The early morning quiet of the Palermo countryside is disrupted by the low rumbling of an engine.  Growling like Kingdom Come, the juggernaut crests the hill.  Is it an Abram’s?  A Panzer?  It is a Ford F350 from the Great American Pump Company bringing in our new 3000 gallon tank.  I am as giddy as a tweenager at a Hannah Montana concert.

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Dustin and Daniel do a great job making the pad and hooking up the new tank to our existing irrigation system.  They also gave us the time to work on our starts and insulation in the field shed.  This is work I don’t mind outsourcing.

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After they left we started refilling the line.  The water was coming out slow.  I reasoned that it was because I did not have a vent at the head of the main irrigation line and the last manifold where air could leave the system was still about 40 or 50 feet below the tank.  So any remaining air would have to fight past hundreds of gallons of water in the line and the tank to leave and be replaced by water.

I could build a “T” at the point where the tank line meets the irrigation line to create a vent.  I could put a valve on this vent to let the air escape there instead of past the water in the tank.  The upward stretching pipe would need to be taller than the waterline in the tank or it wouldn’t do any good (It would fill with water from the tank.).  That means I would either need a pretty tall pipe for my vent, which would be vulnerable unless I braced it a lot, or did my venting when the tank was low.

As much fun as all of this is (I often call our farm “20 acres of math problems”), I know I won’t be bleeding our system very often.  I can simply disconnect the tank line from the irrigation main and let the water pour in like water from a ewer (Crossword puzzle word!).  It takes about 10 to 15 minutes.  Work on the mindfulness.

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The insulation in the field shed is made from recycled blue jeans.  Aside from being more sustainable, it is much easier to work with.  We camp in the field shed so we can have longer work days in  tougher weather.  This stuff is making it more comfortable.

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The trees would cut capers on the forecastle if they could.  They are loving the cycle of rain and warm, rain and warm, and we get another one coming up this week.  We had planned four workdays to take care of the tank along with our other work, but with it done we can start the rabbit fence earlier.

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Last year we built a deer fence from 80 pound test fishing line.  It worked.  We were very happy with that.  The rabbits are another issue.  Cursing at them does not seem to work.  We’ll be building a fence for them.

I got an email from our CCOF inspector.  She’ll be out in the area half past April and wants to do our inspection then.  I thought the CCOF process would take longer and we would have produce sooner, but was wrong on both counts.  It’s a business decision to keep the certification current instead of letting it lapse and start again.

Angela, the tomatoes survived!  I wouldn’t recommend what we did as a Best Practice, but there might be something to part of it.

This is our daughter, Robin.  In addition to being a 4H All-star and wunderkind, she’s a checker at the local organic food store.  We are so proud (sniff!).  And we get a discount!

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The growing season is over for us.  It has been for a while since we pulled the last of the veggies out of the test field and turned off that branch of the irrigation.  The trees are doing well and take as much attention as well-behaved teenagers with social lives of their own.  It’s a society of mutual respect. The stuccoing continues.  I spare you more gray pictures.  We do have a shiny red mixer now, though!  We got the first coat on just before the first rain.  The bale moisture… Read the rest of this article »

We just got our CCOF certification letter.  Start to finish that was 84 days.  That included: 1.  Completing the CDFA application 2.  Getting a CDFA registration number from the County Ag Commissioner 3.  Getting a pesticide report letter (for the lack thereof) from the County Ag commissioner 4.  Completing the CCOF application 5.  Site inspection by the CCOF I’ll tally up the costs a little later.  We can apply for reimbursement up to $750 in California… Read the rest of this article »

Hello, My name is Andrew.  You may remember me from such rants as not agreeing, on principle, with organic certification and needing approval and validation by the government to sell “organic” food.  Is my produce any less “organic” because it doesn’t have the CCOF seal of approval.  What a bunch of balooney…at least that’s what I said. As of Ferbruary 17thish, 2009, Four Frog Farm became a real organic farm, according to CCOF and our beloved government.… Read the rest of this article »