Category Archives: Country Life

So Much Rural Tech Geekiness…

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…and so little time to soak it all in. Yeah, it’s been a busy few weeks.

First, I was able to teach a class about Online Marketing to a group of 10 farmers. I hope they gleaned some useful tools from it. Since they all work in different types of business models, I tried to include several different tactics for using social media and websites to reach customers. Sometimes they apply and sometimes they don’t. Here are a couple I’ve seen:

  • Food truck tweeting: I wrote about how food trucks are communicating with their audiences in an earlier posting. Farmers can use this model to remind their customers that they should stop by the farm.
  • Web Sites for Everyone: By using templates, many companies are offering inexpensive, quickly set-up, convenient web sites for small businesses. They include GoDaddy, Intuit, and my lastest fun find, Vistaprint, which offers a whole range of services.

So, then I was off to the Mother Earth News Fair, to discover the latest in sustainable living. I saw Dan from Earthineer again and got to see some of the new things he’s doing with the community. The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy had information on some interesting draft horse breeds. There were quite a few farmers showing their heritage breeds, including goats, sheep, and cows. (Chickens were simply everywhere!) A fun new visitor was the group from the town of Hope in British Columbia, introducing us to their lovely place in Canada.

I met John Ivanko and Lisa Kivirist and chatted with them about their book, “ECOpreneuring“, which I really enjoyed reading. It’s one of the first “how-to” manuals I’ve seen that addresses the financial side of a sustainable business. I’ll write more about it later.

When you meet an accomplished actor, director, and producer like Ed Begley, Jr., what do you talk about? Why, sanitation, of course. (Sometimes, I am a bit dorky.)  We chatted briefly about Envirolet composting toilets and how they can be used in guest cottages, outbuildings, and other places where plumbing doesn’t necessarily reach.

I came home with seeds, plants, goodies for the puppy, some new contacts, and tons of new ideas. I think I need to go plant something now.

The Wisdom of the Small Farmers Journal

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I can’t express enough how valuable the Small Farmers Journal is for anyone who wants to live more self-sufficiently and sustainably. It contains so much wisdom and more information than I can read in an afternoon. Pulling it out of my mailbox is like finding a brand new book that I know will change my life in very profound ways. If you value good food, right living, and a connection to the natural world, subscribe.

Here is Andrew Plotsky’s take on his experience with the Journal.

Tech Focus on Farming

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Nine years ago, the first Focus on Farming in Snohomish County was held in a cold building on the county fairgrounds. I believe there were 10 people in attendance. This year, on November 15th, it was held in the Comcast Arena Conference Center and there were over 600 attendees. In less than a decade, small farming has become an important force in this county, and both politicians and businesses have taken notice.

For the first time since World War II, small farms are growing in number. The growth in farmers markets and organic grocers reflects this trend. More businesses are serving the needs of farmers, including those in the high-tech sector. I’ve previously talked about companies such as Farmigo, whose program manages CSA business models end-to-end, but there is now so much more out there.

AgSquared demonstrated their new farm management software, showing some really innovative tools. They incorporate Google Maps in order to measure the square footage of your cultivatable land and to give you a ton of information about it. They add crop management and forecasting tools, in addition to comprehensive reporting options. All this is priced very reasonably, at $60 per year, with the first year at only $36. Their future components will include livestock management and a CSA planner.

There are now so many ways for small farmers to reach their customers online. In addition to Facebook and Twitter, there are a number of low-cost, easily configurable web site options, including Intuit, Go Daddy, Word Press, and many others. Many incorporate blog options and ways to connect to social media.

There are online financial management software packages, from Mint (which is free) to Quickbooks Online (which requires a monthly charge). None of these options require that you install software on your system, so they can be used by a number of devices, including computers, tablets, and smart phones.

How do you decide what to use? You consult your two planning tools: your business plan and your marketing plan. The information you glean from going through the process of developing these plans will really guide you to the proper tools you can use to grow your business and connect with your customers. You’ll want to put your efforts towards the tools that your customers access most.

In my next few postings, I’m going to talk about cutting costs for access to broadband and wireless systems. There are now new ways to access the internet in most places and you don’t have to go through the big, expensive companies. (Unfortunately, a full third of the country still doesn’t have access to wired broadband. That’s slowly changing…very slowly.)

