Dropstone Farms

After at least one (maybe two?) years of thinking about it, and deciding it would be too hard, and wishing I had done it, I’ve finally signed up for Laura at Urban Hennery’s Dark Days Challenge. From November 15 – March 31, eat one meal a week that’s as SOLE (Sustainable, Organic, Local, Ethical) as possible, then blog it. Laura will round them up weekly and we can all see what everyone else is eating, and get inspiration from each other. It’s extra hard in the winter, though it helps if you have been busy preserving all winter. We didn’t can nearly as much as I had hoped — it was a tough season in many ways, but we’re almost through — but there’s a lot of good stuff in the freezer and much still in the ground, plus our two easily-accessible year-round farmers’ markets to supply what we didn’t manage to grow ourselves (Brussels sprouts, parsnips).

Anyway — join us in the Dark Days Challenge! Sign up here, and let me know so we can commiserate in, like, February.

2 Comments »

This is not legal advice, please consult your county extension. That’s what they’re there for.

I like compost, soil likes compost, worms like compost. Everyone likes compost. You know what I don’t like? Pathogens. Pathogens and weed seeds that show up in uncomposted manure. At last year’s Tilth Producers conference I attended a workshop on static aerated composting given by Scott and Amy Turner of Blue Dog Farm. (Actually, I’m not positive it was both of them presenting because that’s not in my notes)

At any rate, there are rules governing the spreading of manure on Organic farms that specify a certain window prior to harvest (90-120 days, depending) but, once you’ve composted manure, it is no longer manure, it’s compost. However, I could not find a reliable source* for when manure counts as compost. And it was a tricky research problem especially for someone who doesn’t read legal writing particularly well. The Wisconsin State DNR links to the s. NR 502.04, Wis. Adm. Code [PDF 194KB] Compost Performance Standards which includes the following paragraph alluding to a national standard:

(h) Materials resulting from composting shall be:
1. Stabilized to eliminate pathogenic organisms and to ensure that the materials do not reheat upon standing.
2. Free of sharp particles which could cause injury to persons handling the material.
3. Free of toxins which could cause detrimental impacts to public health or the environment.
Note: Pathogens are defined in ch. NR 204 as “disease causing organisms, including but not limited to certain bacteria, protozoa, viruses and viable helminth ova.”
Appropriate methods for pathogen elimination during composting are specified in 40 CFR, Part 257, Appendix II, Section B:
1. For in−vessel or static aerated pile composting, maintain a continuous minimum temperature of 55° C, or 131°F, for a minimum of 3 consecutive days.
2. For windrow composting, attain a minimum temperature of 55°C, or 131°F, on a minimum of 15 days, which are not required to be consecutive, and turn the windrow a minimum of 5 times during the high temperature periods.

The document referenced at the state level is40 CFR : Protection of the Environment, a monstrous collection of regulations that the EPA has thoughtfully put online (Good jobs, folks!). The section relevant to reducing pathogens in compost states the following:

Composting: Using the within-vessel composting method, the solid waste is maintained at operating conditions of 55 °C or greater for three days. Using the static aerated pile composting method, the solid waste is maintained at operating conditions of 55 °C or greater for three days. Using the windrow composting method, the solid waste attains a temperature of 55 °C or greater for at least 15 days during the composting period. Also, during the high temperature period, there will be a minimum of five turnings of the windrow.

So, as I read the codes, manure qualifies as compost then the following conditions are met:

Also, let’s take a moment to thank the EPA and WDNR for doing such a great job indexing and making available these documents.

Edit: After going through all that, I found the composting page at extension.org which states the following:

The interesting thing is that I misread the regulations. I assumed that both a windrow (long stack of material) and vessel (big box) needed to stay above 131°F for three consecutive days and that composting in a bin also required turning. I was misinformed. Or, more accurately, I misinformed myself. Curiously, the federal standards are less rigorous than my own, personal standards.

My compost pile with the temperature around 155° F. ZOOM! say the bacteria.

*No, my recollection of a conference session is not reliable.

5 Comments »

Good news, everyone! Senate Bill 5350 passed in Washington state. What does this mean? Simple. Previously, it was legal to process chickens on-farm and sell them directly to customers on the farm premises without hiring a WSDA approved slaughterhouse. Thanks to the passage of this bill, the exemption is now extended to all poultry. This is great news for people that want to buy a turkey or a duck directly from a farmer. From talking to the friends and family for whom we’re raising a test batch of six turkeys this year, I can tell you that there are a tremendous number of people who want to buy poultry raised cleanly and humanely on a small farm and who are willing to pay extra for it. Prior to this, there was no way for us to legally sell farm-slaughtered non-chicken poultry to people. Frustrating.

