Posts Tagged ‘ryan’

Cucumbers Return, Workers on the Way Out

September 17th, 2008
Four Frog Farm | Blog

From The Farm - August

 

I didn’t realize it, but, we had a lot of cucumbers for the market today.  It was a surprise.  I’m looking forward to re-juicing the CSA with the cucs.  We tried celery at the market today.  Some sold.  I cut individual stalks, not the whole plant, so a lot of shoppers didn’t even know that it was celery.  So, I realize that it must be labeled very well in the future.  Also, it is a lot darker green than store celery, so…yeah.  I like it.  I guess that counts for something.I am downsizing at the farm.  Ryan’s on his way out.  His last week has come.  Cristen is also leaving.  She has volunteered on the farm for much of the summer, beginning in late June.  I’ll be putting in full days from now on, but, with only four more weeks of CSA left, there isn’t an overwhelming amount of work.  Just an honest days’ work for one man.I feel relieved that the CSA is coming to a close, and everyone’s had full boxes, and full bellies.  I realize I can’t please everyone.  That is part of CSA.  Some will do it only this once, some for a lifetime.  It’s not for everyone because you can’t decide what you get.  That is CSA at Wildgrace this year.  It may change next year, where the members have their choice.  However, I don’t know.  Anyway, as one member (Lee from Peaceful Valley) put it, you don’t invest in the farmer, you invest in the farm.  I agree. CSA is an investment in the farm.  It is meant to keep it around so that there is always fresh food around the corner, and land under good management.


Back From Vacation

September 5th, 2008
Four Frog Farm | Blog

I am so sorry to you guys, my avid readers (are you out there?).  I took a vacation this week.  My superman/stupid man status has ended.  I went to backpack in the Sierras with my dad this last week.  It was great.  I really needed a vacation, so badly.

Ry and Chris held down the farm this week.  I am so thankful to them.  They did an incredible job.  Thank you to them.

So, I’m back and I’m doing a market tomorrow (Saturday).  I was reading a lot of “Managing Cover Crops Profitably” (you can get it through, none other than, Peaceful Valley).  It is giving me some great ideas about managing cover crops and the nature of tilling.  I highly recommend this to other farmers with cover-cropping schemes.

andrew


My Apologies

September 2nd, 2008
Four Frog Farm | Blog
So it has been a long time since my last blog. I am sorry for all those avid fans of mine, who have been waiting endlessly for my now, monthly updates. Life has seemed to take a big turn since our help has arrived. Farming hasn’t been that secluded life of living on the land fantasy. It has been much more social and vaired than I could have ever thought. Our days and nights are very full of activity. It seems like everyone in town wants to make friends with their local farmers. It has been… Read the rest of this article »

Help!!!

June 26th, 2008
Four Frog Farm | Blog
So Andrew and I were on the farm mostly by ourselves for the past two months, except for the weekend visits by Andrea. I was working about 50 hours a week and Drew was working much more. And than all of a sudden in one week we have four more people on the farm. Andrea is back for good with our good friend Zoe, and our other good friend Cristen is working on the farm for a good portion of the summer. It is amazing how quickly things can change. The farm is now filled with the vibrant energy of four… Read the rest of this article »

Grass is not always greener

June 13th, 2008
Four Frog Farm | Blog
I’m not sure if all farmers have this problem or if it is just part of the first year of doing farm work. I wake up most mornings and it feels like I was in a car crash the night before. It takes my body a good 10 minutes before it gets it used to movement again. I might be weird, but I love this feeling. It makes me feel like I am using every muscle and joint that my body was designed for. Although, I have not been enjoying the sharp pain in my lower left back and right knee, which are all… Read the rest of this article »

Returning

May 22nd, 2008
Four Frog Farm | Blog
I was away from the farm for about 12 days, and when I got back the farm looked unreal. Everything had literally doubled in size. The broccoli which previously had been healthy but small, was now forming crowns the size of my hands. It is so amazing the work the sun and soil do for us. Like Andrew says, “we don’t do the work we are just the facilitators.” The farm is really coming along and I am starting to see the vision take fold. We have about 75 percent of the field planted… Read the rest of this article »

