YIPPEE!! Our Kickstarter reached its goal last night! Hurray! Hurray! Here we come with our Compostmobile! We can expand our operation and make lots of compost and keep more composting material out of the landfills! Thank you so much to all who contributed and spread the word about our project.
This Saturday is a work day at the farm from 9:00 until 12:00. There are weeds to pull and beds to prepare. Come enjoy the morning outside in the garden! Find us between Broadway and Sycamore on Wilson St. To use your GPS, type in 360 Wilson St and that will get you here. Incidentally, there is no building at that address, so don’t send mail 
!
Happy Happy!
Janice
Spring At Last!
What an interesting spring we have had. Two weeks of 70 -80 degree weather, then a major freeze. Then warm again, then snow. I’m placing faith in the idea that this latest warming trend is going to last – at least that we won’t get any more snow or temperatures in the teens!
This week has seen a flurry of activity on the farm. Tomatoes and peppers were started in the house weeks ago and they were desperately wanting to be transplanted into 4″ blocks outside, so Mark and Jerusha made 380 4 inch blocks and lined them up on boards in the hoop house ready for transplants. Sad, leggy tomatoes have been placed in their blocks and should be happy again soon. Alex planted some of her peppers in the hoop house ground as well as putting some in blocks. Cabbage and Swiss chard were planted in their outside boxes. Herbs were transplanted into pots and barrels around the yard.
We are watching the kickstarter fund raising campaign as it slowly gains. There is less than a week to go, so please consider donating and spread the word to all your friends and acquaintances. If everyone who clicked “like” on the video site gave just $10.00, we’ll reach our goal. Also, if we don’t reach the goal, we don’t receive any of the funding. Please spread the link http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1403763605/farmer-pirates-compost-program
Enough of the commercial…. here are some pictures of spring activities. We are working on expanding to the South of the hoop house. We have already planted potatoes, fava beans, garlic and peas. The rest is waiting for warmer weather when we can put out cucumbers, tomatoes, basil, cabbages, kohlrabi, peppers, beans and maybe something more that I’m not remembering at the moment.
garlic
potatoes in the new area that haven’t come up yet
fava beans
We’ve been working on becoming more efficient with our watering system. The goal is to elevate a large tank beside the hoop house which can be filled with rain water collected from the neighbor’s house. Then we can use drip irrigation in the hoop house relieving the children from having to carry water in buckets. Here is the progress so far.
working on the framework for the water tank
Another project this year is moving the hoop house site. The existing plastic has served us very well for the last three years but it will need to be replaced this fall. The super long plan is to have three hoop house sites that we can rotate between, resting the ground from the hoop house stress after three years of intensive use and no refreshing rains/snows. The hoop houses will be right next to each other and each the same size as the others. We are preparing the ground now so that it is ready for fall planting and then the hoops and plastic will be erected around the fall plants leaving the earlier site to be cleansed and refreshed.
site for the new hoop house
inside the hoop house
lettuces, carrots, and radishes growing in the hoop house
In the hoop house there are plants growing as well as transplants waiting for the weather to settle.
Here is a picture of me potting up rosemary starts. I managed to kill all but one rosemary plant over the winter (meaning three). There is also a picture of peas happily growing in one of the raised beds.
potting up rosemary starts
peas in the raised bed
And, finally, here are a few random pictures of spring in the city.
foggy spring morning on Fillmore Ave
Airborne dog chasing after bubbles
forget-me-nots in the front garden
Don’t forget the kickstarter campaign! Thanks for your support,
Janice
Urban Agriculture Gaining Respect in Buffalo
Check out the newspaper article about our composting campaign as well as the momentum that urban agriculture is gaining in Buffalo. http://www.buffalonews.com/city/communities/buffalo/article812819.ece
Please spread the word. This equipment is important!
Janice
Farmer Pirates Composting Campaign
Urban Agriculture is contagious! Since we have begun working on our piece of (formerly) vacant land in the Broadway – Fillmore area, we have seen at least three other urban farms emerge on the East side. All of us are big on ideas and energy, but short on cash and equipment. One of our common needs is good compost to revitalize our tired and abused soils. Without the soil, there can be no food!
Because of our common goals and needs, a group of us has formed a farmer cooperative we have affectionately and aptly named “Farmer Pirates Cooperative” http://www.farmerpirates.com/. Through this cooperative, we will be able to overcome some of the hurdles preventing energetic and capable people from growing good, healthy, fresh food and making it available to neighborhoods otherwise deprived of local nutritious options. These hurdles include such obstacles as land access, insurance, and costly specialized equipment. The cooperative also provides opportunity for buying seeds and supplies in bulk which saves time, money and energy.
