tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81031844338170511572024-02-19T07:41:32.586-05:00The Sparrow in the Hall"This sparrow flies swiftly in through one door of the hall, and out through another. While he is inside, he is safe from the winter storms; but after a few moments of comfort, he vanishes from sight into the wintry world from which he came."Greg Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13112146316047383874noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8103184433817051157.post-74775298793491113652013-12-03T13:00:00.001-05:002013-12-03T13:00:37.321-05:00A New Adventure BeginsLong story short, early in 2012 when Trillium Haven Farm closed their CSA and opened a restaurant, I took the opportunity to set off on my own. That summer, my wife and I started looking for a suitable property and were fortunate to find one in early 2013. We moved there in August and named the place Blackbird Farms. I squeezed in an abbreviated season that year, selling at the Fulton Street Greg Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13112146316047383874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8103184433817051157.post-44040676127775833372011-04-11T21:11:00.003-04:002011-04-11T21:14:20.443-04:00High Winds.I get nervous on days like today. The strong winds make the greenhouses shimmy in alarming ways. At the wind speeds we experienced yesterday and today, none of the houses were in any real danger of being damaged, but I like to keep an eye out. Every so often, Growing for Market will publish the photo of some poor soul’s greenhouse under which the wind swept, then lifted and crushed onto the roof Greg Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13112146316047383874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8103184433817051157.post-7363581451626168172011-04-08T18:51:00.004-04:002011-04-11T21:21:40.367-04:00Boon or Boondoggle?After a short pause, we are back to seeding the CSA’s crops: early broccoli, the first round of lettuce, and the second of scallions. We needed to wait until the heater in the new greenhouse was hooked up, which happened this earlier this week. “New” in this case really means “not so new anymore,” since building this greenhouse has taken us over two years and no little amount of trouble. Finally,Greg Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13112146316047383874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8103184433817051157.post-28094893612368460612011-03-23T15:34:00.003-04:002011-03-26T15:42:18.825-04:00The cedar waxwings have returned.There is a spot on the farm, just across the drive from one of the greenhouses, where Michael planted a few American cranberry bushes. Their fruit is not good for much other than attracting these lovely small, swift birds. When I walked past, the bushes were full of birds, and they were flying back and forth between the bushes and the greater shelter of the woods behind the greenhouse.One of my Greg Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13112146316047383874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8103184433817051157.post-73353448488862570302011-03-21T19:40:00.000-04:002011-03-21T19:40:43.502-04:00Welcome to Spring!I know that the weather forecast is calling for colder temperatures by the end of this week, but I think we have turned a corner on the season nonetheless. At the farm, even the largest of the snowdrifts melted away long ago. The garlic we planted in the fall is now pushing its green fingers through the thawing soil. A few days ago, I saw a red-winged blackbird, and today I saw a robin. Last Greg Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13112146316047383874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8103184433817051157.post-83188535866999023082011-02-20T20:42:00.001-05:002011-03-26T18:41:57.607-04:00It begins.Ask me around Halloween for my opinion of farming, and I will tell you the truth of it: It is a fool’s errand and a wholly improbable enterprise, and it is a wonder any of us have anything to eat at all. Ask me again around Groundhog Day, and I will tell you another truth, that I am thankful -- even eager -- for the chance to try it one more time. I do not know whether the change in my views is Greg Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13112146316047383874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8103184433817051157.post-34675273471021040752009-07-18T16:42:00.004-04:002009-07-18T21:50:30.760-04:00As if the cool summer wasn't enough.Now we have this to worry about -- though, truth be told, we do experience late blight in our tomatoes from time to time.One interesting aspect of this story is how the disease seems to be especially widespread in plants purchased from garden centers of the big box stores -- another good reason to buy locally and to know your farmer.Also, note how this outbreak highlights the danger of Greg Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13112146316047383874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8103184433817051157.post-73420575507901937162009-07-17T22:14:00.012-04:002009-07-18T21:24:13.230-04:00I've got autumn on my mind.This morning, we all bundled up in sweatshirts and knit caps, as though it was fall. With the cool temperatures and the sky a clear, crisp robin's egg blue, it felt to me more like mid-September than mid-July.It has been an unusually cool summer -- though nothing like 1816, I suppose. Still, I fear this year won't be a good one for heat-loving crops like peppers, eggplant, melons, and (alas!) Greg Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13112146316047383874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8103184433817051157.post-72714647997796913422009-07-15T21:52:00.007-04:002009-07-16T21:33:25.024-04:00On throwing things together and calling it good.When it comes to my farm share, sometimes I fill the week with thoughtfully considered meals that efficiently use the week's produce. More often than not, I look in the refrigerator the day before the pickup and realize I have a sack of vegetables I haven't even thought about using.This week was about to be like that. Then I happened on the latest "Minimalist" column from Mark Bittman. The Greg Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13112146316047383874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8103184433817051157.post-41756063161297934312009-07-11T20:52:00.000-04:002009-07-16T21:14:35.015-04:00The test of scalability.Emma Slager, a Trillium intern during the 2007 season, is this summer helping to run the new community garden at Calvin College. And she's writing a blog about it. Here's how she describes their project:The Calvin College Community Garden is a new garden for students, faculty, staff, seminary families, and alumni of Calvin College. We’re in our first year and we’re still pretty small (18 6×4 footGreg Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13112146316047383874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8103184433817051157.post-42290673043826177502009-07-08T10:09:00.012-04:002009-07-08T14:30:13.336-04:00Kale: the vegetable that helped defeat Hitler.As the farm's members may be noticing, kale is one of the staple vegetables of the share. I asked Michael about this the other day, and he explained he likes kale because it's easy to grow and a reliable producer throughout the season. What's more, due to a clerical error in the greenhouse, for which I have to be responsible, we planted more than we intended. So our shareholders can expect to seeGreg Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13112146316047383874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8103184433817051157.post-37579841243450608212009-07-07T20:40:00.006-04:002009-07-08T00:02:24.840-04:00The farm at sunrise.Back in February when things were gearing up, this job was pretty much a nine-to-five gig. Since then, the start time has been creeping forward steadily. Michael gave word last week that harvest days would now start at six-thirty. That makes for a long day, but mornings like this morning compensate for it.When we arrived at the farm, the sun had just risen, slanting across the mist-shrouded Greg Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13112146316047383874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8103184433817051157.post-47373945221606857002009-07-06T20:46:00.005-04:002009-07-07T21:25:37.104-04:00Blogging the invincible summer.Shane Folkertsma, a photographer and farm shareholder, has been running a photo blog of Trillium over at A Season in the Sun. His magnificent photography captures the farm's story far better than words. Be sure to check it out.Greg Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13112146316047383874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8103184433817051157.post-68838950828337759612009-07-02T20:31:00.017-04:002009-07-07T19:12:10.922-04:00Apologies for the hiatus.Over the past month, my weekdays have been full of farming and my weekends full of traveling here, here, and here. But I'm back now, at least for a little while.In the time since my last post, the operations here at Trillium have become significantly more complicated. Aside from a handful of succession plantings for vegetables like scallions and lettuce, work in the greenhouses slows down at thisGreg Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13112146316047383874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8103184433817051157.post-11102749033285475762009-05-21T21:21:00.018-04:002009-07-08T14:14:00.235-04:00The certified organic greenhouse is nearly empty.This morning we made one of our final deliveries to our distributor, Luurtsema Sales. Since we started shipping, we've moved an incredible number of plants. Last year, the greenhouse didn't look this empty until early June.Back in March, the high demand for seeds made us think vegetable plants would sell briskly, but how briskly they sold surprised us. Each time we backed up to the warehouse, we Greg Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13112146316047383874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8103184433817051157.post-66331422628645531972009-05-14T22:21:00.024-04:002009-05-17T21:34:08.883-04:00Postcards of the transplanting.The weather's been holding nicely, so we've been taking advantage of it to transplant as much as we can -- leeks and shallots, cabbages and kale, parsley and I've lost track of what all else. Transplanting is a straightforward operation, though everything we do aims at growing the healthiest -- and therefore most naturally pest- and disease-resistant -- plants we can.As I mentioned in a previousGreg Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13112146316047383874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8103184433817051157.post-59291397718509429902009-05-07T20:54:00.016-04:002009-05-11T22:33:17.194-04:00What twenty tons of manure looks like.At the beginning of each season, Michael has soil samples analyzed to assess the state of the farm's fertility. Based on the results, he places an order for minerals to spread around the farm. Earlier this week, Michael took delivery of