Categories
Crops & Gardening

Sample Garden Journal Pages

In the 2009 March/April Hobby Farm Home, read more about creating an artful garden journal. Check out these sample garden journal pages below to get you started.

How does your garden journal grow?

Your garden journal can help you keep track of daily activities

You can make notes on daily activities and observations

You can jot down recipes to try with your home-grown goodies

You can track weather patterns

You can fill your garden journal with details about each plant

You can paste photos and article clippings

You can keep track of your favorites

Keep records of plants in your garden journal 

Set up a page for a fall garden--especially if it's your first time

You can plan a fall garden

You can track growth

You can sketch garden plans

You can list seeds saved or bought and planted —

Use your journal to help you keep your garden growing strong, offer a history and record for other gardeners — and make gardening more enjoyable in whatever way pleases you most!

Use your journal to list all the seeds you plant

Categories
Animals

Draft Horses on the Farm

By Carol Ekarius

About the Author:

Carol Ekarius is a contributing editor to HF and author of several small-farming books, including Small-Scale Livestock Farming (Storey Books).

Long before there were names like John Deere and Kubota, there were names like Belgian, Clydesdale and Percheron. Animal power had been used for hundreds of years, but during the 19th century, these great horses came into their own, powering a growing nation. Draft horses provided transportation in cities, they helped to build an ever-growing network of railroads, and in agriculture, with new and improved technology—like the iron plow, the McCormick reaper, threshing machines and grain drills—they allowed a farm family to cultivate hundreds of acres of land. By the end of the 19th century, farms would often have 10 or more heavy horses, each working, on average, 600 hours per year. As the 19th century drew to a close, there were over 27,000 purebred drafts, and over 13 million working horses around the country, most with some draft-horse blood bred in for size and might.

The heyday for draft horses was relatively short lived: During World War I, draft horses (and mules) were employed to transport supplies, ammunition and artillery to the front. Of 182,000 draft animals the Americans took with them when they entered the war in 1917, only 200 returned home. To add to their decline, by the 1930s, electric motors and gasoline engines virtually replaced the draft horse in transportation and greatly reduced their numbers in agriculture. 

As GIs returned from World War II, there were fewer than 2,000 registered draft horses left in the country, and the future of these hard-working equines looked bleak: Many breed associations ceased operations, and some breeds, like the Suffolk Punch, bordered on the brink of extinction. The 1950s was an especially desperate time for the big breeds, with numbers dropping to all-time lows (as evidenced by the Percherons, with only 58 registrations in 1954, compared to about 3,000 per year at the beginning of the century).

However, in the 1960s and ‘70s, small farmers and hobbyists began viewing working horses with renewed interest, and today, draft horses, from the native American Creams to the mighty Shires, still offer something for small farmers. They’re big, they’re beautiful, they can pull their own weight and as Darrell Van de Hoef, a part-time farmer with 50 acres in Zeeland, Mich., says, “There is something special about sitting on a plow, feeling the power of the horses and listening to the roots snapping off as the plowshare hits them; you can hear the dirt sliding over the plow and the birds singing. Those are experiences you just don’t get with a tractor.” Van de Hoef laughs, “That probably sounds half romantic, and I’m not really the romantic type, but to me that’s the biggest reason for farming with horses.”

AROUND THE FARM
When one thinks of draft horses, the monsters, like the Clydesdales, at 18 hands, and Shires, at 19 hands, come to mind, but not all working horses are giants; some, like the Norwegian Fjords or the Haflingers (both about 14 hands), are small but stocky animals that are capable of hard work.

In field and forest, the smaller, working equines supply traction, without causing compaction of the soil. They are often seen at special events pulling beautiful carriages and carts, or plying town and city streets, giving tourists a relaxing way to see the sights. And many small-scale farmers are finding them useful as part of agritourismoperations. 

David Lynch is a good example of a farmer who has found opportunity and advantage by incorporating draft horses into his operation. He owns Guidestone Farm, a community-supported agriculture (CSA) operation near Loveland, Colo., which supplies raw milk to members (members purchase shares in the dairy herd of 10 Jersey cows), and produces meat and eggs. He is also agricultural director of The Stewardship Community, a nonprofit organization associated with Guidestone that’s dedicated to “providing education in sustainable living skills and teaching where food comes from and what it takes to produce it.”

He uses his three horses, Ike (a Belgian/Clydesdale cross), and Jack and Jake (a team of Belgians), to work in fields and to provide an agritourism component that helps fulfill both the educational mission of the nonprofit and the marketing needs. During special events and school programs, like the pumpkin harvest, visitors are transported around the farm on horse-drawn wagons, thus offering a wonderful experience that helps attract hundreds of visitors to the farm each year. These visitors afford an important income stream, helping the farm to be profitable.

With 150 acres, Lynch still uses tractors for many operations, but he says, “There are some activities we do with horses that I think are simply better for the soil. For example, we have a six-acre vegetable garden, and all of the seeding for cover crops is done with the team, because pulling a heavy-duty seed drill with a big tractor compacts the soil. The horses have an array of niche jobs in the farm program that only they perform.” 

NOT JUST FOR WORK

The Place To Go

Horse Progress Days is the only trade show in the world focusing on newly designed and manufactured horse-powered farming and logging equipment.

See the equipment demonstrated on a variety of breeds of draft horses and mules, some working in the field, and some presented in a parade of breeds. From singles to 12-up hitches, they demonstrate plowing, hay making, planting and many other farm-related activities.

The 2004 event will be held July 1-2 in Middlebury, Ind. For more information, visit www.ruralheritage.com/progress.

But the great thing about draft horses is that they aren’t limited to pulling a plow or a wagon; they can be ridden western or English, with a fair number found in show rings, competing in halter, conformation, dressage or hunter/jumper classes. 

Shine Hill Peanut is a Percheron stallion with a logging background who has now entered the world of competition. Professional horsewoman, Dani Schacht, is his current owner. “I’d seen some draft horse/Thoroughbred crosses and I thought I’d really like to have one, because the cross gives the horse a more relaxed attitude, plus they’re much bigger in build, and they’re denser in bone,” says Schacht. 

“I went to see Peanut when he was available as a stud. I really liked him, but I didn’t end up breeding my mare to him at the time. Soon after, Peanut’s owner became ill and couldn’t care for all his horses. He remembered me, and how much I liked his stallion, so he sold Peanut and a mare to me. 

Schacht quickly discovered what many draft horse aficionados already knew: “They’re surprisingly easy to ride, most of them are laid back in their temperament—compared to a Thoroughbred they’re a piece of cake. They are very smart,very quick learners, and always willing.”

Peanut was jumping cross rails within a couple of weeks after he was broke to ride, and Schacht started showing him within a year. In his first trial, he placed third overall, competing in hunter/jumper, dressage and combined classes. 

“When I first started taking him to shows, people pretty much looked at me like, ‘Is this woman crazy?’ They couldn’t believe his size, much less what I was doing with him.” But the skeptics changed their tune when Peanut finished second in the cross-country field, and received a 75 percent score on dressage, which is quite impressive for a training level horse. 

DRAFT BREEDS

  • American Cream Draft
    American Creams were developed in Iowa in the early years of the 20th century. A medium-sized draft horse, they were bred for farm work. They have a rich cream color, white mane and tail, pink skin and amber-colored eyes. The breed association formed in 1944 with about 40 breeders, but by the 1950s the breed appeared doomed. Yet a very small group of farmers kept breeding and farming with Creams, and in 1982 they restarted the association with help from the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC). Today, over 30 breeders participate in the association, and contribute to keeping this “good dispositioned, willing to work” draft horse breed alive, which is listed as critically threatened by the ALBC.
  • Belgian Draft
    As its name implies, the Belgians were developed in Belgium. Although an American breed association formed in 1887, it wasn’t until 1903—when the Belgian government sent an exhibit of horses to the St. Louis World’s Fair and the International Livestock Exposition in Chicago—that the breed really began building strong acceptance in the United States. Until World War I, breeders continued actively importing stallions, but as war raged in Europe, American breeders had to confine their breeding programs to native-born stock, thus developing an American strain. Belgians are now the most numerous draft breed in the country. They are primarily chestnut or sorrel, with snow-white manes and tails, a white strip in the face, and four white socks, though they occasionally throw a roan or a bay.
  • Clydesdale
    Thanks to Anheuser-Busch using a team of Clydesdales to pull its famous Budweiser hitch, these large draft horses that originated in Scotland are probably the most recognizable draft breed in the country. The most common color in the Clydesdale breed is bay, but they also throw black, brown, chestnut and roan. The preferred markings are four white socks to the knees and hocks, and a well-defined blaze or bald face.
  • Irish Draught
    Irish Draught horses were traditionally a dual-purpose horse, working during the week on the farm, and then participating in the hunt on the weekend, giving the breed a head start as a show animal. They come in a wide variety of solid colors, and are a medium-sized animal with good action.
  • Percheron
    Tall, Dark and Handsome

    Texas is home to short, stout stock horses … and the World’s tallest horse. Goliath, an 11-year-old Percheron gelding, owned by Priefert Manufacturing in Mt. Pleasant, Texas, towers at 19.1 hands (that’s 6’5″) and tips the scales at 2,400 lbs. But it’s his height—not his girth—that landed him in the Guinness Book of World Records last July.    		 