Right now, our Farmer Pirates Cooperative is raising funds to purchase equipment that will facilitate the collection of composting materials more efficiently. Food scraps from markets and restaurants, leaves and lawn waste, wood chips, and other compostable bi-products are currently sent to the landfills. We want these items to make beautiful soils with. Check out our kickstarter video at: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1403763605/farmer-pirates-compost-program
Winter.....
....into spring!!
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Happy Spring!
Janice
Fermented Hot Pepper Sauce
This is one of the hot sauces Alex made with the hot peppers she harvested this season. It only uses hot cayenne peppers, salt and vinegar. It is reminiscent of Tabasco Sauce.
- sprinkle a pinch of salt on the bottom of a jar
- spread a thin layer of finely chopped hot cayenne peppers on the salt
- sprinkle a pinch of salt over the peppers
- continue layering salt and peppers until your jar is full or you have exhausted your finely chopped pepper supply
- cover tightly and store in a cool, dark place for a week (we used the basement )
- after a week, open the jar, skim off any mold (it’s only on the top and is normal)
- add enough vinegar to cover the peppers, cover tightly and store for another week
- after a week, run the concoction through the blender and then strain through a screen
The liquid is very hot, and we use the pulp as a hot pepper paste. We have stored the sauce and the paste, unprocessed, in the refrigerator since it was made it in October. I don’t think anything is brave enough to grow in it….also, it has a good amount of vinegar in it to preserve it.
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What’s Been Going On???
Hello people! I have emerged from obscurity for a few moments to let you know that life has been continuing on the Wilson Street Urban Farm – all summer and all fall and into the winter. Since I have been negligent about updating the blog all season long, I decided that perhaps the best thing to do is to put together a photo tour of the summer. This will give you an idea of what kinds of activities have been happening here. It might be a pretty long tour since our summer has been crazy busy!
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Now the outside beds have been put to rest and the hoop house is protecting some winter greens. The season has slowed down as the days have become so short. Soon it will be time to order seeds again and the whole cycle will start over. As it has since the beginning….
Enjoy this time of hibernation until the days lengthen and the spring beckons,
Janice
Thoughts about the Land Trust Rally
I had the privilege of attending 2011 Land Trust Rally in Milwaukee, WI from October 12 – 16 with Megan from the Western New York Land Conservancy. It was a half-week of learning that there are some really positive things happening in the environmental scene. I was also introduced to the city of Milwaukee, a city worth visiting (especially in March when Gaelic Storm will be there in concert).
A land trust is an entity that holds the conservation easements on a piece of property whether it’s preserved for farming or historic or environmental purposes. Many of the people I spoke with at the rally are focusing on watersheds and keeping our lakes and streams clean and viable. Others protect natural habitats, endangered species, urban parks and community gardens. There is really alot happening around the country to protect important and fragile spaces. I was impressed with the diversity of this country’s landscapes and habitats. I was impressed with the various ways people are trying to address the problems of climate change, habitat loss, urban sprawl, loss of farmland, endangered species, cultural identity, and land accessibility. I would encourage you to investigate what is going with land conservation and consider what you can do to support their efforts. They are doing an important job! Check out the Western New York Land Conservancy http://www.wnylc.org/main.html, The Genesee Valley Conservancy http://www.geneseevalleyconservancy.org/ and the Farm Land Trust ,http://www.farmland.org/default.asp.
On Thursday, I participated in a tour of some of Milwaukee’s urban agriculture projects including Will Allen’s Growing Power, http://www.growingpower.org/, and The Center for Resilient Cities’ project Alice’s Garden, http://www.resilientcities.org/Resilient_Cities/ALICEs_GARDEN.html. These are a couple of examples where meaning and purpose are being brought to populations and soils that have been overlooked and neglected. We visited Fondy Farmers’ Market http://www.fondymarket.org/about, which actively connects farmers with land and gives them a market for their produce in addition to educating the public about food and selling fresh local produce. I learned that there is a land trust within Milwaukee that holds deeds and/or easements on land set aside for community gardens, http://www.milwaukeeurbangardens.org/index.html.
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I spent time at the Milwaukee Public Market, a vibrant and bustling indoor/outdoor market, open 7 days a week (outdoor market is only open on Saturday). I found the public library, whose administration has obviously NOT cut it from its budget. I bought a few used books there, and took them back to the Public Market to read on Sunday. The Milwaukee River flows a block or so from the hotel I stayed in, and the trip to the Public Market took me right along its banks. The River Keepers in Milwaukee have been working to clean the river and make it an asset to pedestrians by creating the “River Walk”, a beautiful boardwalk running up and down the river allowing pedestrians to access the city without dealing with traffic.