This is a great, common sense piece of legislation because, if small-scale chicken operations don’t require WSDA inspection, why should other poultry? Conversely, if other small poultry require inspection, why don’t chickens? It’s just inconsistent. The only reason I can think of is that, when the legislation granting the exemption was originally written, they simply overlooked other meat birds. This has now been corrected. Our regulatory apparatus for food is seriously and epically flawed–I won’t argue that–but this is yet another example of how I’m seeing our state-level regulatory bodies doing a great job of improving things.

So, if you want a turkey or a duck or a goose for the holidays, let us know. We’ll see if we can raise one (humanely, happily, cleanly, and deliciously) for you. It’s legal now!

On a similar note, I posted another rant about regulations here at the Civil Eats food policy blog. I’m kind of pleased with it so I’ve reproduced it below.

“As a farmer and an eater, I believe very strongly in regulation. I just believe in good regulation.

Despite the poorly written and ill-conceived regulation that are coming out at the (usually) federal level, there are some bright spots in food safety. One example with which I’m familiar is the Washington State Department of Agriculture who, from the ground up, are coming up with some very sane regulations that both ensure safety more effectively (in my opinion) and are more small-farm-friendly than the cumbersome and prescriptive regulations that we love to complain about.

For example, at a Tilth Producers conference a couple of years ago I attended a session on small dairy certification hosted by a farmer and a representative of the WSDA. The farmer indicated that one of the challenges of certification in Washington is that the regulations specify *results*, not methods. It’s left to the farmer to figure out how to meet sanitation goals, not how to pay for the specified equipment. As an eater, I don’t care how far the domestic animals are from my greens, I care that the result of the handling is food free of contamination. A small farmer can spare the attention to detail to manage handling as intensively as a small farmer must manage production.

An example of WSDA’s sane approach to regulation is that, when a farmer found the requirement for a commercial dishwasher too onerous, he was able to demonstrate to the local inspector that a consumer model dishwasher offered the same results as the commercial dishwasher at a fraction of the cost. Thus, the inspector was (rightly) satisfied, the farmer was able to produce dairy at the appropriate scale, and the consumer was assured of a clean and wholesome product thanks to the active, critical, and results-oriented involvement of the agency as well as the diligence of the farmer in researching the problem instead of being forced to focus on regulations.”

Remember folks, good government matters and small changes can make a very big difference on the local level.

3 Comments »

So, thanks to a great post at Civil Eats about Petaluma, CA, I became aware of a tool called a “short hoe.”

Stolen shamelessly from the Smithsonian.

The short hoe is a particularly brutal piece of equipment that forces a farm worker to bend double in order to use it for weeding.This offends me on a number of levels.

As a gardener, I’m pissed off because Cesar Chavez’s hoe (the one shown above) is a piss-poor design of a hoe that’s no good for any sort of weeding. As a human being, I’m pissed off that someone would willingly force their employees to use a tool that is so debilitating and cruel. What do you think is going to happen when you force a grown person to work bent double all day? And that’s an agricultural day, not a white-collar day.

I remember when I did two-and-a-half years of a four-year stretch in Walla Walla (what others would call my undergrad) and I saw farm workers bent double in the fields cutting asparagus. I have never since been able to eat asparagus without thinking about the labor that it takes to bring it to my table. And I’m extremely privileged. I don’t eat asparagus until it’s locally available and, in all likelihood, harvested by a hard-working upper-class graduate of Evergreen University’s excellent agriculture program. But still…

In our neck of the woods, the farmers’ markets have started handing out bumper stickers that read “No Farms, No Food” which is absolutely true, but at the last Tilth Producers of Washington conference I saw a bumper sticker that read “No Farmworkers, No Food,” which might be even more true. We owe the food that we eat to the mostly Mexican, mostly immigrant people that labor for our food. The business plan that Lauren & I have right now doesn’t involve employees, but if we do have to hire someone it’s going to be a real challenge to do right by her.

6 Comments »

Hey new chicken! Let’s have cuddles!, originally uploaded by laurenipsum.

This is Mr. Klassy. He is a Polish rooster. He came from our friend in Seattle, who cannot have roosters due to noise. He is not crowing yet, but he is trying …

I am on my way to a Kitsap Community & Agriculture Alliance meeting right now. Local readers should read their blog and get involved! Meetings are the second Tuesday of the month in Bremerton. If you’re coming from Bainbridge, or anywhere in between, let us know and we can see about a carpool situation.

1 Comment »

So, network issues at work provided my with a day to research various greenhouse options.