The Power of Community

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More and more frequently, I’m seeing articles and studies detailing the consequences of our current, conventional approach to producing and consuming food in this country. Life spans are trending downward and chronic conditions are trending up. People are getting sicker at a younger age. Even the military is now sounding the alarm, as they are turning away potential recruits due to obesity and lifestyle diseases.

And these are our young people!

How do we begin to turn this around? How can we ensure that the food we eat is good for us? How will we be able to guarantee that next year, and the year after, we can still buy food that’s nutritious and free of chemicals or anti-biotic resistant diseases? We go to the source, and that source is the farmer.

We are blessed to be living in an area that has maintained a rich farming tradition when so many other regions have lost their farms and farmers. We’ve seen a lot of changes and had to adapt to them to keep our rich fields under cultivation. It hasn’t been easy. Now, we have an opportunity to support our farmers directly, through the Port Susan Farmers Market. It’s a testament to all the people involved that the market was such a success this season.

So, why am I on my soapbox? During the off season, you may see information about funding initiatives the market board will undertake for next year’s market. These are crucial to ensure that the market returns with the same vigor it had this year. Please help.

I fully believe that a local, community-based farmers market is the smartest way to ensure good health in ourselves and in our children. To make the market a permanent fixture, year after year, it takes the power of the community. That’s you. That’s me. That’s everyone.

(Oh, and if you aren’t in my Stillaguamish area, support your local farmers market. It’s good for you!)

A Perfect Day

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I’ve had the best “Geek in the Country” day. After watching the Sister let the horses out to pasture, (sometimes they leap around like baby goats, which is always fun to see), I ran out to the grand opening of Crimping River Fiber. This mill will be processing sheep, llama, alpaca, and goat fleece for small producers throughout the region. In one of my previous rants, I’d decried the lack of processors for all the small natural fiber producers in the area and this mill is filling that need. I hope they do exceptionally well.

This last winter, I learned how to spin using a drop spindle. Now I want to find a spinning wheel that fits my height and learn how to finish both 2 ply and 3 ply yarns. (Yeah, I need another hobby.) I may have found a resource for a wheel. Stay tuned…

I had a delightful chat with the folks from Paca Pride Guest Ranch about their permaculture practices. They employ a pasture methodology for their llamas and alpacas that allows for constant use throughout the year without the need for shoveling…um…well… paca poo. I don’t know how well it will translate to horses since they are much harder on the grass with their big, heavy hooves. However, it’s always worth looking into.

After that, I went to my dad’s house for a delightful little soiree and stopped at Fry’s on my return home. It’s techno-geeky heaven for those not familiar with the store. I managed to make it out for under $30, which is a pretty impressive feat considering the awesomeness of all the toys there. Sticking to my commitment to lower my power consumption, I picked up a solar charger for all my techno-toys. It will not only keep things running smoothly, it will give me a power backup in case of an emergency. Those include natural disasters, power outages, and forgetting to plug in the phone at night. (There’s nothing worse than realizing your constant connection to Twitter is compromised by a low battery.)

And I got to play with some tablets, even though I’m almost entirely sure I’ll be getting a Surface when they are available. I just can’t wait for Windows 8.

Yep, nearly a perfect day…

Eating Well All the Year Long

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We are blessed here, in our corner of the world, with a moderate climate. It never gets too cold. It never gets too hot. It rains most of the year, but that ensures us a constant flow of water even at the height of summer. In winter, we get a touch of snow which lets us do a bit of sledding and enjoy a cocoa by the fire. It never lasts terribly long, though.

This means that, with the proper planning, we can grow some crops year round. A number of farmers are already doing so here, in the state. Root vegetables do quite well underground and many greens will continue to grow if they are protected from frost. I know that baby collard green leaves, when frozen by a morning’s ice, are considered a delicacy and high-end restaurants will snap them right up.