    Percherons derive their name from the small French district of La Perche, southeast of Normandy. They’re thought to be one of the first draft breeds to come to America, and remained the most numerous until surpassed by the Belgians after World War I. They are large horses, and are usually black or grey, but there are sorrels, bays and roans as well. They are still widely used by farmers and loggers.

  • Shire
    The Shires are the largest draft breed, with stallions reaching 19 hands. They are handsome animals that originated early in England (they were there when Julius Caesar invaded), and were imported to the United States in large numbers during the mid 1800s. Generally black, with white markings, Shires are making a comeback, doing well in the show ring, as well as at work.
  • Suffolk Punch
    Suffolk Punches were truly bred to be a farmer’s workhorse, known for their great pulling power. The first Suffolks were imported from England in the 1880s, but never caught on in the United States like some of the other breeds, in part because of limited importations. In spite of that, the breed—another critically threatened breed according to ALBC—has received renewed interest, with over 60 breeders around the country working to keep it alive.  

GETTING STARTED
“I learned how to shear sheep from a video,” says David Lynch. “I would never, ever, do that again. I did learn the hard way and the sheep learned the hard way. Now if I were going to do it again, I would go get training from someone who knew what they were doing. Finding a mentor for working with horses is even more important than for shearing sheep. Don’t do it by trial and error: There is too much at stake.”

Darrell Van de Hoef agrees, “The old standard advice is, get next to a horse farmer, because there’s so much you need to know that you are only going to learn from somebody who’s doing it. Find an old-timer and pick his brain clean.”

For first-time buyers, consider purchasing a well-trained, older team; these animals can teach you as you begin the journey from novice to accomplished teamster. Experienced teamsters also recommend that you buy your first horses from a private party who will mentor you closely, or seek the help of an experienced teamster in selecting your first horses if you plan to attend a sale barn or auction. “You can get real lucky, or you can get a real disaster-in-waiting at a sale barn,” Van de Hoef says. “An experienced hand will help you make the right choice.” 

This article first appeared in the March/April 2004 issue of Hobby Farms magazine. Pick up a copy at your local newsstand or tack and feed store. Click Here to subscribe to HF.

Categories
Animals

Pastures and Horses: Routine Care Information

 

Horse Safety Basics
Tending to a herd of equines in pasture can be a risky chore.In every herd of every size, there is a top ranking boss horse and a poor, pitiful bottom-dweller.

Each remaining herd member ranks someplace in between in the hierarchy or “pecking order.”

Higher ups continually assert their authority over low-ranking individuals—and when a human enters the equation, watch out!

A human afoot can be (and often is) run down and injured when assertive herd members discipline their subordinates.

To eliminate the inherent dangers of working with horses in pasture, here are a few tips:

Understand Herd Dynamics

Which horses are bosses?

They are easily identified as the chasers, kickers, biters—the aggressive ones threatening their peers with pinned ears and slinging heads.

Which horses are outcasts?

Those that are banished to the fringe of the herd, sometimes battered, often jumpy and frequently on the fly.

Try to avoid both, since the top horses are likely to discipline other horses while the lowest in the pecking order are targeted for dominance.

Dress the Part

For your safety, wear boots or stout leather work shoes; no bare feet, sandals or sneakers.

Jeans and a sturdy shirt will also offer protection.

If you’ll be leading a horse away from the herd, wear gloves; if he’s accosted and you have to hang on, burn glove leather instead of your hands.

Be certain your headgear doesn’t obstruct your vision; snugged-up parka hoods and some caps can do just that.

Entering and Exiting the Herd

Be certain all the horses know you’re there; speak to them, sing or whistle.

Constantly observe the body language of every horse in your vicinity.

Stay alert for aggression toward you or toward any horses you interact with.

Know where boss horses and individuals known to dislike humans are at all times.

Herd stallions and mares with tiny foals sometimes behave erratically; if in doubt, give them wide berth. Watch for brawls, even distant ones, which can escalate into chain reactions encompassing you and your horse.

Don’t lead a horse past boss horses or bullies. If you can’t avoid them and one attacks a horse you’re leading, be prepared to defend him—or to release him and get out of the way.

It’s a good idea to teach horses to lead using a rope or hay string looped around the neck. Then if you must do a quick release, the freed horse won’t be encumbered by a trailing lead.

Because low-ranking herd members are the ones most likely to be chased, don’t allow them to bunch up around you, nor let them accompany a horse you are leading, especially if you must pass by boss horses.

And be especially careful near gateways, where horses may crowd; also use caution in enclosed spaces like barn lots and loafing sheds, where you could be easily cornered.

Don’t Carry Treats Into A Herd

Nothing transforms a normally sedate group of horses into a shoving, head-slinging, ear-pinning, heel-flinging, milling mob of fiends quicker than a bucket of grain or a few treats—and if you’re holding the goodies, you’ll be smack dab in the middle of their discord.

Try not to feed a single horse in a group situation.

If you feed hay, it’s best to pitch it to the herd from a safe distance, outside the pasture fencing. Make sure you provide enough hay—well spaced—so all herd members can eat.

Catching Horses

The less time you spend amongst the herd catching a horse, the safer you’ll be.

Quite a few horses can be easily nabbed if they’re wearing halters, but are practically uncatchable when they’re not. If you must leave halters on horses that are turned out, use a breakaway style—commercial or homemade—which will break or release if caught on something.

Otherwise, it’s best to leave halters off your pastured horses.

Pasture or stall: Which is best? Experts generally say pasture under most circumstances.

But pasture-kept horses require more care than they sometimes get. Tending a pastured equine sounds easier and quicker than caring for a stabled one—less expensive, too.

But a stabled horse in his controlled environment is exposed to fewer risks than his pasture-kept pals. He’s exposed to fewer parasites and biting bugs. His diet can be carefully monitored. And because he’s stalled, he’s more readily accessible than a horse grazing at the far side of an 80-acre pasture.

Yet pastured horses are generally happier than their stabled kin. Pastured, they respond to the same circadian rhythms that compel feral horses to feed now, rest later, then feed again. Their primary diet is grass: nature’s perfect horse food.

  • Their hooves and muscles grow strong as they traverse their pasture to graze and drink.
  • They savor the company of other horses, forming fast friendships.
  • They roll when they want, loaf, race or play-fight if they choose.

In this more natural setting they behave … like horses. And for a horse’s mind, that’s a very good thing.

However idyllic that image seems, your horse won’t thrive on pasture unless he’s properly cared for.

He can’t simply be turned out and checked on whenever it’s convenient.

He’ll require a suitably-sized, safely and securely fenced meadow of quality grass; ready access to shelter; clean free-choice water; supplements such as salt, vitamins and minerals and sometimes additional feed; protection from biting flies and other insect pests; companionship and daily monitoring along with routine deworming, hoof and coat care.

Living Arrangements
All pastures are not created equal. Be certain those your horses graze provide enough high quality forage to meet nutritional needs.

Lush but weedy pasture, meadows of tall, bitter grasses and grassland planted with vegetation unpalatable to horses may look ripe for grazing yet if pastured there, horses can’t thrive.

Meadows must not be overgrazed. Depending on where you live and the condition of your pasture, it might take one acre or 30 to nourish your horses through grazing season.

If you’re unsure about your pasture—whether its grasses will nourish your horses or if it’s big enough, or how to maintain it—consult your county agricultural agent for up-to-date information pertinent to your area and read “Grazing the Surface” by Carol Ekarius.

Many species of plants are toxic to horses, so it’s recommended that you inquire about those that grow in your region. Then, go on a search-and-destroy mission.

Before committing your horses to pasture, be certain all fencing and gates are safe.

  • Walk every fence line, making repairs as needed.
  • Replace horse-unfriendly materials such as barbed wire.
  • If fences rely on electric current, make certain fence chargers are adequate and working.
  • If the pasture is fenced with wire, attach strips of light-hued cloth or high-visibility tape to the top strand; this makes the fencing more visible to horses.
  • For even greater visibility, knot a “fence flag” every few feet around the entire pasture perimeter.

Cover from nature’s occasional unpleasantness, be it searing heat, howling winds, hail, early snow or biting bugs, is essential.

In warmer climates, natural shelter such as lush mature trees for shade and dense hedges or rock outcroppings for windbreak, may be sufficient.

However, most pastured horses require access to man-made shelter. Shelters should be sound and roomy enough to accommodate every individual in the herd while providing several exits so low-ranking members can’t be cornered by cranky superiors.

Pastured horses need free access to clean drinking water. Although thoughts of ponds and bubbling brooks spring to mind, these are not necessarily best solutions.

Natural water sources are often polluted, if not by tainted ground water or chemical run-off, then by the feces of birds, deer, raccoons, opossums and other creatures that may expose your horses to a host of serious health problems. Even if your pasture contains a pond or stream, provide an automatic waterer or a watering trough that is monitored daily and scrubbed frequently. You’ll find most horses prefer it.

