The Young Farmers Conference

It was AWESOME!  The conference was held on 12/4-5 at the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, which is a non-profit educational and operational farm in Tarrytown, NY and there were so many amazing resources for a starter-farmer like me. 

I was pleasantly surprised that I actually KNEW some people there...my friends from Quail Hill Farm in the Hamptons - Farmer Scott Chaskey and Apprentices Katie and Amanda - and my freshman floor-mate Jen, who does Farmer Outreach at Just Food (and was the one who tipped me off about the conference!)  But I also met some new friends and feel warm and fuzzy about that fact that there is truly a community of young people like me who are obsessed with an agrarian ideal.

There is hope for local and well-produced food, America, and it lies in the Young Farmers among us!

I also went to the not-at-all overrated Blue Hill at Stone Barns restaurant. Seriously, eat there. I felt like I was eating the flavor-manifestations of my foodie-organic-Slow Food-Nourishing Traditions-alternative food systems ideals - all in about 15 absurdly good courses. 

Team FEED on the Farm

Lesson: it's great to have help!!!

Lauren and Colleen, my FEED Teammates, ventured out of the West Village to put in a few hours of manual labor with me.  Yay!  

We arrived at the property to find that a generous benefactor with a tractor had mowed down all of the tall grass!! This left the whole property covered in hay clippings.  I need to find out if this windfall is a perfect cover for the soil in the winter...or if I should now rent a tiller and grind the clippings into the soil.

Our projects for the day were to build on my small compost heap by raking some piles of grass that will be added through the winter.  

We also screwed some cute red hooks into the wall of the stable to hang my growing collection of farm implements (and the requisite FEED bag!!)

I finally found a patch of the ground where I could dig into the soil and investigate if it was good quality for growing.  From my cursory readings of soil books, I seem to have great quality clay-loam soil...a bit rocky, but, in general, excellent.  Watch and learn:

First Day in the Fields

Despite a farmer's intent to be up before the dawn, I didnt really make it out of the city until Saturday afternoon.  I went to a "real" Home Depot in NJ (unlike the one in NYC which is clearly for people at the lightbulb and paint level of home-improvement).  I was able to get some nice yard shears and a bow-saw to go along with my gloves, compost bin and overalls.   Ready to go.

My main project for the day was to create a compost pile that would be added to all fall and winter to be used in the spring. We have started collecting compost in a large bin at the FEED World Headquarters and it has yielded a consistent amount of coffee grinds, fruit cores, uneaten potatoes from the bottom of the fridge, and left-over salad.  Beautiful. The good news is that they make veggie oil-based trash bags that are neat but completely biodegradeable, and therefore compostable...ah, the life of the gentle-woman farmer.  This kitchen waste becomes the nitrogen-rich "greens" of composting and to make a balanced mix, one needs to add carbon-rich "browns" of some sort of dry organic matter.  We're in luck...because I have nothing but tall, dry grass on the property to use!!

The catch: cutting it and moving it, when you dont have a tractor.  But, that's what my back and arms are for....to cut and carry bales of dry hay!

It was sweat-inducing but very rewarding and made me so excited to all the fun manual labor I will be doing on the farm.

I carried the grass and kitchen waste to the far end of the property and started a little compost heap that will hopefully grow and rot to become a windrow of usable fertilizer for the soil.

We'll have to wait and see if it works!

The Farmer's Day Job

While beginning this new venture in agriculture, I am also living my life as a small-business and non-profit entreprenuer.  I live and work in the West Village and our business spans the genres of fashion and humanitarian work.  Tonight, I went to a fashion event where two friends showed their new (very beautiful!) collections.  I got dressed up, wore heels and had a few glasses of wine.  I got my nails and toes done, to look polished for attending a fashion week event...normal.  This is my life.  

But, I had a very funny epiphany...actually, at the nail salon.  Umm, I am supposed to go out to the farm on Thursday morning to start testing the soil and clearing the grass from the land in front of the stable for work space...

Why, the hell, did I just waste time at the nail place???

Early Endeavors in Agriculture

I have definitely BEEN to farms before.  For example, Wilson's Farm was around the corner from my family's old neighborhood in Bucks County, PA.  I loved going there...there were cows....and I (below) would spend time singing and dancing for the cows.

My parents (Maura and Bob or Mr. and Mrs. G, to you) also had a prodigious garden.   It was likely productive because the intensive soil management (which I clearly helped with) and the beer that my Dad spilled while operating heavy machinery (it was the 80's, who knew??)

About the Land

  

 The farm property is about 15 acres.  A large open field of tall grass surrounded by fences on all sides, with trees bordering the top and 2 sides and bordered on the bottom with a long, lovely lake. 

 There is a gentle and consistent slope from the top to the bottom and a very cool, simple stable structure near the gate to the lake.    

I have not finished my readings about how to tell the kind of soil on the property...and, to be honest, I dont even have a trowel with which to dig a chunk of the soil!!  But, for now, the fields are covered with tall grass - due to that, my first lesson: There is a reason that farmers wear long pants and boots.  I wore Birkenstocks and linen shorts.  City Slicker.  I also brought my own peach...this year.

Who's Farmer Ellen?

I'm a little bit crazy.  And super-passionate. I am a 10 year NY City-dweller who is sort-of obsessed with fixing what I see as a broken global food system and I have a unique opportunity to do something very local to make a difference.

My life is wrapped up in food issues - my company (with Lauren!) FEED Projects is focused on FEEDing the world and especially hungry children through school-feeding programs.  We just started a non-profit- the FEED Foundation - with vision of a sustainably-fed and well-nourished world.  I am also pursuing a Master's degree at NYU in Food Systems.  Clearly, obsessed with food and nutrition.

Now, I'm a farmer. The most crucial job in the whole food system. Yes, friends who are reading this, a farmer (with dirt and hoes).  Fully-accessorized in perfect farmer outfits, yes, but also attempting to grow real food that people (at least, my parents, friends and FEED team-mates) will EAT!!!

Luckily, it's the fall and I am starting at a good place in the life-cycle of a farm.  I will be able to prepare the soil for planting in the spring and spend the winter reading, researching, collecting seeds and mentors, and, obviously, a totally new "spring collection" of farm outfits. (It's all about the 'ralls, y'all!)

As part of this crazy venture, I am going to try to tell the honest-to-goodness story of my experiences at this blog.  All the "dirty" details (and LOTS of puns) of going from the total NY city girl that I am to being a land-working, bounty-producing and, hopefully, even-tanned farmer.

Please laugh at me and cheer me on by reading this blog every once and a while. Please also tell anyone you know who has the slightest clue about growing anything to comment and share wisdom!  And lastly, starting thinking about how good it will feel to help a small (overwhelmed) farmer harvest her first crop because I might resort to begging for you to come help around this time next year!!

Thanks, Farmer Ellen