Will Allen, an urban farming pioneer, writes in his book, Good Food Revolution, about discovering new ways to grow year-round in Milwaukee, WI, where it can be bitterly cold in winter. His favorite method is to pile his compost along the outsides of his tall hoop houses, which not only increases the temperature inside, but secures the house in strong winds.  Others have composted in ditches along the insides of their hoop houses, increasing the internal warmth. Cold frames, cloches, deep mulch, haybale raised beds, and many permaculture techniques can all be used to extend the growing season right through the winter.

One of the finest sights I’ve ever seen was the fields in France covered in glass cloches in the early spring. A cloche is a blown-glass bell jar that ranges in size from a foot to 2 feet tall. Farmers place them over vulnerable seedlings. This allows them to plant earlier in the season, when there may still be frost. In our area, cloches are very expensive to buy, so why not use what we already have? When I shop at thrift stores, I constantly see large, clear-glass bowls, some for mixing, some for cooking, and some for punch. Why not use those?

There are a number of ways to inexpensively repurpose items to help you extend your season. Old windows can be made into cold frames for lettuce, scrap lumber can be found at numerous outlets in the area, including ReStore, and last year’s hay, which farmers are trying to clean out of their barns about now, works great for deep mulching. (That’s what I do with my blueberries, raspberries and marion berries. I’m telling you, I really love to pinch a penny…)

I understand that working outside in the winter has its drawbacks. The last time I repaired a fence line it was in horizontal freezing rain. I became quite familiar with a certain mind-numbing cold, as I wasn’t properly attired for such an excursion. (“Farmer-sicle” may be a good name for it.) I heavily invested in some serious rain gear and thermal wear after that.

Why is year-round production important? We don’t stop eating in the winter and good food is crucial for our health and well-being, especially when the days grow short. Year-round growing means year-round selling, which supports our farmers, who still have the same bills coming in every month. Year-round selling provides the basis for a permanent, year-round farmers market, too, which then provides a constant supply for restaurants, stores, and consumers alike. It’s a sustainable, local supply chain, is not necessarily reliant on outside products or services to thrive.

 

A Sense of Place

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Michael Ward’s Produce Stand

Every Sunday night, I take the garbage can to the end of the drive for pick up on Monday.  A couple of weeks ago, someone hit it with their car and cut it open.  That person stopped to make sure it was intact and standing for the garbage truck, which was very nice.  However, I still needed to buy a new can to replace the broken one.  When I got back from work later that afternoon, I stopped to pick up the old, empty can to take it back to the house. Amazingly, the person who hit my can bought me a brand new one and left it at the end of my drive. I think I stood there for a full minute, completely shocked.

I’ve never lived in a place where things like this happen. It’s such an antithesis to all the bad news we hear every day. People in the community are looking out for each other. There’s no doubt, I love living here.

A sense of community is one thing that makes a place livable. When Vicki Robin, author of Your Money or Your Life, spoke at the Slow Food Roots Music Festival, she said that when she bought her food from farmers within 10 miles of her home, it gave her, for the first time, a sense of place.  I often overhear people at the farmers market asking vendors where they are located, associating the place with the food.

Strawflowers Outstanding in Their Field

Knowing my farmers and buying my food from them connects me to my neighbors.  When I drive past those open fields on my way to and from work, I know who is growing crops, who is planting trees, and who is raising livestock there. The names of the farms are part of my neighborhood description and I point them out to visitors every chance I get.

The Farmers Market does more than acquaint me with my farmers. It becomes a forum where our community gathers, talks, and laughs together. I connect with those that I would otherwise rarely see. The market makes me break from my work-a-day world and reconnect with my community. I learn about upcoming events, find local books freshly published, and listen to local musicians as I shop. Stores in the vicinity reap the benefits of the greater mass of shoppers, while farmers find more outlets for their produce. In many towns, the farmers market has become a centralizing energy, an attracting force that helps to create a more livable and walk-able central core.

The Port Susan Farmers Market is about more than just buying food. It’s about experiencing the best of our community.

But Isn’t It Expensive?

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One of the assumptions made about farmers markets is that the prices are higher than normal. I usually find that what I purchase is fairly comparable to what I would buy in the store, but that’s merely anecdotal. Let’s take a look at how our market’s prices compare to the current prices at the stores in town:

At our Port Susan Farmers Market, meat is more, cheese is comparable to the gourmet and organic varieties, produce is somewhat less expensive and flowers are considerably less expensive considering the size of the bouquet. If prices are similar to our local stores, why do we need Farmers Markets? Why should we patronize them? What good do they do for the community? Why are they important?

