A time for everythiNG
Written by Serena Koch
As we reach the last few weeks of summer harvest, a well known passage in Ecclesiastes has been on my mind:
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2
God created natural rhythms in our lives by way of seasons, like an internal clock that tells us when it’s time to grind or time to rest and recuperate.
After clearing the zucchini and summer squash garden bed this past week, we started preparing it for the winter season— smoothing out a layer of compost over the ground before topping it with straw mulch for cover in the cold months. It was time to let the ground rest.
It’s only natural to feel the deep tired that comes at the end of summer. And while there is always work to be done and preparations to be made for the following seasons, it’s also important to listen to our bodies if they are telling us to rest, reflect, or slow down for a while. It’s countercultural, for sure. And true rest likely looks different from what the world says that it is, but it’s an undeniable component of our humanity.
There is a time for everything. After the hectic and beautiful chaos of summer, let your body and soul be still. As the seasons change, so do we. It’s time to rest.
Life lessons from a cucumber
Written by Serena Koch
There were certain things I knew I’d experience while working on a vegetable farm– reconnecting with the land, watching things grow, being outside. But something I did not expect was the number of life metaphors I continue to encounter as I work day after day on Adama Farm. Beyond the obvious metaphors like “we all go through different seasons of life” or “constant weeding of the bad things in our lives is necessary,” there are also some slightly more obscure metaphors that can only be appreciated as you spend consistent time with the land and plants around you.
The plant that I’ve probably been metaphorically struck by the most is the cucumber plant. Adama Farm has four beds of cucumbers in one of its high tunnels, and I’ve been watching those babies grow since their seedling days. Even before planting the seedlings in the high tunnels, I observed each of the plants grow long, slender green tendrils that would coil around whatever stem or leaf on a neighboring plant they could find and start to strangle it. No matter how many times we snipped off these tendrils, more would grow back.
Once we had the cucumber plants in the high tunnels, I noticed something that shocked me even more: when certain tendrils weren’t able to reach the plants next to them, they would instead spiral onto one of their own branches in an attempt to self-trellis.
And that was when I realized what the cucumber plants were teaching me about in life: codependency and self sabotage.
Our cucumber plants started thriving when we gave them their own trellis to grow on. When we are able to create and hold good boundaries in our lives, we can establish healthy relationships with others that encourage individual growth alongside (not intermeshed with) others.
We also need to take care to not sabotage ourselves. Whether that sabotage manifests itself in doubt, insecurity, negativity, or a variety of other complex emotions, we need to be aware of the tendrils in our own lives and chop them before they start to impact our overall well being.
There is so much to learn (and be reminded of!) as we plant, grow, and harvest vegetables. If you haven’t had the chance yet to garden for yourself, give it a try! Even if that simply means growing some herbs or becoming an indoor plant parent, you’ll find it is extremely rewarding to be an active participant in the growing process. You’ll probably even discover some life metaphors of your own.
Growing Zinnias and Dahlias
Written by Jessica Davies
I am a seasoned veggie farmer, but I am certainly not a seasoned flower farmer. However, growing and processing cut flowers is something that I am trying to learn more about during my down time. Last year, I was working as an apprentice at Amber Waves Farm in Amagansett, NY. Amber Waves Farm focused on growing vegetables, flowers and grain. During my apprenticeship I worked mostly with veggies, but for two weeks I had the opportunity to learn about growing cut flowers. I received hands on experience seeding, growing, harvesting and processing cut flowers. Although my two week experience was short and limited, I soaked up every bit of information and became absolutely obsessed with cut flowers. There’s something magical about working with cut flowers; picking them first thing in the morning while the sun is still low, being surrounded by vibrant and unique beauty, and meditatively making floral arrangements in the afternoon - it was a practice that felt peaceful to me. I also began to feel inspired and challenged again. That’s not to say that I didn’t feel inspired by growing vegetables, but I did reach a point during the season where I felt as though I wasn’t necessarily learning anything new. My love for growing great veggies will always remain, but flowers are simply unexplored territory for me. Offering organic beauty with customers, rather than organic nourishment is a different but satisfying way of feeding a persons soul.
For those who don’t know, I have an art and design background. For the majority of my childhood and teenage life, I always thought that I would pursue some sort of artistic career. And in some ways, I believe that I am achieving that through farming. Working with cut flowers not only resonates with my artistic brain, but it reignited my fire and passion for art and design.