Feeding Time
Lactating mares, youngsters, old horses and poor keepers on grass will usually require supplementary feeding.

And as spring’s lush grazing gives way to less nutritious summer growth, or when pastures are overgrazed, daily rations of hay, grain or complete feed may be needed to keep your horses fit. On dry lots, this will of course be essential.

All horses need access to free choice equine-specific minerals, provided loose in a feeder or as a crumbly block. Hard salt blocks designed for cattle aren’t enough. Pelleted equine vitamin supplements can be hand-fed or added to a portion of grain.

Pasture Problems
Horses plagued by gnats, flies and mosquitoes may camp in their shelters instead of grazing.

Dealing with Ticks
Itchy ticks and tick lesions cause pastured horses to ferociously rub trees, fences and shelter walls, abrading throats, necks and hindquarters and destroying their manes and tails.Severe infestations produce anemia, loss of appetite and depression. And ticks can infect any horse—or horse owner—with Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tick-bite paralysis. Standard insect solutions rarely faze these rugged pests.

What to do?
Treat horses with power-packed permethrin-based products in spot-on, spritz or wipe on formulations. Ticks aren’t repelled by DEET, but Pyrethin-based products work tolerably well.

Holistic horse owners hand-pick ticks. Wear gloves. Drop detached ticks into a jar of soapy water, then dispose of tick-laden liquid by burying it or flushing it down the toilet. To remove a tick, grasp it as close to its host’s skin as possible using fingers or forceps. Don’t squeeze. Apply slow, steady, upward pressure until the tick comes away intact.

Itchy fly bites and embedded ticks cause them to rub against trees, fences and buildings, wrecking their manes and tails, scraping their hides and injuring their eyes.

Many of these pests spread disease. While appropriate shelter helps, depending on the bug population in your locale, pastured horses may require insect protection in the form of fly masks and sheets, as well as spot-on-applied, spray or feed-through fly control products. Ticks and bot fly eggs need to be removed daily. Particularly bug-beset horses can be stabled days and turned out overnight.

Because they graze amidst the manure of other horses, pastured horses are generally more prone to worm infestation than their stabled chums are.

Horses pastured together should all be on the same deworming schedule, typically every six to eight weeks.  However, your vet might advise more frequent deworming based on number of horses in the pasture, how well the pasture is managed/cleaned, how often new horses are introduced into the herd, along with other factors such as horse age(s) and regional climate.

You’ll also find coat care is harder afield. Coats sunburn and fade, manes are rubbed and tails collect burrs.

In addition, pastured horses’ hooves demand the same care stalled horses do—sometimes more.

They should be cleaned and examined daily, trimmed or shod on schedule. Rocky pastures can bruise horses’ soles, making them gimpy and grouchy.

While barefoot is better for pastured horses, some horses require shoes and possibly even pads to keep them comfortable and sound. However, think twice about putting shoes on your horses’ hind feet. If a horse gets a hard kick from a shod pasture buddy—especially a blow that lands on a nonfleshy area of the leg—you could be in for a huge vet bill and an extremely long lay-up (or worse).

Special needs may arise. Your Paint’s pink nose sunburns if not sunscreen-treated twice daily. Your heat-sensitive Thoroughbred suffers if you don’t hose her down on days the mercury soars. You have to doctor a scrape or treat a weepy eye. Your stocking-legged horse’s pasterns erupt in icky, raw scratches lesions. And to be happy, a horse needs at least one equine buddy to kibitz with and swish away the flies.

So turn your horses out to pasture, sit back and relax? Not exactly. Yet because pasture life is so beneficial for horses, the extra care may be worth your time and trouble.

Routine Care
Establish a pasture-care schedule and follow it.

A typical once or twice daily protocol would be to remove fly masks, sheets or any other clothing and inspect horses carefully, checking for cuts, scrapes, sunburn, rashes, bumps, hoof cracks or loose shoes, weepy eyes, and debris or burrs in ears, hides, manes and tails.

  • Evaluate your horses’ movement. Treat any injuries, unsnarl manes and tail tangles or mats.
  • Pick hooves, applying hoof dressing if needed.
  • Spritz or pour on fly and tick repellent; remove any bot fly eggs or ticks.

After taking care of your horses, perform field surveillance.

  • Check the water supply.
  • Be certain automatic waterers are functioning and tidy.
  • Inspect water tanks, cleaning them before refilling. Do the same for loose mineral feeders.
  • Next, inspect electric fence chargers and then walk along the fence line, making necessary repairs.
  • Finally, do a quick sweep of shelters, inside and out. Mist with insecticide and zap bug nests. Remove accumulated manure.

On a weekly basis, carefully inspect all shelters, combing them for hazards and mending any you find. Strip soiled bedding and replace it with fresh.  Every four to eight weeks (or as recommended by your vet and farrier), perform essential health care including deworming and hoof care.

A lot of effort? Maybe so. But your pastured horses will thank you for it.

And when they are out in the meadow grazing or snoozing under a sweeping shade tree, tails gently wisping away flies, you’ll know they are happy horses. And that’s what responsible horsekeeping is all about.

This article first appeared in the February/March 2003 issue of Hobby Farms magazine. Pick up a copy at your local newsstand or tack and feed store. Click Here to subscribe to HF.

Categories
Crops & Gardening

Growing Sweet Corn

By Rick Gush

About the Author

Rick Gush is a small farmer and freelance writer based in Italy.

We’re nuts about corn. It would be difficult to imagine our lives without corn, and even more difficult to overstate the important role that corn plays in today’s world. The United States grows 40 percent of the world’s corn, but China and Brazil are also big producers. Farmers in Nebraska might get the most attention for their crops, but the farmers in East Timor and Africa take their corn crops pretty seriously, too.

Farmers in the United States will plant almost 80 million acres and harvest somewhere around 10 billion bushels of corn in 2002. They will feed half of this crop to livestock and export another quarter of the crop. Much of the remaining crop will be used to produce barrels full of corn sweeteners and ethanol fuels. Some will be used to create plastics from cornstarch in an industry that is relatively new, but already enormous and growing rapidly. Even the corn stalks and foliage left after the ears are harvested will be used to make vast quantities of silage food products for livestock and millions of gallons of syrup for human consumption.

Corn kernels are also being used today as a direct-heating source because falling grain prices and rising fuel costs have caused many farmers to start using grain-burning furnaces in their homes and shops. One bushel of corn kernels will generate as much heat as five gallons of propane, but that bushel will cost only about $2, while the propane will often cost more than $1.25 per gallon. The savings can be substantial and farmers can easily burn corn that is damaged, or too small for the market.

Corn growing presents a marvelous opportunity for small farmers in every state. There are so many different ways to approach corn, and so many different corn products that can be sold, farmers are wise to consider some corn crops in their farm plan.

Although growing huge acreages of field corn—like the agribusiness outfits in the Midwest—is impractical for small farmers, growing sweet corn, popcorn, specialty corn, corn decorations, seed corn and building corn mazes can be very profitable activities for the smaller producers. We’re a world that’s crazy about corn, and the small farmer needs only to decide how to help scratch that itch.

The History of Corn
Corn plants do not exist anywhere today in a wild state. Corn requires the cultivation of human farmers to survive and move forth from one generation to the next. As such, corn is one of the earliest examples of deliberate, human-directed plant breeding. While there is some confusion about which plants are the ancestors of corn, it is known that by 3000 B.C. corn was a popular crop in Mexico. Early corn was similar to today’s popcorn varieties, except that it usually had only six kernels per ear. One way historians know about such old corn is that the kernels can be stored amazingly well, and archeologists have discovered corn kernels over 4,000 years old. Even more amazing is that some of the old kernels can still germinate, and scientists have grown plants from seeds more than 2,000 years old!

Corn was unknown in Europe or Asia prior to Columbus’ voyages to the New World in the 15th century. But once it started, corn cultivation spread rapidly across the globe along with corn’s traditional field partners—tomatoes, potatoes, squashes and beans—all of which have had a major impact on the gardens and diets of the Old World. The Spanish might have been excited about the native Aztec and Inca gold, but over the past five centuries the value of corn and the other New World food crops has dwarfed the value of the more showy precious metal harvests.

Corn Biology
Botanically speaking, corn is a type of grass. Most grasses produce flowers that contain both sexes, but corn is different. There are male flowers at the top of the plant called the tassels, and inflorescences of female flowers on short, lateral branches. The female flower inflorescences become the ears of corn. The male tassels release pollen into the air and wind then carries it to other plants. The long, silky strands that poke out of the top of an ear of corn are the structures that catch the pollen and transmit it down to the waiting female flower ovaries.

Corn Smut
Corn smut is a fungal disease that sometimes affects corn ears. Usually, farmers in the United States treat smut like an undesirable disease and make every effort to eradicate it.

In Mexico, however, the smut is prized and farmers who find their crops infected with it are happy because they know they can sell their crop for a higher price.

Ustilago maydis is the Latin name for the smut that causes the corn kernels to grow large and distorted. In the maturation process the kernels become filled with the characteristic dark, powdery spores of the fungus.

