Topeka Natural Food Coop




  News From Wakarusa    Valley                                   
                                          July 25, 2008

          

            The deer fence has begun, 200 feet of 12.5 gauge welded wire fence, six feet tall, separating them from us.  I’m hoping to get to 600 feet of fence by the end of the year.  It’s hard work in the 98-degree sun and at the first sign of profuse sweating we head for the shade and cut open a cold melon.

            I read an Ellen Goodman commentary recently about a guy who is out to get people to plant kitchen gardens.  He pushes for edible landscapes everywhere from schoolyards to governors’ mansions to empty urban plots.  His organization, Kitchen Gardeners International is made up of people that have recently been termed locavores.  They think global but eat local, as in their front and back yards.  I guess it was the word of the year by some dictionary group.  You can view this fellow’s site at http://eattheviw.org.  He is pushing hard for the next president to have a kitchen garden because it is too late for a Bush harvest.  Which first lady can you imagine in the White House garden pulling weeds, Cindy or Michelle?  The average number of miles a food item travels to your plate is 1500 miles so we could save a lot of gasoline by growing our food locally.

            It’s been really dry here on the farm the last 6 weeks but I am only using 3 sprinklers to keep crops hydrated because we are using more soaker hoses.  All the melons, squash and beans are on soaker hose and still my water bill was over 600 dollars last month.  I ordered salad mix seed this week and intend to plant this seed shortly after we return from New Mexico on August 10.  My mom lives in Taos and we plan on sampling some northern New Mexico cuisine while we are down on the Rio Grande.  Next week expect tomatoes, melons, blackberries, corn, peppers, and maybe more potatoes, onions, beans, or squash.

                                                                                               --Mark

         

Farm Duck Herder

Mia motions towards an escapee while watching the ducks in the greenhouse.  This cohesive pack flocks together, though some are better swimmers than others.

Title.

Onions are beginning to take shape after many cold, wet weeks in the ground.  Tomato cages, between bean rows, are set and ready to support the summer season.

Climax Reunion, Jackpot Saloon 2008

The Band

Mark soloing in the opening song, "Bonzo Economics", and a full band shot during "Sensitive Guys".  Photos courtesy of Thomas Ingles.

Root Crops

Old bread flats elevate white satin carrots and chioggia beets for washing