While riding the wave of my new flower farming obsession, I began to do more research. I stumbled across a documentary series titled ‘Growing Floret’. This series inspired me, to my core, instantly. Growing Floret is a four-part series that follows flower farmer and seed breeder, Erin Benzakein, through her journey of growing her farm. Each episode is centered around a specific season and explores what it takes to grow a creative business. When I found out that Erin sells her flower seeds online, I knew that I had to get my hands on them for Adama Farm.
I was able to purchase zinnia and dahlia seeds for Adama Farms first growing season. Flowers were never part of my veggie-focused crop plan for the season, but I was determined to incorporate them somehow. Growing cut flowers on a small production scale, with little flower experience was a risk. But it was a risk that excited me.
ZINNIAS:
I learned that zinnias attract beneficial insects and repel harmful insects that might harm my crops. With this information, I decided to plant zinnias along the edge of the farm, as a protective border for my vegetable crops. Zinnias are one of the easiest cut flowers to grow and are great for beginners and they have proven to be reliable and prolific producers.
I seeded the zinnias in the spring, and planted them in the field once all danger of frost was behind us. Zinnias resent cold weather and prefer to be planted after things have warmed up a bit. Before planting in the field, I generously fertilized and composted the flower bed with an organic fertilizer and organic sifted compost. For plant spacing, I did three rows in my 40in bed, 9-12 inches apart. I didn’t have irrigation set up for these flowers for a very long time, so I resorted to hand watering each individual plant in the beginning. When the plants reached 8 to 12 inches tall, I pinched them just above a set of leaves. Pinching will signal the plant to send multiple stems from below where the cut was made. This means more blooms! To tell when a zinnia is ready to harvest, I resort to the “wiggle test”. I simply grab the stem at the base and wiggle the stem. If the flower flops around, it is not ready to cut. If the stem is stiff, it is ready to cut.
Overall, the zinnias have performed beautifully, despite lack of water in its early stages. I have been cutting the zinnias for market bouquets and display arrangements.
DAHLIAS:
Dahlias are a more complex flower to grow, but I was determined to grow dahlias from seed this year. Dahlias aren’t typically grown by seed. In fact, they’re usually grown by planting a tuber. But one of the most exciting discoveries I learned was how new dahlia varieties are created. Dahlias grown from seed offer something that’s never existed before. Meaning, if I find a dahlia I love that was grown from seed, I get to name it and save the tubers for the following year for planting. The tubers grow under the soil and will give you an exact clone of the flower when planted the following year. Tubers also multiply; so year after year I will be accumulating more and more dahlia tubers for planting.
I seeded the dahlias in my greenhouse about 7 weeks before I wanted to plant them out. After seeding, I placed the trays on heat mats. Dahlias prefer an extra bit of warmth for germination. I waited for all danger of frost to pass before planting the dahlias outside in a raised bed. To prepare the raised bed, I applied a good amount of organic sifted compost, organic potting soil and organic fertilizer. I spaced the dahlias 12 inches apart. Similarly to the zinnias, I pinched the plant once they grew to about 8-12 inches tall.
The dahlias bloomed later than the zinnias and more sporadically, but wow, they are beautiful! As I continue to discover more varieties that I love, I will flag the flower, dig up the tuber at the end of the season, preserve the tuber and plant the tuber the following year. I learned from Erin that Dahlias grown from seed produce miniature clumps of tubers that are often not big enough to divide, so it’s best to store them together in a bag with peat moss or vermiculite in a cool place that doesn’t freeze.
If you haven’t grown dahlias from seed, I recommend it! It is a very exciting experience to discover new flower varieties.
Harvesting & Curing Onions in a greenhouse
Written by Jessica Davies
Onions are usually ready to harvest when the stems of the crop fall and or start to turn brown. We planted two onion slip varieties in mid April: Cabernet and White Candy. Onion slips are a great alternative to growing from seed. We didn’t have enough space in our seed starting greenhouse to start onions from seed, so we bought onion slips from Keene Organics, a local garlic and onion seed producer.
The past couple of weeks, I noticed that the onions should be harvested soon; the bulbs were emerging from the ground and the leaves we starting to turn yellow. We waited for a dry day to harvest all of our onions. Harvesting onions on a dry, sunny day will help mitigate any chance of rot while the onions are curing.
After harvesting all the onions, we set them aside in our greenhouse to cure. We laid them out on our greenhouse tables with the stem and skin still on. We turned on two large box fans and opened the sides of our greenhouse for proper ventilation. Curing onions in a greenhouse is a great option if you have a greenhouse, because this method will speed up the curing process by weeks. Curing onions in a greenhouse will require a few things, however.