Smut corn has been prized since the Inca and Aztec times, but only recently has the taste grown significantly in the United States; programs that allow farmers to cultivate smut corn are just starting across the country. “It tastes a little like mushrooms, and it’s great in scrambled eggs,” swear recent American devotees.

A kernel of corn has two main parts: the germ and the endosperm. The germ is a young proto-plant, and the endosperm is nutritive material that exists to feed the young plant as it emerges. These two sections are separated in many food-processing systems; corn oil is made from pressing the germs; and corn flour is made from grinding the endosperms.

In addition to their normal roots, corn plants have above-ground roots that appear on the lower stem. These structures, called adventitious roots, act primarily as additional braces. They also act as conduits in the absorption and removal of beneficial and toxic gases from the plant body; and they also search for additional water and nutrients in the layer of the soil above the normal root system.

Types of Corn
All corn is classified by its scientific Latin name, Zea mays, but there are five main types of corn: Pop, Flint, Dent, Flour and Sweet. The differences in the main types of corn have to do with the various arrangements of the germ and endoplasm in their kernels. In addition to the five commercially used corn types, there are also pod types that have husks around each kernel, waxy types and a few other more obscure corn types, some of which may prove to be economically important in the future.

Pop corn, also known as Indian corn, is unique in that its endosperm core contains moisture, which expands and explodes when heated, forcing the outer, dry part of the endosperm to rip apart and puff up. Pop-corn types account for about one percent of the yearly corn crop in the United States.

Flint corn, which is essentially a larger-kernelled, pop-type corn was the second type to be developed. Flint corn is still widely grown, mostly due to its great cold tolerance, and it now makesup about 14 percent of the national crop.

Flour corn has a much softer endosperm, making it a better flour and ground-meal source, and is grown specifically for the production of many human- and animal-meal products. Flour corn makes up about 12 percent of the yearly crop in the United States.

 

Tourist Corn
Aside from mazes, there are a few other ways to lure paying tourists to a cornfield.

  • The Field of Dreams. Fans of the inspirational baseball movie still flock every year to see the field of corn where the movie was filmed. The film’s cornfields were grown during a drought and were only half their normal height, so the film producers had to spend $25,000 on water irrigation.

  • The Corn Palace. There is a “Corn Palace” in Mitchell, S.D., that is covered each year in a truly mind-boggling array of new corn decorations. The many beautiful, rustic murals depict life in South Dakota, and attract many thousands of tourists every year. The first Corn Palace was built in 1892 and the current building is the third in this series of unique Americana attractions.

Dent corn is the most widely grown type of corn, and constitutes about 73 percent of the U.S. annual crop. When one sees a large field of corn, it is most likely a field of dent corn, as the other types are usually grown on much smaller parcels. The term “field corn” usually refers to dent corn, but may also be applied to flint and flour types as well. The endosperm of dent corn has both the flinty-type starch and the softer flour starch. The term “Dent” refers to the characteristic depression in the top of the kernels.
 
The leaves and stems of dent corn form the basis of the silage industry’s ruminant animal food products made from the composted, green corn-plant parts. The tall towers so common in the Corn Belt farm areas are the sophisticated compost bins where silage is produced. Many Dent-corn green parts are also pressed to extract corn syrup.

Sweet corn is the fresh-eating and canning-corn type. In sweet corns, the endosperm is composed of a special starch that is both soft and very high in sugars. The harvest timing and rush delivery to market of sweet corns is always critical because the sugars deteriorate quickly after the ears are harvested. Sweet-corn farmers often prefer to eat the ears raw in the field because they swear the sweetness is compromised even by walking into the house and cooking them.

Small Farm Corn
Small farmers have a dizzying array of choices when it comes to growing corn. Sweet corn is, of course, one of the obvious choices. This tasty delicacy of summer has been grown since the days when the Iroquois and other Native Americans ruled the eastern seaboard. Some of the old Indian sweet corn varieties are still available and grown today. Growing sweet corn has often been a profitable activity for small farmers, and if you’ve got access to a farmer’s market or a roadside stand to sell your crop, there’s no reason you can’t partake too.

There are a whole host of different varieties, from early bearers to late, from golden kernels to white, so you’ll have to experiment to find the varieties that best fit your situation. The most famous sweet corn variety, Golden Bantam, was released in 1902 and has been a favorite ever since.

Another rising star of profitability for small farmers is gourmet popcorn. Whether it’s blue, blackor strawberry colored, customers have shown a great attraction and willingness to pay premium prices for unusual popcorn products. The corn can be sold either shelled or still on the husk, and in many markets Pop corn ears bring prices above $1 an ear!

Popcorn also stretches into the sizable floral and decorations market. Colorful ears of corn are perennial florist and homemaker favorites, and these same customers snap up an amazing amount of stalks, cobs, tassels and husks every year. Savvy farmers waste none of the plant parts and find they can sell everything they grow. Those farmers that go even further and produce craft products such a cob pipes, husk dolls and kernel mosaics usually find a growing market eager for their wares.

One of the good things about unsold corn is that it can be shifted down the product line as the situation changes. Sweet corn that goes unsold can be next marketed as dried decorations; old or damaged decorative corn can be shelled, mixed with other types and sold as corn meal for human markets. Unsold corn meal can always be sold as bird and animal feed.

Special Corn Crops
Corn hybrids do not pass their increased performance on to their offspring. New seed must be specially grown each year by crossing the parent stocks. This means that somebody must grow the new crops of hybrid corn seed each year. That industry is growing and provides conscientious small farmers with the opportunity to become subcontractors for the larger, well-funded field-corn industry.

One of the most fun, recent trends is the development of corn mazes. These huge puzzles feature twisting and confusing pathways cut into tall cornfields. The public is flocking to these rural attractions across the country and there is still a need for more. When combined with other farm activities, such as pumpkins and u-pick strawberries, they can be quite a draw. The number of corn mazes has increased each year since the craze began in 1993. But still there are some states that have not yet seen any mazes, like Okalahoma, Alaska, Kentucky, Maine and Mississippi. So, if puzzles and crowds of happy visitors using flashlights to wander through your cornfields in July and August appeals to you, get busy designing your maze. You’ll probably need at least three acres to make a quality maze, and it’s traditional and prudent to erect some sort of bridge-viewing platform by which the visitors can get an overhead view. Mazes are almost always made from field corn, but sometimes sweet cornfields are used after the harvest.

Record Corn
The normal, average yield for non-irrigated field corn is around 150 bushels an acre, but there are a few superstars who coax two, and almost three times that much out of an acre. These competitors use a variety of techniques, such as deep plowing, massive fertilizer and pesticide applications, special insect-resistant seed varieties and precise angling of the rows to maximize sun exposure. Most growers think all that extra effort destroys the profit potential, but these super growers usually break even (at least) on their crops and more than make up for any profit loss through lucrative equipment, fertilizer and seed endorsements.

Growing Corn
Growing corn on a big agribusiness outfit is a very scientific corporate matter, with everything from planting to harvest being scheduled according to the cooperative extension’s latest micro-management advice. For example, most big growers adjust the amount of nitrogen-fertilizer applications according to the fluctuations in the corn futures market.

Luckily, small farmers have a much easier job. Sure it’s good to get the crop to market early or late to secure the best prices, but the basic fact of corn growing remains the same: the crop likes warm weather, so there’s no point to planting seedlings in the winter greenhouses to get an early start. Corn farmers have to wait for the soil and the air to warm up—and that’s that.

Corn Pests
The worst corn pests are worms. Cutworms live in the soil and Armyworms over-winter in weeds and grasses as partially matured grubs. Both attack young corn plants and can be serious pests in fields with heavy crop residue, excessive winter weeds or spring cover crops. This is a problem for organic farmers who are accustomed to composting on the fields. Low wet soils and fields bordering wild vegetation are also a potential problem. Hot, clean and dry dirt is what a corn crop likes best, so farmers should modify their practices to achieve this status for their corn plantings.

There are also a variety of worms that attack the developing ears of corn. Corn Earworm and the European Corn Borer are common causes of kernel and ear spoilage. They too can be discouraged by maintaining extremely clean fields.

What might be the single most effective treatment for worm infestations is the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis, which is the “Bt” in the middle of the controversy surrounding some genetically altered corn varieties. Still, Bt as a spray is quite inoffensive to the environment and farm family, and should be considered as part of the pest control program by even the strictest of organic farmers.

Corn Nutrition
Corn, for all its size, does not have unreasonable nutritional requirements. Nitrogen fertilizers are frequently applied in the adolescent stages, but never after the tassels have formed. Of course, soils rich in natural nutrition encourage corn plants to produce more and bigger ears, and very seldom is anything other than field corn grown without irrigation.

Aboriginal agriculture usually employed an intensive poly-species culture system. Corn, beans and squash were frequently grown together in the same hole. This technique also helped provide a balanced source of amino acids because a diet of corn protein alone lacks balance. Amaranth, tomatoes, peppers and greens were also often grown in the same fields and holes.

This article first appeared in the Fall 2002 issue of Hobby Farms magazine. Pick up a copy at your local newsstand or tack and feed store. Click Here to subscribe to HF.