First Market

May 21st, 2008
Four Frog Farm | Blog
This last Saturday Andrea and I packed up the truck, left Ryan at the farm to take care of the recently transplanted veggies, and went to our first farmers’ market.  It was a blazing hot morning for mid-May. We brought mostly heat-sensitive greens, such as kale, lettuce mix, spring salad mix.  We arrived at the market area at 7am and our booth area was already in a beam of sun.  So, I drove to the nearest store to get an EZ-Up, only to find the store was still closed.  I returned to the… Read the rest of this article »

Growing In More Ways than One Ryan’s Journal

April 30th, 2008
Four Frog Farm | Blog
As a first-year farm hand, I was overwhelmed at first by the size of the field. I had the realization that the only way this field would be planted was by Andrew and my own bare hands. This should not overwhelm the first year farmer. Take one bed at a time and before you know it, half of your field will be planted. It is a journey watching the field ever expand and become the vision Andrew is dreaming. I never thought I would be so excited to go to work everyday just to see if the seeds we planted… Read the rest of this article »

Ryan’s first entry

April 23rd, 2008
Four Frog Farm | Blog
This is my first entry of the Freshmen Farmer Blog. My name is Ryan Montgomery,  and I am going to be Andrew’s main helper on the farm for the season. I have known Andrew since I was two and we have been pretty much best buds ever since. Andrew told me he was starting his own farm about 5 months ago and asked me to help. I kind of was hestitant at first, but then I jumped on the chance. I figured this would be a great adventure and something I needed to experience in my life. I am very… Read the rest of this article »
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Wet Stuff

April 23rd, 2008
Four Frog Farm | Blog
Photo from Wikipedia What were those wet drops falling from the heavens today?  Someone said it was “raining”, although it has been so long since something like that happened that it feels like an ethereal dream.  Anyway, it seems to be beneficial for the earth, so I am pretty happy about it. In other news, the tomatoes are doing well… about 10 or so bit the dust over the weekend as the temps dipped low, but the other couple hundred made it through fine.  We’ve… Read the rest of this article »

Three farms are starting from scratch.

They are turning the dirt and hoping to be successful enough to turn a profit, and to become a valuable part of their communities as suppliers of organically grown food.

Peaceful Valley is giving them a head start by offering them special pricing as part of this Freshman Farmer program.

The Farm Blogs

Freshman:
New Farms Coming Soon!
Sophomores:
Daily Grace Farms
Crescent City, CA
Freestone Family Farm
Vernal, UT
Wise Moon Farm
Redding, CA
Graduates:
Coyote House Farm
Palermo, CA
DeepSeeded Community Farm
Arcata, CA
Driftwood Farm
Fort Bragg, CA
EarthDance Farm
St. Louis, MO
Ellwood Canyon Farms
Goleta, CA
Four Frog Farm
Penn Valley, CA
Hand Sown Homegrown Heritage Farm
Poulsbo, WA
Home Plate Organic Farm
Orleans, CA
Honey in the Heart Farm
Nevada City, CA
Willow Springs Farm
Penn Valley, CA

Blog Topics

About the Farms

Coyote House Farm
Palermo, CA
Daily Grace Farms
Crescent City, CA
DeepSeeded Community Farm
Arcata, CA
Driftwood Farm
Fort Bragg, CA
EarthDance Farm
St. Louis, MO
Ellwood Canyon Farms
Goleta, CA
Four Frog Farm
Penn Valley, CA
Freestone Family Farm
Vernal, UT
Hand Sown Homegrown Heritage Farm
Poulsbo, WA
Home Plate Organic Farm
Orleans, CA
Honey in the Heart Farm
Nevada City, CA
Willow Springs Farm
Penn Valley, CA
Wise Moon Farm
Redding, CA

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