Little Gnome Farm

The Biodynamic Farm Ideal

2011-10-15T20:57:00.000-07:00

The ideal is for a Biodynamic farm to be a self-sufficient organism, enlivened by the biodynamic practitioner through the use of compost and spray preparations in cooperation with natural rhythms. The results of biodynamic agriculture are found in the quality of the produce, the health of the land and the livestock, and the independence from damaging modern agriculture practices with their use of herbicides, fertilizers and pesticides. Biodynamics is a way of living, working and relating to nature and the vocation of agriculture. It is based on healthy common-sense practices, consideration of the uniqueness of each landscape, and the inner development of the biodynamic practitioner. ~ Rudolf Steiner College

Winter CSA shares available now

2011-09-22T14:41:00.000-07:00

Buy a share of the 2011/2012 winter harvest !

to download and print an application click here
CSA Application

As a member of the CSA, for 8 deliveries over 16 weeks (at $25/week full share or $14/week half share) you will receive a weekly share consisting of 6-10 vegetables. The shares will vary in size and weight depending on the time of the season.

FRESH LOCALLY-GROWN ORGANIC VEGETABLES

Broccoli

Beets

Cabbage

Carrots

Chard

Asian Bunching-Greens

Collards

Kale

Spinach

Turnips

Onions

Leeks

Rutabaga

Parsnips

Potatoes

Winter Squash

Mustard Greens

Radish

Arugula

Salad Greems

Cauliflower

As well as a couple other Surprises!

Community Supported Farm

Community Supported Agriculture consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation so that the farmland becomes, either legally or spiritually, the community's farm, with the growers and consumers providing mutual support and sharing the risks and benefits of food production. Typically, members or "share-holders" of the farm or garden pledge in advance to cover the anticipated costs of the farm operation and farmer's salary. In return, they receive shares in the farm's bounty throughout the growing season, as well as satisfaction gained from reconnecting to the land and participating directly in food production. Members also share in the risks of farming, including poor harvests due to unfavorable weather or pests. By direct sales to community members, who have provided the farmer with working capital in advance, growers receive better prices for their crops, gain some financial security, and consumer's save money compared to retail prices.http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csa.shtml

By participating in the CSA, you are sustaining a local family farm as well as more equitable food distribution, and you are helping to create a more environmentally just, economically fair and healthy society.

August Ripening Sun!

2011-08-18T12:58:00.000-07:00

The first tomatoes of the summer are always a cause for celebration ... and some Caprese salad too!

Despite all my complaining about the non-stop rain a few months ago, today I am grateful for the 15,000 gallons of rainwater I stored when the sun never shone.

Corn knee high by the end of July!

New kids on the block -- two roosters of the same breed- Bantam Cochin - one has a genetic anomaly called a "frizzle"

Summer Time and the Living is Easy

2011-06-30T14:31:00.000-07:00

Come on in and see what the little gnomes have been up to.......................

No, not growing a bamboo forest -- staking summer tomatoes!

Sharing in Your Farm

2011-06-02T10:47:00.000-07:00

Hello Fresh Food Lovers,

And a belated welcome to the 2011 Community Supported Little Gnome Farm! The season has gotten off with challenging spring weather with really small windows of dry and warm spells in which we try to do much fieldwork. This creates a much more compacted planting season and a game of catch up in which, as your farmer, I am always behind. On average, mostly everything is about 2 weeks behind where we would want it to be on June 1, and even our staple June strawberries are looking more like June/July strawberries this year.

But on the bright side we have had exceptional salad greens from the greenhouse and this should continue to provide the bridge until the field catches up. Greenhouse planting has kept us busy and we are looking forward to continue harvesting arugula, mixed salad greens, radishes, beet tops, spinach, butter leaf and romaine lettuces and a few other surprises to come.

Yet, summer will arrive, and by the looks of the long-range forecast, it might be starting to roll in this weekend with temperatures in the 80s (it has been 8 months since the last 80 degree day). This forecast will determine how I spend my time this weekend.

With the warm and dry stretches increasing this time of year, our drip irrigation system will get its fine tuning and we should be ready to go from Saturday forward. One of the key features you will discover on Little Gnome Farm is our 15,000 gallon rain catchment system. Stored from the torrents of recent rain, this low pressure system allows us to use drip tape throughout the farm. Drip irrigation saves 90% of the water normally used in conventional irrigation.

Having planted every square foot of ground that I was able to prep during the brief dry spells we had recently, I will be looking for the ground to dry enough by Sunday to start prepping new ground for late summer and fall vegetables. Work here won’t begin to slow until July, as June is a busy month. After spring sowings are done, we start to sow in June for September to November harvests, and beyond with over wintering vegetables.