Categories
Equipment

Winter Weather Basics for Farmers

Winter Weather Basics for Farmers
© L. Diane Lackie

Shelter
Provide appropriate shelter that allows animals to retreat from wet, windy weather. Three-sided buildings are often sufficient for animals that spend most of their time in fields. Make sure other buildings don’t deflect wind and snow into the shelter.

Barn Ventilation
Keep the barn ventilated to help prevent respiratory issues for animals that stay indoors. Keep ventilation and protection in mind when transporting animals, too.

Dry Bedding
Ensure dry bedding is available and located away from feed and water. It keeps bedding clean longer and helps insulate udders and legs from frostbite.  

Food Adjustments
Increase amount or nutrient density of food for animals exposed to cold weather; they need it to keep warm, especially when temp drops below mid 20s (degrees F).

Water
Offer a plenty of fresh water — find ways to keep it thawed — take unfrozen water to animals or use and frost-proof waterers will ensure than livestock get enough to drink.

Watch the Weather
Be aware of swings in temperatures, expecialy in barns that have been closed.

Know Your Vet
In case of disease outbreaks, have a plan for caring for your animals/relationship with local vet.

Tractors and Equipment
Tractors may need special care, such as a heavier motor oil or fuel additives or access to outlet to run engine heaters.

Equipment, such as a manure spreader, needs special care after winter use; after use, scrape any manure or wet material out to keep the machine parts from freezing.

No matter where you live, winter time on the farm means knowing a few basics when it comes to animal husbandry and farm maintenance.

Categories
Crops & Gardening

Grafting Diagrams

In the January/February 2009 Hobby Farms, you can read an article discussing the benefits and various ways to graft plants. Here are more diagrams of grafting approaches by Rick Gush for you to try.Approach Graft

Approach Graft
An approach graft, which united two unsevered stems, is used by arborsculptors to produce joints, by bonsai growers to add a branch where none exists and by horticulturists to bypass damaged areas.

This is the type of graft that occurs spontaneously in nature when stems or trunks press together.

Inarch Graft
Inarching live bridge grafting, is used to bypass a damaged area of a tree trunk.
Inarch Graft

For more about grafting, click here for some online resources.

The scion can be an existing shoot or sucker, or can be a new plant planted alongside the damaged tree.

Patch Budding
Plants with thick bark are often patch budded. Budding is done while the plants are actively growing, so their bark slips easily.

patch budding
A rectangular piece of it is removed from the rootstock and then covered with a bud and matching piece of bark from the scion.

Chip Budding
This budding method can be used when the bark is not slipping.

chip budding
Any interior wood should be removed from the scion bud before it is fitted into the matching notch in the rootstock.

T-budding
This is the most commonly used budding technique, and is performed when plants are actively growing.
T-budding
The whole bud piece of the scion is slipped into a pocket cut into the rootstock bark.

Cleft Grafting
This is one of the most common methods for changing fruit variety on a mature fruit tree.
cleft grafting

Banana Graft
This graft is used to produce particularly strong unions on small fruit tree rootstocks.
banana graft

More About Grafting on the Internet

Grafting tools

 

Buddy grafting tape

 

Grafting stock

 

Budding Techniques

 

  • https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/propagation/budding/budding.html

Grafting Tutorials

 

Decorative Grafting

 

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Categories
Homesteading

John C. Campbell Folk School: Diary of a Class–Tinsmithing

By Karen Keb Acevedo

visit the john c campbell folk school
    © Keather Weideman

Is there a yearning inside you to do meaningful work with your hands? As farmers, we can agree that this is a given.

Whether your desire leads you to the garden, the kitchen or the workshop, there is a folk school, nestled in the southern Appalachian mountains, that will inspire idle hands to do great things.

The John C. Campbell Folk School, situated on 300 acres in Brasstown, N.C., offers hundreds of week-long classes year-round on skills such as basketry, blacksmithing, cooking, dancing, dyeing, gardening, knitting, metalwork, music, quilting, soap making, sewing, spinning, storytelling, weaving, woodworking and so much more.    

How the School Began
John C. Campbell, born in 1867 in Indiana, studied education and theology in New England,  and eventually felt a calling toward humanitarian work.

In 1908, John and his wife, Olive Dame, undertook a study of the Appalachian mountains, which at the time were viewed as fertile ground for educational and social missions.

 Tinsmithing is a class available at the folk school
© Karen K. Acevedo

Get More Folk School!
We’re loving our John C. Campbell experiences. Here’s more of what we’ve learned:

Green woodturning 

Fall Vegetable Gardening 

Gifts of Food and Friendship

John interviewed farmers about their agricultural methods and Olive collected traditional ballads and studied the handicrafts of the mountain people.

John and Olive hoped to improve the lives of the mountain people with education and, in turn, wanted to preserve their everyday crafts, techniques and tools by sharing them with the rest of the world.

John and Olive’s vision manifested into the idea of recreating the Danish “folkehøjskole” (folk high school, or “schools for life”) that had helped transform the Danish countryside into a vibrant, creative force. After John’s sudden death in 1919, Olive and her friend, Marguerite Butler, traveled to Europe to observe these Danish schools. They returned with an enthusiastic determination to create a folk school in Appalachia.

With the help of an eager mountain community that embraced the idea of such a school in their area, the school took shape with donated land, labor and building materials. In 1925, the John C. Campbell Folk School opened its doors by offering a 6-month course for young farmers.

No Grades, Just Support and Learning
Over time, the curriculum evolved, but instruction at the Folk School has always been non-competitive.

There are no credits, grades or competitions. Discussion and conversation are emphasized, rather than reading and writing, and most instruction is hands-on. This teaching method is what the Danes called “The Living Word” and it’s an environment designed for communal learning, without judgment, destined to bring out the best in people.

Students of all ages who enroll at the Folk School come with an open mind, an attitude toward learning and a desire to embrace their inner creativity.

This supportive environment is designed to meet its goals, which are twofold: “inner growth as creative, thoughtful individuals and social development as tolerant, caring members of a community,” says Folk School director, Jan Davidson. Though lifestyles are much different than they were in 1925, the tradition of crafts, music, nature, cooking and dance are still meaningful to people today. These traditions are best learned and nurtured in a noncompetitive, supportive environment—the antithesis of much of our daily fast-paced, regimented lives.  

The Folk School’s moniker is “Sing Behind the Plow,” which sums up beautifully its mission: to love what you do, whatever it may be.

A Week at the Folk School
Classes generally run from Sunday to Saturday. A typical week at the Folk School begins on Sunday afternoon when you register, find your room, meet your roommate(s) and attend a brief orientation. Supper is then served, family style, in the Olive Dame Campbell dining hall, followed by a short meeting with your class.


© Karen K. Acevedo

Studio visits are always encouraged so students can get an idea of what other students are doing.

On Monday morning, if you desire, you can rise early and enjoy a morning walk through the woods on the chip-bark trails, then help yourself to coffee, tea and the newspaper at Keith House. MorningSong, the Danish custom of singing, folklore and camaraderie, begins at 7:45 and is led by someone different each day. Breakfast is served at 8:15.

After breakfast, students walk to their respective studios and begin learning—by doing—at their own pace. Classes are kept small, usually no more than 12 students, so instructors have time to work with each individual. Lunch is served at 12:15.

Each day after class ends at 4:45, students are encouraged to explore local art and culture with organized visits to shops of area artisans, nature walks or craft demonstrations. Dinner is served at 6:15, followed by evening offerings of dance, singing or studio tours to view the works of other students.

The week culminates on Friday with the student exhibit. Gathering in the Keith House Community Room, students display the fruits of their week-long labor and view the creative work of new friends. Ironworks, quilts, baskets and woodturned bowls can be admired, often prompting students to identify the next class they wish to take! After supper, a celebratory concert of bluegrass or old-time music by local musicians is held at the Festival Barn.

The week closes with Saturday breakfast, where you’ll bid farewell to newfound friends and promise to keep in touch. What you’ll take away is both tangible and intangible … “You’ve created your own work of art. You’ve experienced the tradition and history of the Appalachians and you’ll depart with an inspiration and renewal that can only be found in this special place,” says Davidson.

Diary of a Class
Class: Tinsmithing
Class description: “Use tools and methods of 19th century tinsmiths to reproduce household items of the period.”

Tinsmithing is a true artisan craft. Precise and technical, it requires focused concentration, knowledge of specialized tools and techniques learned over time, and a constant desire for improvement. Like blacksmithing, it’s a craft that must be practiced for many years before one can be considered a master or, for some, merely proficient.

According to Charles A. Hartwell in Simple Gifts, the first American tinsmiths worked in New England in the early part of the 18th century. In the 19th century, the role of tinware was the same as plastic plays today. Tinplate was a new, miracle material, popular because it was light, easy to clean and relatively inexpensive. It could be formed into plenty of useful shapes, including decorative household items such as sconces and lanterns, and utilitarian items for the kitchen, farm and dairy, such as baking trays, cups and buckets.

The advent of modern materials such as aluminum, plastic and stainless steel has resulted in the near extinction of commercially produced tinware, but individual tinsmiths are keeping the craft alive.

