The Longest Days of Summer

As the Summer Solstice approaches we find that we are almost done transplanting veggies and annual flowers into the fields! These last few weeks have been the hottest so far, hitting the upper and 90s and lower 100s without any relief from cloud cover, and a substantial portion of the day is spent irrigating new transplants, old transplants, greenhouses, and perennial gardens. Most days we were running the irrigation gun or tunnel sprinklers constantly, until one day we overheated the pump and electrical system after the water had been on for over 9 hours. Lesson learned - now we are careful to let the pump rest at least once during the middle of the day. 

All plants waiting to go into the ground have been moved outside the prop house, except for tomatoes, eggplant, basil, and peppers. These are hot weather plants, and while the days in Paonia are in the 80s and 90s, the nights reach the low 60s and 50s, and a chill wind blows through the valley every morning. The plants on outdoor tables dry out quickly from the wind in their small containers, and we have learned to check these at least twice a day, watering when needed. 

In the last two weeks we’ve filled more beds with zucchini, cucumber, celery, parsley, and flowers, and thus the far field is now completely planted! Only a few more beds remain out in the field to be filled with annual flowers and zucchini. We will continue to transform the greenhouses as more salad mix goes to seed, planting peppers, basil, eggplant, and tomatoes in their places.

 

Zucchini

The far field, completely planted and being watered with the irrigation gun

Connor and I transplanting peppers into a tunnel

Harvest & Bouquets

Fridays and Saturdays are now being dedicated to harvesting for wholesale and for market on Sunday. We start at 6am to take advantage of the cool mornings and harvest until early afternoon. Friday is also a flower bouqueting day! The ladies of the farm (Kerry, Sarah, myself) cut flowers and ornamental grasses on Friday morning, store the flowers in buckets of water in the cooler, then create $5, $10, $15, and $20 bouquets with other Paonia ladies who come to lend their expertise and artistic talent. The entire afternoon turns into a ladies social event as we merrily bouquet our way through buckets of flowers and catch up on Paonia news. Last Friday we had nearly 10 women bouqueting in the tea house at all times, with others popping in and out, and in a few hours every flower had found a home.

I am humbly new to the skill of bouqueting and so was in charge of creating the $5 and $10 bouquets, learning the art of color compatibility and texture, while watching the more experienced women fashion stunning bouquets fit for weddings and kings (seriously)!

 

Cherry harvest

Simultaneously weeding and harvesting a strawberry patch

Connor harvesting peas

Buckets of flowers wait in the tea house before our bouqueting social event

Rain Crow Goes to Market

At dawn on Sunday morning, Kerry, Jason, Sarah, and I loaded the truck with coolers full of produce and buckets of bouquets in water. As the sun rose over the mountains the ladies drove down the highway out of Paonia, turning onto the gravel road that would lead us over the mountain pass and down into the picturesque town of Crested Butte. The market hosts a variety of vendors, selling everything from produce, herbs, flowers, seeds, and compost, to chocolate, baked breads, herbal remedies, homemade pies, barbecue, and artwork.

Rain Crow Farm has two tents, about 6 tables, and three flower stands. When it comes to market, presentation is everything. We artfully arranged all of the best chards, kale, radishes, turnips, lettuce, cabbages, salad mixes, herbs, sugar snap peas, cherries, and strawberries we had been harvesting over the last two days into colorful tins of water and wicker baskets. The flower bouquets that had been created on Friday, over 50 bouquets in total, were displayed in the front on the three stands and on two tables. I am proud to say that when we were finished, the effect of the many colored and textured bouquets and the pops of red cherries and strawberries amongst the crisp greenery was quite stunning.

The strawberries and farm fresh chicken eggs went first, no surprises there. We were the only stand who had brought strawberries. While we weren’t the only stand with flowers, we did have the greatest variety, and bouquets steadily left their stands in the hands of their new owners. Bags of salad greens and even nettles were sought after, as well as bunches of kale, collards and garlic scapes. Almost everyone left with a bag of peas and cherries each, and by the end of the market every last cherry was gone. Time well spent by Connor and Jason! When the 4 hour market was all said and done, the 8 or so coolers and boxes we’d brought had been reduced down to 1, and almost every bouquet had found a home. A solid first market!

 

Buckets of flower bouquets sit on tables and stands in front of our tent

The following is a passage from the book "The Prophet" by Kahlil Gibran about the meaning of work, and it's a passage that is lovingly remembered and read each season on the farm when the days lengthen and the tasks seem endless.

"You work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth. For to be idle is to become a stranger unto the seasons, and to step out of life's procession that marches in majesty and proud submission towards the infinite.

When you work you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music. Which of you would be a reed, dumb and silent, when all else sings together in unison?

When you work you fulfill a part of earth's furthest dream, assigned to you when that dream was born, and in keeping yourself with labour you are in truth loving life, and to love life through labour is to be intimate with life's inmost secret.

And all work is empty save when there is love.

And what is it to work with love?

It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart, even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth.

It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.

It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy, even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit.

It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit,

And to know that all the blessed dead are standing about you and watching.

Work is love made visible."

~Kahlil Gibran

From The Prophet

A tiger swallowtail butterfly warns off predators with its bright, outstretched wings

Enjoying some shade and learning about beekeeping on a day off!