(Wow. That was a lot of questions.)

Most of us know that price isn’t everything. You want something good for the money you spend. Our local stores provide a valuable service. The give us food and many of the other items we need every day, any time we need them. (Where else are you going to get an emergency bottle of nail polish at midnight?) They also provide us with items we can’t grow here, such as oranges and bananas.

However, there’s a great deal of value in locally grown, hand raised food, produced by our neighbors. Farmers markets provide several intangibles that you just can’t get anywhere else.

First, the closer you move food from harvest to table, the healthier it is. Much of the produce at the farmers market is harvested that morning. You’re getting the maximum amount of vitamins and minerals because the produce is not a week or two old. Charlene Byde from Freshly Doug Vegetables says, “Doug and I both feel that a Farmer’s Market provides the freshness factor. The fresher the produce, the better it tastes; the better it tastes, the more likely it will be eaten. There is nothing tastier than a cucumber or tomato that’s been ripened on the vine and brought to market that same day! A real taste treat!”

Second, the better you raise food, the more nutritious it is. This has been proven in a number of studies. I recently discovered an article from the Atlantic magazine that referenced three 2012 studies. It concluded that the way we conventionally raise chicken in the United States contributes to a sizable increase in internal infections in people. It also said that these infections have become more antibiotic resistant in the last three years. Free range chickens raised without routine dosing of antibiotics don’t cause these problems. For my money, I want a healthier option.

Jim Hall, of Balanced System Farm comments, “An industrial chicken costs less to raise than a healthy chicken raised on an independent, small farm. The industrial chicken is bred to gorge so it is ready for market in eight weeks, eats subsidized feed, grows up with thousands of other chickens, is routinely given antibiotics to prevent diseases caused by overcrowding and probably never sees daylight. Healthy chickens eat quality feed, are given no antibiotics, are raised exclusively outdoors on luscious green grass that has seen no chemicals, and take 11-12 weeks to mature. We just had one for dinner and the taste and texture are incomparable.”

Third, farmers markets contribute to the genetic diversity of our foods. Local farmers can grow a greater variety of produce because it doesn’t have to be transported long distances. Large, commercial growers usually cultivate no more than two varieties of any single crop. Local farmers usually grow many, some heirloom or rare. The first time I had butter lettuce was from a farmers market and it was amazing. It’s the only place where you can find fingerling potatoes, Cherokee Purple tomatoes, lemon cucumbers, and a whole host of intriguing new tastes.

Fourth, patronizing your farmers market bolsters the local economy, supports farmers and keeps land that would otherwise go fallow under cultivation.

Fifth, you get to meet the farmers at the market. I love that part. I learn so much about the foods they produce and about how they will taste in the recipes I prepare.

Sixth, my friends are at the market and this gives me a chance to reconnect with them. The market creates a greater sense of community and makes the town more attractive to those passing by. It can also be the basis for creating small businesses and increasing the visibility of local businesses already established in town. If folks are coming to town for the market, they can get their other errands done, too. Why go anywhere else?

By far, though, the best reason to go to the farmers market is the food. It’s just so incredibly good at any price. I’m eating a peach from last Friday’s market and it’s the best one I think I’ve ever had. I don’t even care that there’s juice running down my chin, it’s so good.

(P.S. If you want to know when I post to my blog, you can follow me at @ruraltechgeek on Twitter or click on the “Entries RSS” link under the “Meta” heading on the right side of the page to get a notification in your email. Thanks for reading!)

Celebrating a New Farmers Market

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Today marked the much anticipated opening of the Port Susan Farmers Market, our spot for showcasing the produce, flowers, honey, meats, milk, and nursery plants our local farmers have cultivated. It was well attended, with one booth selling out within the first hour. It’s now possible for me to do a full week’s organic and local grocery shopping in one place, while visiting with my neighbors, friends, and farmers.