Modern tinplate is made of a sheet of steel coated with tin; earlier tinplate used iron instead of steel. Tin by itself is a soft, fairly weak metal with a low melting point (about 450 degrees F), but steel provides strength, while the tin coating provides resistance to corrosion.

A working tinshop contains many tools and a mind-numbing array of equipment: machines for folding and turning edges (bar folder); for closing metal around wires (wiring machine); for beading and seaming; stakes for shaping the metal into various configurations; punches for making holes; mallets and hammers of many shapes and materials (metal, leather and wood); pliers; tin snips; wire cutters; rulers; calipers; scratch awls; soldering coppers; and many, many other items that help to turn out expertly crafted items.

I was intrigued by tinsmithing, having done metalwork in college, so I enrolled in the class, taught by Harry Kruppenbach. Class was held in the metalwork studio, replete with all of the tools and equipment mentioned previously. Here’s a glimpse of my week as a beginning tinsmith.

Sunday
After supper, our class gathered with the instructors for the initial rundown of the week. Harry and his assistant, Clinton Pitts, Jr., introduced the eight tinsmithing students to the metalwork studio and to the tools and equipment we’d be using that week.

Harry brought a variety of hard-to-find books on the subject and plenty of finished samples of his work for class inspiration. We each selected a workstation and familiarized ourselves with the tinware and other items we’d need to begin our work. Tools and machines were assembled on a large center table that ran the length of the studio. Of the eight students, four had no experience with tin (including me); the other four had varying degrees of experience, some having taken Harry’s class multiple times, claiming it to be addictive! 

Monday
After breakfast, class began in earnest. Harry started with a series of demonstrations to get the newbies started on our first project—a petticoat (simple candleholder). We learned the proper way to cut tin, file and dull edges; how to shape pieces with a mallet over various stakes (blowhorn and candlemold); and how to use the bar folder and crimping tool. By the end of the day, I had fabricated pieces for three different projects.

As a matter of course, after supper, many students like to return to the studios to continue working on their projects. However, this is optional. I understand the nature of Folk School students to be that they love and enjoy their crafts; they have an accomplishment-driven nature; and they want to persevere into the night. The atmosphere in the studios gets a little more relaxed in the evenings as students wind down from the day. Quiet time begins at 10 p.m. so students can rest up and do it all over again the next day.

Tuesday
We all began the day by working quietly on the previous day’s projects. Each student had a different item they had selected to make, based on the patterns and samples provided by Harry. If you wanted to make a sconce or a tray, you could select one from the patterns and go about snipping, filing and fabricating; Harry and Clinton were eager to assist and encouraged us to think big.

Tuesday afternoon was the long-awaited soldering demonstration, which at that point was the missing
puzzle piece that would take our random pieces of tin and turn them into recognizable objects.

Soldering involves four things: heat, clean metal, flux and solder. Harry demonstrated the procedure of joining two pieces of tin together by heating the soldering copper, cleaning the pieces, fluxing the joints and finally touching the copper to solder and waiting for the heat to do its job.

Our soldering jobs came out with varying degrees of success—some fairly neat and shiny, others thick and bumpy. We learned that soldering is serious business; patience and practice is required to become skilled at it.

Wednesday
With soldering under my belt, I was able to complete several pieces, including the petticoat, a simple wall sconce and a punts pot (an 18th century pot that held particles of quill ink). I loved the challenge of soldering and as it turned out, I wasn’t too bad at it.

I began fabricating a bakers’ tray—a piece that seemed simple enough. Ha! One solid piece of tin, snipped from a pattern, required swedging (the repetitive pounding of a swedging hammer machine) to elevate the sides to form the tray.

One spot had to be swedged one way and another had to be swedged in the opposite direction to form the end folds. Finally, to create strength, the edges had to be folded with the bar folder to accept a 14-gauge wire.

After many derailings with the wiring machine, I was able to tuck the wire into place and seal the seams. As a beginner, I needed a lot of help from Clinton and Harry, who gave it happily and patiently. All my projects were expertly guided by them and never did I feel lost or hopeless.

Thursday
I began work on a scalloped wall sconce, my most ambitious project yet.
 
After snipping and filing all the pieces, I discovered I had performed a critical step out of order. I had cut out the scalloped edge before creating a seam around the smooth face of the oval.

Harry declared I was “sunk” and informed me I should start over, but when I inquired with Clinton about approaching this problem unconventionally (attempting to seam the pattern freehand with the seaming machine), with a raised eyebrow, he encouraged me to try it. He set up the machine and we ran through a few practice pieces.

Convinced I could do this, I tentatively guided the scalloped edge around with the crank. After two semi-successful turns, it was finished. I had conquered the impossible! I then fabricated the wired arm, the candleholder and cup, and finished by soldering everything together. I felt a tremendous sense of pride and accomplishment in this piece.

Friday
I wanted to turn out one final project before class ended, so I chose a simple angel form that required no soldering—just forming the shape of the angel’s skirt and wings over the blowhorn stake. I added a few personal touches in the form of punched holes around the body of the skirt and crimped edges. I completed all the pieces by cleaning and polishing them with butcher’s wax.

Throughout the week, my classmates freely complimented each other on jobs well done and I felt a real sense of camaraderie among the group. We admired each others’ work, offered suggestions if we had learned a valuable tip from someone else and laughed when we produced a “humility piece” (something you’re “not too proud of” as one experienced student explained).

The spirit of the Folk School lives in the studios, with artisans and craftspeople learning together supportively and free from the creativity-killing, dehumanizing competitiveness we often face in the world, particularly in the workplace. If more people and institutions adopted the principles of folkehøjskole, I have no doubt the world would be a more contented place.

About the Author
Karen Keb Acevedo is editor in chief of Hobby Farms and Hobby Farm Home magazines.

* In part two of this series, read the diary of a Folk School woodturning student in the Summer issue of HFH.

This article first appeared in the Spring 2008 issue of Hobby Farm Home. Buy a copy of the current issue online.

Categories
Crops & Gardening

Diary of a Class: Fall Vegetable Gardening

By Karen Keb Acevedo

Folk school staff offer help during fall vegetable gardening class
© Keather Weideman

Get More Folk School!
We’re loving our John C. Campbell experiences. Here’s more of what we’ve learned:

Sunday Arrival: On the Road Again
As I maneuvered the twists and turns of highway 68 on my way from Lexington, Ky., to Brasstown, N.C., I was full of anticipation for what a week at the John C. Campbell Folk School had in store for me.

The late summer weather was hot and humid, and the vegetation all around me was winding down for the season. These were the perfect conditions under which to begin thinking about fall vegetable gardening. Read Karen’s Fall Vegetable Garden To-Do List>>

Monday: Lay of the Land
The first full day of my class dawned and I was up early to Morningsong (a gathering to begin each day with music, singing and history) with Jan Davidson, the Folk School’s director, to hear him weave the history of the school in true Appalachian fashion.

Amidst his humorous anecdotes and skilled storytelling technique, I heard loud and clear his message about the Folk School: Its mission is to teach students the traditional crafts of Appalachia in a truly noncompetitive and supportive environment.

It set the tone for the week and put me on a determined path.

After a hearty breakfast of oatmeal, fruit and juice, I walked over to the cooking studio at Davidson Hall, where our class was based for the week.

Late August in western North Carolina is beautiful to see, but miserable to feel: sweltering heat and high humidity. It was a relief to have an air-conditioned room to escape to throughout the day.

Our instructor, Frances Juhlin, an organic market gardener in nearby Murphy, N.C., began by giving us an overview of the week and what we could expect to get out of the class.

I wanted to learn about gardening through the fall and even winter, if possible, to increase my self-sufficiency, so I was thrilled to know that by the end of the week, I would be able to add this knowledge to my repertoire.

All eight members of the class headed up the steep hill behind Davidson to the Folk School’s greenhouse, where we were given our supplies for the week—two APS trays (Advanced Planting System trays, available from Gardener’s Supply; 888-833-1412; ) and a few recycled pots for transplanting.

Juhlin instructed the class on good technique for mixing soil and we set out to sow seeds of Asian greens, lettuces, arugula and cilantro—all fast germinators so the class could have instant gratification!

After watering our trays with our recycled dish-soap bottles (a tip from Juhlin’s mother) to avoid disrupting the newly planted seeds, we perused the school’s garden beds and learned a little about pest damage and organic controls.

After a refreshing summer lunch of Cobb salad and chocolate ice cream, we reconvened in the air-conditioned cooking studio to discuss fall and winter plant varieties and growing tips.

Juhlin supplied us each with a stack of the best organic seed catalogs so we could determine what we wanted to plant when we returned home.

We were able to ask her advice on varieties, organic techniques and supplies. We returned to the greenhouse for a final watering of our seeds and adjourned for the day.

I enjoyed a little downtime between class and dinner with a short power nap!

The dining hall was packed that evening as excited students discussed their first day of classes. Vegetable lasagna, salad (made of produce from the Folk School’s garden) and the legendary olive bread (a student favorite) were served.