I tried to take some pictures, but I am no photographer. These are a few of my feeble attempts. Megan took some nice photos and posted them on the Western New York Land Conservancy Facebook site (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Western-New-York-Land-Conservancy/417570890323) I show up in a couple of her pictures.
Until next time,
Janice
A View of the End of Summer
Summer has waned, but oh, what a delicious one it was! For me, the CSA produce has been a well-spring of inspiration in creating memorable meals. Most of the vegetables were seamlessly incorporated into my cooking. I am delighted to have become more of a seasonal cook. Some of our favorites included a Roasted Veg with Eggplant, Leeks, Parsley, and Crispy Basil, Roasted New Potatoes with Rosemary, a spin on “Zuppa Toscana” with a Sausage, Potato, and Kale in a skillet moistened with cream, salads, made with the sparkling fresh mesclun, topped with grated carrot and the sweetest grated beets, finished with raw shredded cheese. There was the Alice Waters recipe for Chard Frittata, rainbow chard, anyone? Green onions went into everything, salads, to burritos, to stir-fries. And most recently, with the stems of fragrant lemongrass I made a Lemongrass Shrimp recipe from the Food Network, adapted, of course, to what I have in my fridge. The array of hot peppers added a new level to my typical cooking; I found de-seeding the hottest ones made them just the right burst of heat to especially bean and meat dishes. And the tomatoes! I ate most of them, sliced and sprinkled with salt, they were that perfect. Along with the culinary stimulation, the garden in virtually my backyard has repeatedly been good for my soul. To be able to look out and see the wealth of green and the bits of color from the flowers and vegetables brings me so much hope in this downcast neighborhood. The season may be shifting but I do look forward to what it brings, greens galore, perhaps? New friends, maybe? This is Wilson Street Urban Farm through my eyes.
Best,
Anna Harris
CSA Member
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Milwaukee, here I come!
I have been privileged to be invited to the Land Trust Alliance Rally in Milwaukee, WI in October. I’ll be going with Megan from the Western New York Land Conservancy, an organization that works to protect forever the farmland and natural environments that we would be lost and starving without( http://www.wnylc.org/about.html ) . This year the Land Trust Alliance is focusing a bit more on urban agriculture and green spaces which explains why I was asked to go along. I’m really excited about getting to visit Will Allen’s Growing Power ( http://www.growingpower.org/ ) as well as other community gardens in Milwaukee on Thursday. Friday, I’ll spend a day visiting and learning about the Indian Community School of Milwaukee, a city that is home to eleven federally recognized tribes of American Indians. Those are my two organized field trips. I’ll have Saturday and Sunday for workshops and anything else I want to do in Milwaukee. My children will need to teach me how to use the camera, so I can take lots of pictures. When I return I hope to post some pictures and have some encouraging news to report. Does anyone who’s been there have any suggestions for restaurants or neat places within walking distance of the Frontier Airlines Center?
On September 17th we were one of the stops on the Tour de Farms which was a roughly 30 mile bike tour benefiting Massachusetts Avenue Project ( http://www.mass-ave.org/ ) and Green Options Buffalo ( http://greenoptionsbuffalo.org/ ) . The Tour visited some local farms, both urban and rural, and ended up at Oles Farm in Alden for their Harvest Celebration. There were over 100 participants this year which made for a pretty crowded street here. Mark and I rode out to the Oles’ place and back home on the tandem to join the group for their Harvest Celebration, about 40 miles altogether. It was an enjoyable evening, but we were pretty whupped by the time we got home. Here is a picture of the group at our place.
Until next time,
Janice 
The Great Garlic Harvest, 2011
Last Friday we harvested our garlic. The weather has been so dry that the garlic died back quicker than I thought it would. I looked at it on the previous Saturday, saw that it would be ready in the coming week and so planned on Friday’s harvest. As it turned out, the crop was ready earlier than Friday, but the harvesters were not.
I advised my workers on Thursday that we would be starting early on Friday morning to avoid the heat of the day. I wanted to be out of the field before 10:00 am. We were out there before the sun was shining on the field and indeed we finished by 10:00. My workers did a great job. Unfortunately, I was relegated to a “cush” job because my back has been complaining so much lately. Here are some pictures of the whole process.
Janice