Port Susan Farmers Market Opening Ceremony

It took a great deal of work to bring this, (and you’ll excuse the pun), to fruition. Slow Food Port Susan, the city of Stanwood, the Food and Farming Center, and local businesses all pitched in to make this market possible. It would not have happened without Leslie Collins, the market manager. She, along with numerous volunteers, worked diligently to coordinate vendors, find a suitable venue, create and disseminate marketing materials, ensure proper permits, and even paint a huge mural for the market backdrop.

The market’s mural created by the Stanwood-Camano Arts Guild.

The mural signifies, more than almost anything else, that the market is going to be a fixture in our community for more than just this year. I believe that the market is an important step in making our town sustainable and creating that sense of community so crucial to a vibrant, healthy place to live. As the Stanwood-Camano Island area grows in population, it’s important to guide how we want the community to look in the coming years.

Nancy Chase shows off the plants and produce from Shambala Farm.

Of course, I picked up some great food, too. Balanced System Farm had whole, organic, free-range, heirloom chickens for sale. I picked up some beets and beet greens, along with a huge bunch of carrots from Freshly Doug Vegetables. Cat’s Paw Honey had their delightfully hand-painted jars of honey on display, while Old Silvana Creamery sold milk from their Guernsey cows. Shambala Farms displayed not only produce, but many of the plants used in the type of permaculture in which they excel.

Vivian Henderson, with Slow Food Port Susan, had information on the Slow Food Roots Music Festival happening in Stanwood, Aug 25-26.

Another critical aspect of the market is introducing folks to the local farms and the events they are hosting during the rest of the summer. What a fantastic way to bring people who are already interested in fresh, healthy foods out to the farms that produce them? Besides strengthening our community, these farm events teach kids where food comes from. I think that’s fairly important.

Farmers Markets have been welcomed in many towns. Some critics, however, say they cater to only the elite or are insubstantial when it comes to feeding the world and, especially, feeding those who don’t have enough. I think they are missing the point altogether. Farmers Markets help create and invigorate the communities around them and give the poorest among us  access to fresh, local produce at a decent price. (Many low-income food programs include farmers markets.) They bolster not only the incomes of farmers who sell directly to the consumer, they allow farmers to reach customers for their CSAs and other farm programs. Farmers markets become an important lynch pin in the link between town and country, between producer and consumer.

I believe that the Port Susan Farmers Market is a major step in creating the urban-rural connection we need to ensure the sustainability of our town and the health of our people. For those who still doubt that these markets are viable, I just point them to the big farmers market on Pike Street, in Seattle, which has been running for over a century. That usually settles any dispute.

Demolition Girl

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I have a deck that sits in my back yard and attached to it was a 24″ planter that ran the length of the deck. It, unfortunately, was set right above the outside section of the plumbing running underground from the house. It makes it really tough to work on my pipes with this big monster of a planter in the way. So, it had to go! Being the eternal optimist that I am, I, naturally, thought it would be fairly easy to take apart since it was originally installed with screws. Unscrew them, move the pieces and Voila!

Yeah, that never works.

I put on my best farm wear, broke out my tools, and went outside to get to work. By the time I’d walked out to the planter, I realized that the 45 pounds I’ve lost over the last couple of years did not allow my farm pants to stay in place properly. So, I went back to the front porch for some twine to hold my pants up. There! No more embarrassing “dropping of trou” while doing demolition.

Back to the planter and I started unscrewing screws. Snap! The screw head broke off. I pulled out the short end of it and realize that the screws they used were not rust resistant. They have been rusting in place for the past decade and now aren’t strong enough to be twisted out of the wood. They are, however, strong enough to keep the planter from coming apart. Oh, and they are 4 inches long.

After several carefully chosen invectives, I decided to break out the crowbar and a very big hammer. It was time to use some of these muscles I’ve worked so hard to develop. The whacking and banging made the horses a bit on edge, but after about a half hour of resounding thwacks and several increasingly creative invectives, the planter laid in pieces on the deck. Yippee! Now the parts and pieces can be reused as a planter in a better place, where it won’t be in the way.

I stood there, surveying my destructive handiwork, in pants held up by jute twine, realizing that I can do big physical things, if I’m dedicated enough. Farmwork is empowering. For a computer geek like me, that’s kinda cool.