Farming for the environment and a winter time pizza party

 It's been awhile, I know. I've been doing some battling with computers lately, and it has put me back on posting here. Namely I have a perfectly good laptop, but my OS is apparently too old to run most applications. Apparently 5 years is criminally long to hold on to something that cost a whole month's wages...

Anyway, I have also been away so long because Tarra and I had a Leminy Snicket type series of illness. She fell off her bike and broke her arm, got a fever that topped out at 103*. So for her it's been in and out of doctor's, othopedics, radiology, physical therapy- offices. I then cut a good hunk nearly off the end of my finger with a V-slicer got two 102* fevers two weeks apart and have just felt... off since. This has all been playing out since Thanksgiving, and has just recently been just O.K. 

The good news you'll likely assume is that I am self-employed as a farmer and it is winter, so this is the perfect time to be sick because nothing is really happening...right?! Nope. Being self-employed and not going to work means- yes, there is no one to call in sick to (well, besides your farming partner) but because you don't go in, things don't get done! If nothing is getting done, it puts you more behind and an already really, really, really low profit margin gets squeezed. But also, winter is a slower time, meaning there are 40 hours of work to be done, not 70, so missing work is a big deal. 

What on earth are you doing on a winter day? Well, things are still growing, so picking those for veggie subscription boxes, weeding, cleaning up fields, pulling drip tape, organizing tools. What we also should be doing is repairs and maintenence too like fixing the 4 wheel drive on the tractor fixing the other tractor, and countless other things. So even when you're done, you're really never done. 

Wait, what if it's raining, surely there's rest to be had. Nope. Sorry to be such a wet blanket about this but, there is greenhouse work. We've been having rat trouble in the greenhouse. Last spring a rat ate several thousand dollars of potential crops. So we are building rat proof tables. There's taxes coming, book keeping, planning. And even sometimes doing things in the rain...

So, again- why am I doing this? This sounds like an awful lot of work for $3-5 an hour... why? 

One thing I have noticed this winter is how much our farm really does for the environment. We have been planting habitat plants out at our pond in the back. The plants are all natives, some of them flowering for beneficial insects and bees, some of them are habitat for birds and small vertebrates, and the water itself attracts a fair number of animals.  We've seen egrets, cranes, king fishers, Canadian geese, wood ducks, mallards, red winged black birds, kites, red tailed hawks, and many many more birds. There are also lizards, snakes, frogs, toads, rabbits, hares, cayotes, racoons, opossums and every body else! we've even planted milkweed in hopes of the Monarchs finding us!All of that seems pretty worth working my bottom off for, doesn't it?

I think our 40 acre patch is especially important as we are one of very few sets of organic farms in the area. We are a safe haven for these animals with little to no pesticides applied. Here are some pictures of other ways we help animals find safe harbor and how they take us up on it!

Here we've let some broccoli go to flower, mostly because we couldn't pick all we grew. Here on the right you can see a honey bee taking advantage of the rare nectar and pollen in January. The insect in the center is actually a hover fly. It is a beneficial insect, hunting our "pest" insects.

Here's another great picture of the bees enjoying our benign neglect.

We have an owl somewhere in the area. Here is an owl pellet I found and dismantled. Owls eat their prey whole, fur bones and all! The fur and bones can't be digested though and must come back out. Much like a cat-hair ball, they vomit these "pellets" on the wing. Here you can see this owl has taken some kind of small bird and rodent. I am glad to know they are enjoying our all you can eat rodent buffet!

Native bees are strange houseguests. They prefer holes in old logs, or simply to dig a tunnel to overwinter. Here is a set up for those of them who enjoy the holes in trees.

The mud clogged holes mean someone has taken us up on the offer of free housing!

Here is another version of the same idea

Here is one of two- two hundred foot rows of beefwoods. These large conifers are a favorite perching spot of our predator birds. We also have probably several thousand feet of "hedgerow". These are linear plantings of native species intended as either habitat or food for beneficial insects and animals. Things like yarrow, elderberry, milkweed, native grasses and the like all separate our fields and provide our friends with what they need in return for their hard work!

Here is our pond out back at its most beautiful. The bird in the center is a red winged black bird. They're quite the choral group. Each morning and evening they sing to the sun. Its really beautiful

 

Here is the egg case, or ootheca, of the praying mantis. We find these everywhere on tomato stakes, old weed stocks, sides of pallets. The mother mantids try to leave these somewhere safe, dry, and free from predators. Mantids are great predatory bugs and we are always grateful for their help!

   

  This week's recipe is a favorite go to for lazy weekday meals. Its the perfect way to learn to love new veggie combinations and to soothe the omnipresent "bad food" cravings. Pizza! But homemade pizza with slightly healthier crust and full of veggies. Skip Trader Joes dough and try your own! Here is a great no knead recipe that you whip up the night before and just put a lid on! It is ready the next night! Make a double batch and keep it covered tightly with a lid or plastic in the fridge for up to a week (if it lasts that long!). I like to substitute half whole wheat to keep the carb load down. 

Here is the recipe from Bon Appetit: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/no-knead-pizza-dough

For the pizza, please feel free to improvise. Make it how you like it! I love thin crust and am bad about having tomato paste on hand, so my pizza "sauce" is usually just olive oil and garlic. Also, be careful to cut your veggies and other toppings thin/small and go easy. Thick layers of toppings make a soggy crust. Also, consider how you stack your pizza- greens burn so put them under cheese or throw them on the last few minutes. Otherwise- go to town with all the creativity you've got! Also, I highly recommend using pizza stones, a terra cotta planter stands work amazingly (the ones you set under the planter pot to catch the water, it looks like a large dish with a hole in the middle. )This heated up for at least 30 minutes before you toss your pizza in will make for the crispest crust possible in a conventional oven!

Here are two of my favorite combos to make in the winter:

Greens and Citrus Pizza:

 Preheat oven to 450*

Pick some greens:

3-4 large tough greens leaves (kale, chard, collards)-torn

and/or 1-2 cups arugula, spinach, mizuna etc.

Pecorino and mozzarella mixed

Thinly sliced citrus: limequats, kumquats, meyer lemons, limes etc THINLY SLICED

Assemble ingredients in order given. Citrus will burn, but that's delicious. Cook until the bottom of the crust is med-dark brown and/or the cheese begins to brown. Enjoy!

Butternut Pizza:

Thinly sliced parboiled butternut

Mozzerela and/or goat cheese

pepperoni

black olives

green onions

Assemble ingredients in order given. Cook as above.