Hi all,
I’m back on schedule. And more importantly, I can speak again (to read this out). I had my final wisdom tooth out last Thursday and can only just eat toast and stand up. Both of which I do pretty slowly.
Oop, getting ahead of myself.
Welcome to Scrap Kitchen, the newsletter/podcast where I detail the running of a farm (in the US), the starting of a farm (in the UK) and all the mess in between.
If I’m being honest, which I try to be, I have spent very little time on the farm of late. My partner has been keeping the wheels on the thing as I recover. He could do it without me, and yet there is the silly (probably rooted in capitalism and imperialism) feeling that I’m letting him and the team down while staying home. As I recover. From Surgery.
Embarrassing really that the hustle-culture, work till you drop mindset has so permeated, even after all this time. All this purposeful unpicking. But thankfully when I slip back into the ‘grindset’ my partner reminds me that it’s bullshit and I need to rest. To be honest in the state I was in I’d be no use to anyone.
Escaping the internal rat race aside, Zachary, my beloved, the man whomst I am doing all this farming with, turned 30 last week!
The big three zero
To celebrate, a lot of his friends came to the farm. We ate venison burgers, beetroot carpaccio, TikTok courgette, kale caesar salad, seared beans, and tabouli. Almost all of it grown (or hunted) on the land. It felt wonderful to cook with the vegetables we laboured over. To meld flavours and marry textures we work with every day. To feed those we care about with food we care about.
It made me want to do more potlucks. To have more opportunities to cook for those around me. To nourish and be nourished.
And my gods to celebrate. What a man! I love him quite a lot.
My Cioci (Polish for Aunt) also got a year older this week! Big fan of the Virgos in my life. Happy birthday to her!
Oh shit, oh shit. We also had a whole interview in the local paper. The reporter decided I was a they/they as opposed to a she/they but at least they spelt my name right.
Current Farm Updates
As my first task since standing, I accompanied Zach on a delivery. We dropped off 350 units of Aubergine to a local hospital that runs a CSA scheme for over 400 people. The food hub, out of which the CSA is run, also puts on events for the community; teaching people how to store, process, plant and preserve their produce. Over the winter they also had speakers come in for farmers to keep us up-to-date on health and safety practices (during our less busy time). It’s a pretty cool operation.
To prepare for orders like this we intentionally planned and planted vast amounts of Aubergine. We chose those of similar sizes but varying days to maturity to ensure that we have a consistent supply throughout the season. Within the similar shapes there are various patterns and colours these Aubergine fall into; deep black-purple, white and violet striped, lilac on a summer’s eve. It’s beautiful to see the variety that this plant has to offer.
At the rate they have been growing, we have been harvesting as often as possible. At their peek in August we were harvesting every other day. While tiny Aubergines are delicious that is not the most commercially viable size to harvest them. Thankfully they are equally delicious at full size (about as long as a pair of garden trimmers or a harvest knife). Once harvested they are kept in our Tomato Cooler (a warmer purpose-built cooler that stops Solanaceae from becoming mush in colder temps). If you keep the humidity to a minimum, they can be stored for almost a week (though they are usually sold within a couple of days).
The day before delivery we individually weigh ‘units’ of Aubergine to ensure they are a pound or more. No disappointed customers on our watch. For those under the threshold, they are doubled up to make the correct weight. We also pick out ‘seconds’, Aubergines that are starting to look matte instead of shiny, ones that look white (indicating they are going to seed) and any that have not held up in storage. 350 units later we are ready for delivery.
Simple.
Large orders aside we are preparing for our winter squash harvest. Just three days ago we had the first hint of frost. A flirtation with freezing temperatures overnight.
Thank goodness it happened when it did because we had been busy fixing the sides of the greenhouse which refused to close (a wire had fallen loose). The unclosing sides had been a real problem last week as a massive storm rolled in. Dumping 2.5 inches horizontally into the greenhouse and onto our baby seedlings. The swift clip changes of torrential rain, to overnight chill, to the threat of several 29°C days this week, has not escaped me. Climate change giving us all the options in a two-week period.
Once we survive this hot week, it might just be time. Winter Squash. In all it’s autumnal glory. The delicate timing between giving them as much growth as possible while attached to the plant, but also harvesting in time that night frost doesn’t damage the squash itself. With choices like this one must be decisive.
In other news, we have passed our final seeding week. It is now the 37th week of 2024 (how has that happened so fast?). We planned to finish seeding/planting by week 36. This is mainly so that we can leave with a clear conscience at the end of October knowing the team doesn’t have to do a lot of cleanup/harvest without us. The delicious Hakurei turnips we seeded last week will be harvested the week we fly to the UK for my cousin’s wedding. Which at this point is only 6 weeks away (yikes).
From now on, the only things we will plant are those that are already getting a head start in the greenhouse and maybe some microgreens (as a treat). It feels surreal to be thinking of packing up the year. But in the false Autumn that was the past fortnight, as the mornings clung to darkness for just a little longer each day, it began to feel real. There are plenty of projects to wrap up, and so much left to harvest, but the work is slowing. And it is glorious. Rest, when it is possible, is delicious.
Future Farm Updates
Here we go!
Thanks to the phenomenal South West Land Match scheme (and absolute top don Rachael) we have made first contact with landowners. Potential hosts for our farm next year.
We have sent them two intro paragraphs. A 38-page business plan. Our combined CV. And a very earnest Cover Letter. And all of our hopes and dreams. No biggie.
As we wait for a response, or at least as we begin outreach, we are also looking into Immigration lawyers. I have a couple of good leads (thanks to my mother) for people to ask, very concisely, because time is money, what exactly we will need to submit the visa. To prove we intended to earn above the threshold for application.
Things are looking up. And October is coming on fast.
We are not, I may say, putting all our eggs in one basket. There are other sites on the Land Match Site, for which we are adapting the business plan. We are ready to think about other options.
But also, Autumn is a time for dreaming. For the cold wind-stirrings of change. In this time, as darkness descends, I am taking a moment to dream a little. To think seriously and honestly about the farm we will make. Not just the logistics of an international move but also the feeling that starting something this big will muster. And (as something to work towards) the feeling of what it might be like to have built something beautiful. To have woven it into the community, to feed and provide for and share knowledge with those around us. How we want the farm to feel.
It reminds me of a wonderful podcast by Becca Piastrelli as she sat in the gestational phase of moving to the countryside. She envisioned the plants she wanted to grow, the events she wanted to hold. It was a gentle dream that she trusted her listeners with. An honour to hold it between my ears.
Now is a time for hope and visions. And the moment we get an email back, for honest and hard work. And I can’t wait.
Talk to you all later
M
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If you missed the last update, read it here.
Ep.16-False Autumn