cedar and oak

Hand carving tools on bed and view to the outside world

Here are some  photos and brief descriptions that show the progress since Dennis began clearing the land just a few years ago.  It's amazing what some patience, craftsmanship, and vision can produce...

Hand sculpted oak beams and medieval joinery

Anneli's garden - seaweed is a key ingredient

Reclaimed hardwood shipping skids - idea for compost bins

The modest home is completely off grid

A wood fired cedar hot tub for those cold Maine winters!Here are some

Chickens get lots of vegetable scraps and clippings

Dennis shows his simplistic log mover with min-mill and locust logs behind

Hot showers using a sprinkling can and pulley

Hand pumped Maine spring water

A Useful Wild Plant

Colt's Foot is a common low growing ground cover -type plant that has been used by Native peoples for centuries to help with Asthma.  Our son Owen experiences pre-asthmatic conditions and has bad allergies, so we will be trying this plant in lieu of inhalers.  Simply dry the leaves and then crush to make a tea.  Look for leaves with the black spots - the plant's oil that is medicinal is more prevalent in these leaves with the fungus present.

Colt's Foot Leaf - A native plant useful as a tea for treating asthma 

Beet Sorbet Donation

Old School Farm recently donated several pounds of beets to a local PASA food tasting even at the Silk Mill near Hawley, PA.  The sorbet was prepared the well known Settler's Inn also in Hawley. The feedback from many was that this was a very delicious and refreshing dessert.  Beets can also be used to make beet ice cream.

Farm Updates

In Al's absence, Dave has been hard at work with several projects that will ensure the long term success of the farm.  These include:  Starting to construct the wood fired bread and pizza oven, completing the solar powered drip system for the garden, and getting our six Icelandic sheep moved over into our twelve acre pasture.  

For the sheep to thrive and be healthy and to minimize parasited load, we need to constantly rotate their pasture area ever couple of weeks.  We will be doing this by using portable electric netting that keeps them contained and prevents predators like coyotes from coming in.  When we are ready to move to "greener pastures", we simply hook the towable hemlock shelter with a tow strap to our '66 Ford  pickup "Hoss" and easily move the structure to the new location.  The fence and sheep are then maneuvered to the new location.

The water line from the pump house to the spring fed stream

Getting the water flowing properly was a bit more challenging.  The soaker hose that we had been graciously donated by a neighbor had a few clogs and not knowing this at first created some confusion as to why water wasn't flowing properly, but in the end, we are now able to easily water several rows of our garden simultaneously by mid to late morning when the sun is shining.  If the power goes down for some reason, our crops still get water.  Best of all, pumping it costs us nothing.

The Pump House with solar panel, pump, pressure tank, control panel and water feed line

Soaker hoses extend over newly planted rows of rutabegas, carrots and parsnips

The wood fired bread and pizza oven is starting to take shape.  Dave is collecting stone from our old fieldstone farm walls in areas where they have fallen down, and we are using these w/ mortar between and behind for our base for the oven.  This stone base will finish at waste height.  We are planning on having friday pizza nights at the farm beginning this fall, with a large screen movie to follow in the barn.

We'll be in touch again soon with more news from the farm, but until then, enjoy some more photos...