a dump-truck load of well-composted manure premixed with these minerals, and he has spent a couple of afternoons applying this mix to the fields.This is a Greg Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13112146316047383874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8103184433817051157.post-7775347239175925422009-04-30T19:31:00.013-04:002009-05-07T20:55:29.308-04:00It was a good day to be a duck.Though yesterday was a fine dry day, in the morning we had to fulfill some large plant orders -- over three thousand units. The crew didn't get out in the fields to plant most of the onions until later in the day.This morning, as we prepared to plant the last bed and a half, the rain started, gently at first, then more steadily. The sky thundered a couple of times, but not close enough to send Greg Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13112146316047383874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8103184433817051157.post-60971158861032617362009-04-29T19:37:00.007-04:002009-04-30T22:03:09.981-04:00Stalking the wild leek.Over at Mark Bittman's blog, a couple of guest contributors are extolling the virtues of ramps. A member of the allium family (along with onions, leeks, chives, garlic, and scallions), ramps are a wild, native perennial that appears in the woods around here this time of year.I'd never heard of ramps until I started working at Trillium. Though some may think of them as haute cuisine -- ramps oftenGreg Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13112146316047383874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8103184433817051157.post-16701321244329799332009-04-28T22:06:00.015-04:002009-04-30T07:24:11.109-04:00This is what vegetable gridlock looks like.As soon as I say the weather is cooperating, it doesn't. Of course. All this rain -- over three inches so far -- is keeping us out of the fields. Not that we can't work in the rain. We'll stay out so long as there isn't lightning, and sometimes even then. But if the fields are too wet, moving tractors and wagons and feet through them only compacts the soil. So we're waiting for the fields to dry Greg Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13112146316047383874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8103184433817051157.post-6187008660736260542009-04-26T19:22:00.011-04:002009-04-26T21:53:51.408-04:00Suddenly, we're in the fields.At least, that's the way it seems. So far, activity on the farm has consisted mostly of greenhouse work with the occasional construction project. This past week, though, we started transplanting. The crew was ready for it. Thursday, we put in the first round of lettuce, radicchio, and endive. About a quarter of the onions went in on Friday. Next week, we'll plant the rest of them, as well as the Greg Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13112146316047383874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8103184433817051157.post-24317347492236180632009-04-21T21:49:00.017-04:002009-04-26T22:43:08.418-04:00The first plants are on the road.Today we made the first delivery to our distributor, Luurtsema Sales. It was a smallish order, only about a thousand plants or so -- a good warm-up, just the right size for us to remember how the process goes. The new truck was a big help. Last year, we ferried the plants to the warehouse several small batches at a time in Michael's pickup. Now we can take all of them at once. Throughout the Greg Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13112146316047383874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8103184433817051157.post-36008077315133927402009-04-19T21:29:00.007-04:002009-04-26T21:38:03.360-04:00The other day, I took a walk through the farm to see where things stand.Though it's too early for the trillium in the woods, the honeysuckles are leafing out and the trout lilies are blooming. In our permaculture plot in the five-acre field, the rhubarb is pushing through the soil, and the chives are thick and green.On the drive in, there are a number of houses with forsythia bushes, all in full bloom. Many old-time gardeners use this blooming to time their seeding, Greg Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13112146316047383874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8103184433817051157.post-22684403743553467542009-04-11T09:59:00.008-04:002009-04-11T16:10:21.755-04:00The Sparrow answers your questions: House music.Mary Jane writes:You should add a post for music recommendations -- you know, which veggies respond to indie music, the blues, bluegrass. My instincts say that the eggplant will respond to Zeppelin.I wish we could play more Led Zeppelin. I do love me some classic rock, but there's no better way to provoke intern rebellion than by cranking up Houses of the Holy. Alas.In fact, when the greenhouses Greg Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13112146316047383874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8103184433817051157.post-53658717620513391452009-04-09T20:12:00.013-04:002009-04-09T22:39:31.735-04:00Work in the greenhouses continues apace.Lately, we've been spending most of our time working through the schedule for our certified organic seedlings -- seed, pot, water, repeat. The house is about two-thirds full, and it's nice to see all that new green. The first shipment to our wholesaler is due April 27. We should be at the Fulton Street farmers' market with our share of plants shortly after that.As activity in that greenhouse Greg Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13112146316047383874noreply@blogger.com