Sidenote: The Folk School serves delicious food, but if you have specific dietary needs (vegetarian, low fat, gluten-free, low salt, etc.), there are special preparations just for you, as well as a lovely salad bar available at every meal. You’ll never walk away from the dining hall hungry or unsatisfied!

I enjoyed meeting people from all over the country, of all ages, with whom I had at least one thing in common: a love for learning and craft. This commonality is what really bonds students for the week and the camaraderie is palpable.

Evening activities vary throughout the week, but Monday was special—folklore and folk music in Keith House with Anne Lough on the dulcimer (mountain and hammered) and autoharp.

folk school students learn about floating row covers
© Keather Weideman

Dig In
To see the variety of classes available at the John C. Campbell Folk School, visit them at www.folkschool.org

Lough’s music and stories were far more entertaining than anything on television;  it made me long for the days of families sitting around the fire, telling stories and enjoying the peacefulness of it all.

Afterward, as I walked back to my room at the Log House over the lighted footpaths, I took a few moments to listen and reflect. As the crickets chirped their summer song and the crisp mountain air filled my lungs, I was happy.

Tuesday: Getting Our Hands Dirty
Today was the day to dig in and get planting—transplanting that is. Juhlin had started a good number of seeds in the previous weeks for us to plant into the Folk School’s garden, so they were now ready to go into the ground.

We began with a short lesson on rototilling with groundskeeper Tom Doornbos, then we split into several groups assigned to different garden beds.

We transplanted collards, fennel and Asian greens, and direct-sowed spinach and arugula. After a thorough and careful watering, we mulched the transplants with straw.

Though transplanting during the heat of the day is not advised, Juhlin acknowledged that we had no other choice that week and moved forward with the task at hand.

Juhlin instructed us on the use of floating row covers—the key to fall gardening—and we covered the freshly seeded spinach and arugula beds, and secured them with large pins.

That evening, another special treat was in store: live music and contra dancing in Keith House with Bob Dalsemer. This modern form of a centuries-old dance tradition involves groups of couples in two long lines.

I’ve since learned that every Tuesday is Contra Dance night at the school and the local folks are invited to participate, increasing the number of available dance partners and making for a nice community event.

Wednesday: Survive the Heat
On this hump day, I decided I was sufficiently rested to go on the morning bird and flower walk at 7:15 with naturalists Bill and Janice Bolte.

During the misty morning, we walked over the paths that surround the school and observed various plants and birds, pointed out by the Boltes.

After Morningsong and breakfast, I headed over to the greenhouse to begin another day in the Folk School garden. More transplanting was on the agenda, so we split up into groups and put the broccoli, collards and frisée into the freshly cultivated beds. Careful watering and mulching finished off the morning.

After lunch, we headed out into the garden once again to learn a bit about heirloom tomatoes and the varieties growing there. We were invited to pick sun-ripened fruits off the vine and taste them right there—what a delight!

At that point, we had all had enough heat for the day so we headed back to our cool kitchen to discuss greenhouses.

That evening’s activity was an entertaining blacksmithing demonstration at the Whitaker Blacksmith Studio by instructor Greg Price.

Thursday: Field Trip
On this day, we traveled to Candy Mountain Farm, the home farm of our instructor and her husband, Stephen, in Murphy, N.C., about 30 minutes away by car.

We toured the luscious, green fields and spied all the organic crops being produced for the area’s farmers’ market. Frances and Stephen shared lots of tips for growing particular crops, like unblanched celery and greenhouse tomatoes, and discussed the merits of farming organically and sustainably on a small-scale (about two acres are planted in crops at Candy Mountain).

Their Blue Heeler, Kino, raced around the farm, fetching various toys as those of us with able bodies picked mustard greens, telling stories “like old sharecroppers,” we joked.

The Juhlins prepared a nice lunch for us on their deck and we relaxed after the day’s work was done.    

Back at the Folk School, the evening’s activity was original readings by the storytelling class. 

Friday: Berry Good Time
For our last day of class, we headed out for another field trip to nearby Karen Hurtubise’s raspberry farm, where she talked to us about the basics of backyard berry growing.

We learned that it’s not as easy as it looks and, despite all your preparations and good practices, sometimes the crop doesn’t materialize. At this point, that’s one thing we all understood!

The last day of Folk School classes always ends with the Student Exhibit.

As a gardening class, we were a little stumped by what to “exhibit.” We had trays with miniscule seedlings popped up, plastic pots with arugula and cilantro sprouts, and a whole lot of dirty, sweaty clothes and gloves—nothing all that lovely or exhibit-worthy!

We threw together some vegetable dolls and some fresh pickings from the garden, and called it a week.

It was inspiring to see all the quality work that was done by my fellow students that week—baskets, enameled jewelry, quilts, fine wooden tables, wood carvings, hand-forged gates and concrete works of art.

The week culminated with a concert in the festival barn by a band called “Old Enough to Know Better.” Their songs were described as “folk, doo-wop, Chinese pop songs and more”—eclectic, but dead-on for the setting.

It was the perfect way to wind down from the week, reminisce with newfound friends, and exchange numbers and addresses … and promises to keep in touch.

Saturday: Homebound
After one last hearty breakfast in the dining hall, lingering for as long as possible and not wanting the experience to end, I said my final goodbyes and hit the road for home.

I had five hours to mull over the week and think about the good times and all I had learned. I couldn’t wait to get home, go online and begin planning my fall veggie garden for the first time.

I felt that I had just upped my self sufficiency and I knew that not a fall would pass again without a little something planted in the garden.

About the Author Karen Keb Acevedo is the editor in chief of Hobby Farms, Hobby Farm Home and the Popular Farming Series, based in Lexington, Ky. 

Categories
Farm Management

Winterize The Farm

barn in winter
laura271GSD1/Flickr

The beef rancher in northern Montana may be more concerned about ice and snow than his Arkansas-based meat goat breeder cousin, but both get cold—as do their animals. And when warmth is the objective, preparation is everything.

Be it winterizing your home or your barns and livestock, choosing cozy winter clothing, or stocking up for those inevitable midwinter storms, the time to act is now … or as early as possible.

When the weatherman promises an ice storm or two feet of snow, you won’t have time (and possibly the resources) for last-minute fixes. And you’d get mighty cold in the process.

The Home
Most homes can be winter-proofed in a day. However, major improvements—such as adding to existing insulation under the floors, between walls and especially in the attics of older farmhouses—sometimes make a dramatic difference in heating bills and winter comfort level. In “the olden days” entire farm families wintered long, frigid months crammed into one or two downstairs rooms of their uninsulated homes. It worked, but for most of us that’s not a welcome thought today!

Consider replacing old-style furnaces since they’re notoriously inefficient. When updating window treatments, think about the winter cold. Wall-length draperies, curtain and shade liners and thermal shades incorporating small, insulative air pockets conserve lots of valuable heat.

Improperly sealed homes waste up to 15 percent of household heating dollars. So on winterizing day, weather-strip and caulk around exterior doors and windows and every opening designed to admit pipes, wires, vents and ducts into your home (such as light fixtures, plumbing pipes, dryer vents, ceiling fans and the like). Don’t forget the attic door or pull-down stairway. Seal early in the season because most caulking materials lose their stickiness when temperatures dip below 45 degrees.

If your home is manufactured, winterize its roof. Seal the edges, seams, around the furnace vent cap and any other openings or cracks with roof sealant formulated for your climate.

Clean all heat registers, vents and duct openings. An industrial-strength vacuum works best but a good household vacuum will do. Re-vacuum them at least once a month, more frequently if you have furry indoor pets.

Service your furnace. Depending on its make and model, clean or replace the air filter now, and again monthly, throughout heating season. Lube the furnace’s blower motor and make certain its thermostat and pilot light are working. Move combustibles away from the furnace and ductwork.

Inspect the chimney or flue. Clean it yourself or hire a chimney sweep to do it, especially if you use wood heat. If you have a fireplace, secure the damper and except when in use, keep it closed throughout heating season—open, it acts as a huge, open window, sucking away heat and creating a draft.

Finally, protect exposed pipes by insulating or wrapping them with heat tape. Follow package instructions exactly since improperly installed tape can start fires. If pipes are already heat taped, check to see that they’re safely wrapped and working properly.

The Barn
When winterizing livestock barns, remember that adequate ventilation is vital to prevent respiratory problems. Don’t plan to button up your barn up tightly—eliminating drafts is sufficient.

Snugly winterize heated areas such as tack rooms and wash racks by caulking and weather-stripping windows and doors, and filling cracks.

Service heaters and well pumps. Check well house insulation and apply heat tape where needed.

Make repairs, give your barn a thorough cleaning and check fences now. Seasonal chores aren’t fun when it’s 10 degrees below zero and a gale force wind is grabbing at your frozen fingers.

Livestock
If your animals require winter clothing, hang up blankets to air and examine them to see if repairs or replacements are needed. It can be nearly impossible to buy quality blankets, locally, during the height of snow season.

Horses, cattle, hogs, sheep, llamas and poultry all require additional calories to generate body heat during cold spells. Know your animals’ needs and stockpile emergency feed to last at least two weeks, preferably longer.