We’ve had such success with the hoophouses that I’m really fired up to get a real greenhouse going in the spring. My first inspiration came from the Westside Gardener whose site is full of Cascadian goodness. Minus incidentals, this is $110 for the frame of a 10′ x 20′ greenhouse. This is awesome. I’m a little concerned about keeping plastic attached in our periodic windstorms and I don’t relish the thought of coming home and finding a springs worth of starts wind damaged. Can’t beat the price though.

What I really want, however, is a shiny, pre-made Solexx greenhouse. I mean, Solexx! It’s got *two* Xs which makes it twice as cool as competing coverings. The deal with solexx is that it’s a semi-rigid double-walled plastic that diffuses sunlight and provides insulation. It’s also fairly expensive at almost $600 to cover a 10×16 greenhouse. It’s got an 8-year warranty though, and I count myself lucky to be able to reuse plastic a second year. Actual greenhouse plastic might last longer though. Plus, solexx wants braces every 16-24″, which means more costs for the frame and more time invested in building the structure.

A third option is clear plastic corrugated panels which cost $30 each. They do have the advantage of being permanent but I haven’t spec’ed out the costs of building a structure robust enough to support a rigid panel that can’t flex in the wind like plastic or Solexx.

My biggest question revolves around whether it makes sense to spring for Solexx? It may be that, in our mild climate, the amount of sunlight is going to limit growth much more than temperature. I’m not planning on heating the greenhouse but I’ll expect to run growlights for seedlings. The other constraint is that I want a semi-portable structure. Lauren and I need to be able to drag the greenhouse around out lot depending on need, soil rotation, and available light. I don’t want to get into anything that would allow justify purchasing one of those tractors I’ve had my eye on.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Requests for starts?

5 Comments »

I got dropped off at the market today, fortuitously!
Co-workers were going downtown to see Iron Man (I was jealous but too busy to attend) and they pointed out at 5:45 that if they drove me to the ferry, they wouldn’t have to pay for the 15 minutes of parking they would owe if they instead parked at 5:45.

So I was deposited at the market, which is always a good deal, even when the market is closed … which it turned out not to be! I was lured in by the buckets of tulips, and found that the tulip vendor was still open, and also found that the pre-assembled bouquets were $4 each, instead of the usual $10. Score two tulip bouquets for Lauren!
The next surprisingly-open place was my favorite veggie stand, Sosio’s, who had local asparagus and spring onions. Plus peaches, which smelled so good I couldn’t resist getting one ripe enough to eat tomorrow. (I have found it to be very valuable to tell the produce chooser when you will be eating your fruits; it helps her to pick good ripenesses, such that you have one good fruit for juicy eating tonight, and one for each of you for lunch tomorrow, and more for later this week … when left to my own devices, I get all the ripest ones and most start to go bad before I can eat them.)

Dinner, then, was grilled balsamic-and-olive-oil soaked spring onions and fresh asparagus, with steak from our pals at Skagit River Ranch. I am so happy about grilling season, but am freaking THRILLED about asparagus season, and the reminder that it is just the beginning of delicious food time.

Man, food is awesome.

No Comments »

The Seattle City Council passed an absolutely lovely resolution about local food incentives and planning policies to encourage urban gardening. Full text is here. Waves at Joe working in the city archives!

The deal with a resolution is that it doesn’t actually *do* anything, but laying out that these are the values of my beloved, troubled, condo-ifing, $6-per-dozen-farmers-market-eggs-buyin’ city makes me very pleased.

In other news, I had a mess of tabs open for a link dump post but my session saver screwed up and I’m digging through my del.icio.us and RSS feeds to put the collection back together.

No Comments »

Solar hen house vents. Solar fence energizers. Solar everything.

It seems that at some point in the past few years we’ve reached a point where solar isn’t an “alternative” power source, it’s just the easiest way to do something. Why would I, for example, want to deal with a battery charger to keep my electric fence charged? Why would I want to run wiring to the roof of the hen house or greenhouse to power the ventilation? I don’t. I’m a lazy man. It makes me wonder at what point it’s going to be cheaper and easier to wire houses for solar and wind instead of dealing with hooking them to the grid. It wasn’t long ago that the cool kids were wiring their houses with Cat-5 ethernet for their home networks. Then wifi became ubiquitous and that’s just a mess of useless cable now.

In other news, we finally got real growlights installed for the seedlings. I ordered them over the internet. I’m hoping that the cheerful vegetables clearly visible from the outside of the house will at least give pause to the paramilitary DEA agents as they conduct a no-knock raid on my home in anticipation of finding a stray, growlight-enable mary-g-wanna plant.

On a related note, craft distilling is a lot closer to legal in Washington state. There is a lot of tremendously good work being done around food and small farming by Washington regulatory agencies.

1 Comment »

From here or, less pull quotably, here.

Turns out that the state of Washington is running a pilot program to allow retailers to offer samples of beer and wine. I approve.

No Comments »