Farm Report: June 2006
by Erica Renaud

There is no lack of fiber being eaten at the Research Farm these days. With over 100 varieties of lettuce thinned and consumed almost daily, the Farm staff is very healthy! Lettuce is a prime commodity for a short period of time as the summer temperature heats up. Even the 40% shade cloth over the plants isn't sufficient to prevent the imminent bolting brought by these 90°F days. Lettuce consumption is not limited to these few short weeks, however. Summer and fall succession plantings are soon to follow, allowing us the luxury of ongoing, diverse salad renditions from the farm.

While lettuce is consumed in what seems to be inordinate quantities for a team of eight, radishes, spinach, mustards, and peas have also reached our tables during the last month. The beauty and luxury of working in a location where you labor alongside your lunch, and inevitably your dinner, is that we remain aware of what is ready to harvest and we can be creative in our development of concoctions in the kitchen. Recently, Will (one of our interns) brought us radish open-face sandwiches, which I have decided are the most earthy, granular edibles I have ever consumed, but also an excellent way of ensuring one is eating in season. Stir-fries of radishes, mustards, and peas also provide an invigorating, nutritive dish with a little kick during our lunch hours. It is a rendition transformed from a recipe in the recent edition of Saveur magazine.

While evaluating varieties both in the field and on our plates is of primary concern, another important tenet of the Farm is our annual seed production crops. Most apparent are the biannual carrot and onion flowers developing from the selected steckling (the replanted plant) and bulb stock, respectively, that were planted in early spring. Each year, the Farm grows out a variety of seeds for Seeds of Change, with an emphasis on biannual crops due to our capacity to store the roots over the winter. The cold storage unit in which we keep the roots, tubers, and bulbs is held at 90% humidity and between 40–50°F, which is ideal for not allowing the stock to dry out or sprout. These cool, high moisture conditions allow for storage of onion bulbs and carrot roots for several months. Seeds of Change growers in Oregon and Colorado grow the roots and bulbs in their first year and then ship them to the Research Farm for storage and seed grow-outs. Prior to shipping them to us, the growers perform an annual selection on the varieties to ensure their trueness-to-type; we in turn provide a quality seed product to our customers.

Now that all the transplants are in the ground, foliar feeding and overall crop maintenance have begun. Through bi-weekly compost-tea applications, a rich brew of beneficial microbes is applied to activate the plants' defense mechanisms and increase their ability to take up nutrients. The tea contains growth-stimulating hormones and complex humic acids that catalyze nutrient reactions and assist the soil in retaining valuable nutrients for the plants to take up. Overall, compost tea, in conjunction with cover cropping, compost applications, and crop rotation is an important component of our sustainable agricultural system here at the Farm.

Joining us in June to participate in our seasonal weeding, fertilizing, and harvesting cycles is Rebecca Davilla. Rebecca, born in Nicaragua, raised in Miami, and coming to us from Chicago, has a Masters in Social Work and is now studying to be a Doctor of Chinese Medicine. While she comes to us greener than grass, not with a green thumb, but rather without any previous gardening or farming experience, she has come specifically with the hopes of gaining knowledge and experience in growing plant medicines. With an inquisitive nature, seeking to learn as much as she can, Rebecca quickly immersed herself in the day-to-day repetitive Farm activities. She also transformed her native language, Spanish, into field language under the influences of Erazmo and Jay (we are not sure whether this is positive), but we are glad that she is here.

With all the eating, weeding, and data collection going on, we are also preparing for our summer Farm Tours and Field Days. This year the farm will open for public tours on August 26th and September 10th (contact Kelle Carter kelle.carter@effem.com), with a Slow Food picnic lunch following the September 10th tour. On July 18th and August 28th, Seeds of Change will host Field Days at Gathering Together Farms in Philomath, Oregon and at Heirloom Organics Farm in Hollister, California, respectively. The Field Days will include tours of Seeds of Change variety trials and tastings of the varieties derived from the trials (contact Erica Renaud erica.n.renaud@effem.com). We would love to see you at any of these events, so please contact us!

From the lettuce & radish fields,
Erica Renaud, Research & Farm Manager,
and the Staff of the Seeds of Change Research Farm

Photo Captions: (1) The farm crew works together to weed, weed, weed (2) Rows of onions (3) Rebecca hard at work weeding in the field.