Calculate bedding needs and add an adequate supply to your emergency cache. Make certain your barn’s first-aid kit is fully stocked and stash away extra pharmaceuticals you’d need should your veterinarian be unable to reach you.

During bitter winter months, free access to water is essential. It takes six times as much eaten snow to generate an equal amount of water, and consuming cold substances lowers body heat. Warm water is best, especially for old, young or debilitated animals of all species.

If you’re watering a family poultry flock, one horse or a few goats, you could carry warm water from the house. If you top off frozen buckets with extremely hot water, stand guard to prevent stock from drinking until it melts encrusted ice and cools a bit.

For larger groups drinking from communal water troughs, a tank heater or an automatic heated water bowl is a sound investment.

Plug it into a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) equipped extension cord to prevent shocks. In use, check tank heaters often. A tripped GFCI could mean a frozen water supply, as can a heater fished out and dumped on the floor by playful livestock, especially horses.

If yours play tank heater hockey, build a tank cover. Drill a central hole through a partial sheet of plywood and install this over the tank with an opening at either end, weighting it with rocks, bricks, or whatever is needed to keep it in place. When freeze up arrives, you can thread your heater’s cord through the hole, safely out of reach of inquisitive muzzles. Even using a GFCI equipped model, you may want to fit an exposed cord with a length of PVC pipe to thwart chewing and prevent shorts and shocks.

Keep the tank clean. Scoop out organic matter daily. To clean the tank, bail water into buckets and dump them someplace that won’t create a dangerous ice slick for your animals to navigate. If spills happen, to provide safer footing, put down plenty of bedding material to freeze in with resulting ice. Ice slicks can be sprinkled with rock salt, sand or fresh kitty litter for better traction.

Barn cats and dogs should be factored into winterizing plans. Build them a cozy sleeping nest in a draft-free part of the barn. A travel crate surrounded by baled hay or straw and bedded with loose straw provides the cozy, den-like setting both prefer, but a heap of loose bedding or blankets in a sheltered spot works nearly as well.

Provide size-appropriate winter housing foroutdoor farm dogs. A doghouse should be roomy enough for its occupant to sit up straight or stretch out on his side, but for optimal body-heat retention, don’t make it any bigger. Shift existing doghouses so their doors face away from prevailing winter winds and tack dog flaps over the doorways. Inside, create deep, cushy beds of straw or hay. Blankets, rags and rugs are good but these pack down, making them less insulative than hay. Whatever you choose, set aside extra bedding so you can add more or replace wet material when needed.

When temps plummet below zero, even outdoor dogs should sleep indoors. Include feed and other necessities for barn cats, stock dogs and household pets when stockpiling winter emergency supplies. All need extra calories to stay warm and you don’t want to run out of indoor cat litter while snowbound!

Equipment
To winter-proof your tractor, inspect its hydraulic, fuel and electrical systems. Lube the engine with a lighter-weight winter oil. Check the antifreeze; most tractor manufacturers recommend new antifreeze every two years. To prevent fuel gelling at zero degrees and below, set aside a supply of fuel additive for your diesel tractor. Whether gasoline or diesel, plan to keep your tractor full of fuel throughout those frigid winter months.

A livestock owner must be able to reach the feed mill or vet regardless of what Mother Nature hands him. Check your farm truck’s battery and recharge or replace it if needed. Examine the ignition system; you need a feed-hauler that reliably starts. Install snow tires or all-season radials and toss a set of chains in the back if you think you may need them. Check the brakes and exhaust system too. Exhaust leaks vent carbon monoxide to the cab—a serious problem when windows are cranked up tight. Test existing antifreeze and add more or replace it if needed. Make certain the heater, defroster and both windshield wipers are in good condition and fill up with winter-grade washer fluid.

Finally, sock away a winter household survival cache for your family. In recent years ice storms and blizzards left parts of the country without power for up to three weeks. Would you be prepared? Must-have items include a fully stocked first-aid kit and advance knowledge of how to use it; cooking and drinking water; an adequate food supply, standby items such as candles and plenty of matches, flashlights and a battery-powered radio with spare batteries for each; a supply of cozy blankets or warm sleeping bags; fire extinguishers and amusements such as board games for all family members, especially kids. Establish in advance what your heat source will be and which room or rooms you will heat. Many older farmhouses have capped thimbles in rooms once heated with wood stoves. If yours does and your homeowners insurance allows it, consider installing a standby wood heater or cook stove for the coldest winter months. Get a cord of seasoned hardwood and know how to safely build a fire in your stove of choice. With it, your alternative heat and cooking needs are easily met.

If you use a kerosene or other unvented heater, you’ll have to cross-ventilate the room. Make certain windows on either side can be opened at least an inch.

Don’t ever consider hauling gas or charcoal briquette grills indoors for heating or cooking. It’s never safe (often deadly), nor is using the kitchen range and oven as a heat source.

Water is best stored in clean, glass bottles or two-liter plastic bottles. Water kept in cool, dark locations, stored in plastic bottles stays good for about six months. Or leave four inches of head room in each bottle and store it on a porch or in an outbuilding location where it will freeze and stay frozen. Figure enough water for two weeks of drinking, cooking and personal needs—generally one gallon per person per day.

When planning a winter storm food cache, choose items that require no refrigeration and little or no preparation time, cooking or water. Don’t be adventurous—select foods your family normally eats. If you must cook, use canned heat products such as Sterno or cook on your wood heater. Outdoors, use a camp stove or grill.

Don’t forget to include a manual can opener and because cleanup will be difficult, plenty of sturdy paper plates, paper towels, and prepackaged moist towelettes.

Pack everything in food storage bags and stow these inside moisture and insect-proof food-grade containers (never industrial plastics, lawn or trash bags). Stash it all in a dry, cool spot. When the last winter storm of the season is a memory, use up remaining edibles and set aside the nonperishables for next year’s winter storm survival supply.

Cold is a given most everywhere. Some fear it, many despise it. You need do neither if you plan ahead, act on that plan now, and ease into winter storms prepared. Then when Old Man Winter shrouds your farm with snow and ice, you and your family and stock will be warm, snug and well fed.

Dressing For the Freezing Season
Do iced toes and frost-nipped fingers put a damper on your wintertime chores? Do you pile on sweaters until you feel like the Pillsbury doughboy, but still you shiver and shake?

No more! By combining today’s outdoor wonder fabrics with a smidge of savvy you can ban the midwinter frozen-tootsies blues. The trick to staying snuggly warm when temperatures topple is layering. The beauty of layering: if you dress too warmly, you can peel off a piece or two and stay dry. Sweat creates heat loss via evaporation. The cardinal rule of dressing to stay warm is simple: Avoid sweat—always.

Layer one: long underwear designed to absorb sweat and whisk it away from your body. Yesterday’s cotton long handles won’t do. Cotton absorbs sweat but doesn’t wick, so instead, moisture lingers near your skin, making you feel cold and clammy.

That long underwear standby, polypropylene, does a better job at a fairly modest price but can’t wick moisture unless topped with a highly absorbent second layer such as wool or fleece.

Best bets: today’s non-scratchy woolen weaves, pure silk and blends combining polyester, wool, Lycra and nylon in knits, fleeces and microdenier pile. Whatever long underwear you choose, it must fit snugly but not so tight it constricts.

The items comprising your second warming layer should create dead-air space to slow the loss of body heat. Layer two also continues dissipating moisture, especially if you’ve chosen polypropylene underwear.

It can be one garment or many, depending on weather conditions, your own metabolism and what activity level you plan to pursue. Wool or synthetic fleece pullovers and turtlenecks are sound choices—cotton sweatshirts are not. The entire layer must be loose enough to trap air between each garment but not so bulky that you can’t move.

A third and final layer can be a lightweight windbreaker and pants. Or top just one or two second layer garments with a down or synthetic fill-lined jacket or parka. Whichever, your outermost layer must be windproof, water resistant and breathable. Most of today’s quality outerwear meets these standards; read labels to be sure. Choose a shell, jacket or parka with knit cuffs, wind plackets (a buttoned flap over a zipper closure or vice versa), and zippers with large nylon teeth.

To stay toasty warm on especially frosty days, cover every part of your body. Wear an ear-concealing, closely woven hat with a scarf or neck gaiter, or choose a jacket or parka with a hood. If the temperature falls below zero, pull on a face mask or balaclava. You lose up to 60 percent of your body heat through the top of your head. Hats may not be fashion statements but they’re essential.

Mittens are warmer than gloves. Choose mitts or gloves topped with waterproof, windproof fabric. Slide a chemical heater packet into either and your fingers remain comfy for hours. Wear a single pair of medium-weight socks. Two or more pairs create slippage, and slippage equals blisters. Bulky socks restrict circulation, causing iced feet. Wool, silk, synthetics and blends are great choices but save those cotton socks for warmer months.

Choose winter chore boots with removable liners. Buy at least two sets and wear one while the other dries out. Look for tall tops that secure tightly so snow can’t slip down into the foot area or wear snow gaiters to prevent it. Winter boots must be roomy to accommodate socks without constriction.

This article first appeared in the December/January 2003 issue of Hobby Farms magazine. Pick up a copy at your local newsstand or tack and feed store.