Recently, we have planted into our fields 6 varieties of lettuce, beets, carrots, Sorrento (or Raab), Arugula, kale, collards, red cabbage, broccoli, turnips, basil, summer squash, and our heirloom tomatoes. Based on what we determined did well in the cool summer last year, this year we have planted Cherokee Purple, Green Zebra, Green Doctors, Heinz 57, Oregon Cherry, Stupice, and Siletz, Costoluto, and Black Krim varieties of tomatoes.

Remember you can always see what we are up to by following us on Facebook.

Thank you for supporting our farm.

In good health,

Paul

Follow our season here:

http://www.facebook.com/littlegnomefarm

Spring is here finally and we’re SO ready!

2011-05-04T11:04:00.000-07:00

2011 has set the wettest combined rainfall for March and April, and the fewest 60-degree days by April 30. 11.47 inches fell at PDX in March and April, besting the old mark of 10.87 inches set in 1997. Another recent wet year was 2003, when 10.12 inches fell. In a normal year, we should get 6.35 inches combined for those two months. six days have reached 60 degrees this year, compared with 26 in an average year. (source: the Columbian 5/1/11)

Here at Little Gnome Farm, we are not far from the Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge and we can see the birds are coming back in droves, the grass is Getting greener and taller with each day and the planting fields are drying out nicely.

In the past week I’ve spotted Canadian Geese, swallows, killdeer, Great Blue Herons and a pair of bald eagles nesting not far from here. And now, we’ve had almost a week of dry weather, allowing us to plant into freshly worked ground

I can walk across most of the farm now without sinking in too much. With expectations running high, for the whole month of April I have been tempted to get started in field prep. But it’s been too cold and wet and getting out there too early can be detrimental to soils in many ways. Working soil that is too wet causes the soil to lose its structure. The soil will pack soil particles tightly, leaving less room for water and air to penetrate.

So in the meantime, there has been lots of spring chores to be done around here. During April we dug out those garden tools we put away last fall and checked for wear and tear. We readied out irrigation lines and quickly filled out rain barrels (we collect 15,000 gallons of rainwater). We tuned up our BCS walking tractor and sharpened our garden hoes; nothing works better than a sharp hoe.

Last year I learned that I better get all these chores done in April because come May, between tilling new ground, laying irrigation lines, transplanting and seeding and all the chickens and ducks, I don’t have much extra time to do the before mentioned tasks. There seems to be little time between the winter blahs and seed planting time, but at least it’s at the beginning of the season. We can all look forward to sunny, warm days and green grass and flowers and soon the long, cold and wet early spring will be but a distant memory.

March-ing into the wind and rain

2011-03-15T11:28:00.000-07:00

So far, the wet and windy weather continues to keep our spring field preparation in wait and watch. We did manage to get some ground broken and prepped a few weeks ago during the dry spell, but it was just enough to get our peas, carrots, and beets in the ground. These vegetables do better if you can plant them outside than beginning them as transplants. Peas, carrots, beets, can germinate in cold soil which is a darn good thing with the late winter early spring weather we receive.

Inside the propagation house things are getting busy. While waiting for the weather to warm up (and dry up!?) we are building our stock of transplant vegetables that we can quickly get into the fields once we can some dry days.

Community Supported Farm

2010-11-10T22:55:00.001-08:00

Buy a share of the 2011 harvest !

to download and print an application click here CSA Application

As a member of the CSA, for 25 weeks (at $25/week) you will receive a weekly share consisting of 6-10 vegetables. The shares will vary in size and weight depending on the time of the season.

Community Supported Farm

Community Supported Agriculture consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation so that the farmland becomes, either legally or spiritually, the community's farm, with the growers and consumers providing mutual support and sharing the risks and benefits of food production. Typically, members or "share-holders" of the farm or garden pledge in advance to cover the anticipated costs of the farm operation and farmer's salary. In return, they receive shares in the farm's bounty throughout the growing season, as well as satisfaction gained from reconnecting to the land and participating directly in food production. Members also share in the risks of farming, including poor harvests due to unfavorable weather or pests. By direct sales to community members, who have provided the farmer with working capital in advance, growers receive better prices for their crops, gain some financial security, and consumer's save money compared to retail prices.http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csa.shtml

By participating in the CSA, you are supporting your local farmer as well as more equitable food distribution, and you are helping to create a more environmentally just, economically fair and healthy society.

