Farm Report: September 2005
by Erica Renaud

We had a slight scare at the full moon last month when our evening temperatures delved deep into the mid-thirties. Alarmed, we covered the basil with row cover and crossed our fingers at the possibility of an early frost. To our amazement, not one crop, nor variety, demonstrated effect from the cold front. We returned to enjoying warm days in the mid-eighties; data collection and harvest continued through the month. For what seems like an eternity, summer squash keeps coming in. The farm staff have contributed everything from common zucchini bread to zucchini, eggplant, and raisin strudel to communal meals at the farm table. We are hoping the squash season will extend itself sufficiently to achieve the maturation of the broad selection of winter squashes coming on here this year.

Due to delayed planting and the immediate covering of our winter squash plants in fourteen-foot-wide row covers, winter squash will be harvested on the farm this year in spite of intense pest pressure: in years past, the squash borer and squash bugs have demonstrated their supremacy over us human land managers, but this year we may have missed some of their early development cycle, compounded by fending them away with the row cover as a security blanket. As a result of the great fall harvest bounty, we have decided that a winter squash party is in order and a Dia de los Muertos is in the works. To complement the November 1st Day of the Dead celebration, which honors those that have passed, Emily Gatch is closely monitoring the well-being of the marigolds: the marigolds are included in this celebration for decorating alters and for throwing in celebration.

	It's also time to get cover crops in the ground. Above: mixed cover crop seed with Fava Beans.
	Erasmo Marquez sowing cover crop seed
	Joe Martinez harrowing in the cover crop.
	The field crew harvesting the 2005 potato trial.

With the fall harvest finishing and end-of-the-season data collection being taken, the research farm has been host to Sustainable Agriculture Training for the staff of Seeds of Change. Both the seed and food folks of Seeds of Change got together to explore what is happening in organic legislation, the Slow Food movement, the state of biodiversity, Permaculture, and nutrition research.

We were host to speakers such as Steven Foster, author of 101 Medicinal Herbs and Medicinal Plants of the Western U.S. Foster spoke about herbs in commerce that have resulted in conservation issues because of over-harvesting and production. These issues proved to be relevant to both the seed and food businesses due to ultimate varietal selections for seed and possible inclusion of herbaceous material in food products.

John Ikerd, author of Sustainable Capitalism, spoke to alternative business models that adhere to principles of honesty, responsibility, and compassion in their goal towards profit and sustainability. Messages presented by Ikerd are of particular relevance to Seeds of Change as we are constantly evaluating our business model and its alliance with our mission to preserve biodiversity and promote sustainable and organic agriculture.

Deborah Madison, author of a plethora of cookbooks, but of particular relevance, her most recent title, Local Harvest, shared with the staff the story of the Slow Food movement. As the local chapter head of the Slow Food movement in New Mexico, Madison presented on what slow food means to the individual—explaining that it does not necessarily mean slow food preparation, but rather, among other things, a meal prepared with local foods and presented in a traditional context.

With much intellectual stimulation behind us from all of the new insights and contributions of these profound and influential speakers, we dutifully returned to the harvesting of peppers, potatoes, fall greens, and the like. The training gave us a lot of time to think about why we do what we do, enlightened by the speaker's perspectives on issues affecting sustainability and plant biodiveristy from a wide array of angles.