You will need:
-70% shade cloth. (This is to block out a good amount of sunlight, because onions, like garlic, prefer a shaded curing space.)
-Greenhouse tables that allow air flow / racks. (It is important that the onions have as much airflow as possible.)
-Proper ventilation / fans. (Fans will help mitigate any chance of rot and speed up the curing process.)
Over the next few days we will rotate the onions by a few degrees so that the entire onion is cured and drys evenly. After about 2-3 weeks of curing in the greenhouse, the onions are ready for long term storage in a pantry or dry storage area.
Planting Garlic
Written by Jessica Davies
Garlic is planted in the fall. It is usually the last crop of the season to be planted. Adama Farm is located in Northern IL, so Garlic gets planted around mid-October, 4-6 weeks prior to freeze. From my experience, it is better to plant garlic late, rather than early. Make sure not to plant the garlic in wet soil; garlic seed is more susceptible to rotting in wet soil. I was planning on planting my garlic early October due to an early frost, but ended up waiting because we received 4 inches of rain.
Since Garlic is a heavy feeder, it’s important to fertilize garlic with a well rounded, all purpose organic fertilizer or compost.
At Adama Farm, our no-till beds are made up of organic compost. Before planting, I fertilized the garlic with a local and organic garlic fertilizer (5-2-2-1) from Keene Garlic.
Quick Growing Guide:
Separate the cloves from the bulb.
Fertilize the area you plan on planting.
Plant garlic into prepared soil about 4-6 inches deep, 9-12 inches apart. Make sure that the root side of the clove is facing down.
Cover the tip of the clove with about 1-2 inches of soil.
Cover all garlic with 3-6 inches of mulch and wait until the spring to see the garlic pop up! I used weed free straw mulch to cover the garlic beds.
In the Spring and Summer, weed often.
If you planted hard-neck garlic like me, pick all of the scapes off the garlic plant in June. Garlic scapes are super tasty and can be enjoyed in a variety of ways. Eat them!
Harvest the garlic when 50% of the leaves are dried, yellowish brown in color.
Cure the garlic out of the sun and in an area with good air flow. Curing could take about 3 weeks.
Properly store the garlic so it may last as long as possible. Enjoy.
Cornelian Cherry Jam
Written by Jessica Davies
Cornelian cherries are similar in taste to tart cherries and can be used for jams, jellies, pies, syrups and wine. The fruit is high in vitamin C and is widely used in holistic / folk medicine to treat diabetes, digestive health and liver health. At Adama Farm, we have a handful of cornelian cherry trees that produce an abundant amount of cherries- available for purchase upon request.
I personally enjoy cornelian cherries in a jam / jelly form. The delicious spread pairs great with some bread and butter, a variety of desserts and can also be incorporated into a charcuterie board!
Ingredients:
4 cups cornelian cherries, pitted.
3 cups water, (add more if necessary).
2 cups sugar.
1/4 cup lemon juice or orange juice.
Directions:
Bring water to a boil in a large pot and add sugar. Stir sugar until dissolved.
Add cornelian cherries, lemon juice or orange juice to the pot and simmer for 30-40 minutes. Add more water if necessary to prevent it from running dry.
Stir the mixture while gently mashing the cherries.
Once the mixture begins to gel and reaches a good consistency, pour the hot jam into (prepared canning) jars. You may also strain some of the excess juice and use as a syrup. Enjoy!
Elderberry Syrup Recipe
It all begins with an idea.
Written by Jessica Davies
Elderberries are known to maintain a healthy immune system. They are typically enjoyed in syrup form because when combined with sugar or honey, the honey acts as a natural preservative for the beneficial berries. Not to mention, the flavor of elderberries is very tasty and sweet! Elderberry syrup pairs well with other ingredients, like chia seed pudding. The syrup can also be used as a topping for pancakes, waffles, oatmeal or desserts. Make sure to purchase organic, frozen elderberries directly from Adama Farm when visiting. To request a share of elderberries now, please email adamafarmllc@gmail.com and pick-up from the farm directly.
Indigents:
1 cup Adama Farm elderberries
2 cups water
1 cinnamon stick
2-3 tablespoons ginger root
1 cup of raw local honey (double the amount of sweetener to increase shelf life)
Directions:
Combine berries and herbs with cold water in pot and bring to a boil
Reduce heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes.
Remove from heat and let steep for 1 hour.
Strain berries and herbs and funnel elderberry liquid into a glass jar.
Once liquid has cooled, stir in honey.
Store in the refrigerator.