Publish Post

Little Gnome Farm is a 5 acre family farm fostering healthy soils, and growing many heirloom open pollinated varieties. We use organic and some biodynamic seeds, natural soil amendments, and Biodynamic compost and preparations. . We strive to create a closed system in which all farm needs are met from what we produce on the farm. To that end, the concious choice has been made to farm small acreage to avoid depending on heavy machinery to get the job done.

And most importantly, we strive to exceed our community's expectations by providing fresh and healthy food while developing a sustainable family farm that will continue to serve our local community.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DlkZguqjbWSXDl_uFPmyyoVFImqACZN03cXS5PBqFMY/edit?hl=en&authkey=CNvMvOQH

Farmer's Markets - Where to find us

2010-11-05T19:54:00.000-07:00

Find Little Gnome Farm Fresh Vegetables at:

Portland:
Interstate Farmers' Market
Wednesdays 3pm -7pm
3550 N Interstate Ave
Interstatefarmersmarket.com

Cedar Mill Farmers' Market

Saturdays 8am -1pm
13565 NW Cornell Rd
cmfmarket.org/

Montavilla Farmers' Market
Sundays 10 am - 2pm
7700 SE Stark
montavillamarket.org/

Clark County:
Salmon Creek Farmers' Market
Thursdays 3:30 - 7:30 pm
600 Northeast 139th Street
salmoncreekfarmersmarket.com

TOMATOES Our heirloom tomatoes are vine ripening. We have Black Krim, Cherokee Purple, Costoluto, Yellow and Red Brandywine, and Black Cherry and Stupice producing great tomato flavors now. Summer has arrived, get it while you can!

BASIL We have and Italian Heirloom variety of basil called Genovese to provide the perfect partner for your tomatoes.

CUCUMBERS We have crisp fresh Poinsett slicing cucumbers and pickling cucumbers, too! Our Wautoma pickling cukes are delightfully bitter-free and burpless and will help your pickling succeed.

RED BUTTER LEAF lettuce is a variety called continuity. This is one of the most widely grown lettuces in the world. A real beauty, the bronze-red outer leaves encase a light green head that is divine.

KALE Our Red Russian Kale is an old favorite. Sweeter and more tender than other kales and produces well in the summer weather. An Excellent salad or saute' green, packed with Calcium, Kale also has powerful antioxidant properties.

CHARD Our variety of chard is harvested when the leaves are young and tender.. This open-pollinated heirloom variety offers an incredibly long harvest and excellent bolt resistance and we are glad to offer it in the summer.

GREEN BEANS Kentucky Wonder is a wonderful heirloom variety with good old-fashioned taste. Pioneers depended on the harvest of this variety and for generations children have enjoyed these pole beans right off the vine.

Can Farming be done on a small-scale?

2010-04-28T12:14:00.000-07:00

One of the factors influencing our decision making while developing our farm plan was how to address the initial expense of a beginning farm while facing the challenges of bringing outside resources into our farm. Every beginning farm has to invest capital in start up costs, and when you need a business loan, if you can get one, simply loads the new farm with debt payments. And that is not a great way to get off to a good start.

American farms as they have increased in size have moved more and more dependent upon machinery and upon a multitude of petroleum based products to put food on your table. Last year, when we visited farms here in the Northwest, and many were *Certified Organic* we found an agri-Culture that was reliant on tractors and trucks to do the work of preparing ground, laying soil amendments, laying mulches, irrigation lines, transplanting, seeding, fertilizing, weeding, spraying, and finally harvesting, packaging and delivery to market. Tractors, which are expensive, require more and more acreage to pay them off.

From where I stand, everyday I can look across my farmland and see my neighbors 36 acre raspberry farm with it's variety of tractors going up and down the fields from dawn to dusk readying their fields. And the thing about tractors is most times you need more than one to get all the jobs done.

Now a tractor does an enormous amount of work and I do envy my neighbor a lot of the time when I am ankle deep in dirt with my shovel. Often, I have wanted to ask my neighbor to break my new ground and till me some raised beds. But on the other hand if we are truly looking at ways to reduce our dependence on non-renewable fuels then we need to experiment with other ways to cultivate the land and put food on the table without an over- reliance on machinery. And that is our experiment in small scale farming.

Small Scale Successful

2010-04-28T11:57:00.000-07:00

The Amish have a long history of successful farming . Their commitment to farm labor and their care for their soil have allowed their highly diversified farms relying on traditional draft horse powered equipment to remain competitive even in an industry dominated by investments in heavy machinery.

It is believed that the typical Amish farmer produces a greater harvest while consuming less energy than his non-Amish neighbor. Comparisons of the budgets for the two systems found that on a per acre basis, returned to labor management (net return above all costs except labor and management) was consistently higher in the Amish farming systems.