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Post by littleminnie on Jan 20, 2012 17:25:50 GMT -5
Very interesting and exciting. I would love to have the operable greenhouses like that. I was disappointed they used so many hybrids and Seminis ones at that. But it was from a few years ago so... But still it would be 'deeper' organic IMO to save your own seeds and select for hardiness than to always purchase them from Johnny'e etc- and much more profitable.
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Post by oxbowfarm on Jan 20, 2012 17:38:16 GMT -5
Well, Elliot has a pretty sweet deal going with Johnny's. Last four or so catalogs have all had covers of his farm or his daughters farm in Colorado. I'm sure he gets quite a good deal from Rimol Greenhouses too. It helps that he's good writer, excellent public speaker, innovative farmer, wicked smart, and very easy on the eyes (so I'm told)  . When you have all these combinations in one person you can score some pretty nice greenhouses at a rate not available to the general public. I'm just guessing here. That book is pretty much my hoophouse bible. I was also disapointed with his use of those Seminis hybrids, but I use them too. He's right about how well they work and Big Beef in particular is a very nice tasting tomato. I am trying to wean myself off of them if I can start creating my own comparable hybrids or getting some from Tatermater (hint hint). All in all I'd say that Eliot is a great guy. We all fall short of the glory of God sometimes, except for me... Minnie, I've got a pretty good system for moveable hoophouses. I've built four of them so far and I'm really happy with them. The ones I built in 2011 came in at just over $1000 for a 16 by 48 foot house. They don't have all the bells and whistles of a Rolling Thunder from Rimol but saving four grand was a big compensation. I've posted pics of them in the past. Give me a PM if you want some more info. |
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Post by davida on Jan 20, 2012 17:52:29 GMT -5
Well, Elliot has a pretty sweet deal going with Johnny's. If you want an interesting read about the Coleman family's early days and a reality check about keeping things in proper perspective, check out: "This Life Is in Your Hands: One Dream, Sixty Acres, and a Family Undone" by Melissa Coleman. |
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Post by littleminnie on Jan 20, 2012 20:12:23 GMT -5
What is that about?
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Post by 12540dumont on Jan 20, 2012 20:15:31 GMT -5
Well, I guess all paradise is lost.
Farm work can undo you. There's been many a nights when I've said, I'm not doing this anymore. Days when I've pushed Leo and he's pushed me till we are too tired to argue, chew or think.
I come from a long line of farmers. There's been one in every generation. My Great Great Grandfather died of a strangulated hernia, leaving behind a wife with 13 children and a 120 acre Minnesota farm. The boys fled as soon as the could. They all went off to fight in WW2 rather than stay on the farm. Even the ones that were underage ran away from the hard work and joined the military. They'd all just as soon die by violence than killed by farm work.
Back in Finland, my cousins who didn't come to Minnesota saw their organic farm destroyed by Chernobyl.
A few years back the Minnesota branch sold the farm. The new owners tore everything down and developed it. The newspaper called it a model farm.
On my father's side, my grandparents left their farm in Sicily, fleeing the endless vendetta that resulted in so many deaths. They came to California to farm. There land was seized under Eminent Domain to build highways.
They hung on to a small portion that in my lifetime was sold and divided between their children. With his share, my father purchased this farm. My mother has managed to sell off most of it. I hang onto my small piece of paradise. I never know from one year to the next what will become of my home and my life's work.
I hesitate to purchase needed equipment or do major repairs as that could be just the incentive she needs to sell the whole thing.
Rolling Greenhouses, proper flour mills, threshers, solar energy, rainwater collection all pipe dreams. Did I mention that he barn door blew off?
Still, it would be nice to be innovative, smart, easy on the eyes, and a good public speaker. Maybe in my next life I'll be a rooster, with a good crow, fancy feathers, a knack for finding the juiciest bugs, and a fancy walk that the hens just go for. I'd be the cock o' the walk till Leo gets out the cleaver.
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Post by davida on Jan 20, 2012 20:31:45 GMT -5
It is a very good read. The front cover pretty well sums it up: "In the fall of 1968, Melissa Coleman's parents, Eliot and Sue-- a handsome, idealistic young couple from well-to-do families-- pack a few essentials into their VW truck and abandon the complications of modern reality to carve a farm from the woods. They move to a remote peninsula on the coast of Maine and become disciples of Helen and Scott Nearing, authors of the homesteading bible Living the Good Life". |
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Post by littleminnie on Jan 20, 2012 21:27:14 GMT -5
What is the 'family undone' part?
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Post by davida on Jan 20, 2012 23:09:38 GMT -5
What is the 'family undone' part? Well, I will give you the rest of the front cover: "While they establish a happy family and achieve their visionary goals, the pursuit of a purer, simpler life comes at a price. Winters are long and lean, summers frenetic with the work of the harvest, and the distraction of the many young farm apprentices threatens the Colemans' marriage. Then, one summer day when Melissa is seven, her three-year-old sister, Heidi, wanders off and drowns in the pond where she like to play. In the wake of the accident, ideals give way to human frailty, divorce and a mother's breakdown- and ultimately young Melissa is abandoned to the care of neighbors. What really happened, and who, if anyone, is to blame?" The reality check for me was to ascertain that I spend as much time and energy as needed to take care of my loved ones and then do everything else. David |
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Post by oxbowfarm on Jan 21, 2012 7:35:14 GMT -5
That's true. A farm is just a thing. If it becomes an albatross necklace it should be discarded just like anything else that might endanger what is important.
It is easy to see how you could lose sight of that though after pouring so much sweat and blood into a place.
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Post by steev on Jan 21, 2012 10:42:11 GMT -5
I think the worst thing about a farm is that one is tied to a place, so one must deal with whatever comes with/to that place. That's also the best thing about a farm. It's like a marriage or parenthood that way. Food isn't all that grows/withers on a farm.
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Post by bvillebill on Mar 17, 2012 10:56:21 GMT -5
davida, I just wanted to thank you for your recommendation on the Coleman book. I was a tough read for me, frankly I spent a fair bit of time crying, as it was pretty much the story of my life in those days.
I finally decided I wasn't going to make it as a farmer and went in other directions, but those will always be the "golden days" when as they say "the world was young and so were we." When I think about the idealism we had, the youthful energy and the optimism it sure makes me feel old.
There's a saying about three parts in life, work, health and family. You can have two, but not three. For me, family always came first. After reading the book it actually made me feel better about failing as a farmer in those days, as it was very clear that many, if not all, who "made it" were monomaniacs like Elliot who pretty much gave up both health and family to get to where they are. Eventually things got better for them and I'm sure they're happy today, but I changed directions rather than put my kids through those trials.
Those times were critical to making me what I am today, and despite the difficulties were the happiest times of my life in many ways. Nothing has brought back the memories as strongly as that book, and thanks to you and Melissa for that.
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Post by ottawagardener on Mar 17, 2012 17:28:54 GMT -5
I didn't know that about their children. How painful.
I like some of the techniques of Coleman's and amend the others. For example, he uses high turnover of crops in his field and as stated I guess he's not into the seed aspects so much. I like to keep crops in the ground longer mostly because (I am not a market farmer) I'm a seed saver and because I'm intrigued by replicating more natural systems.
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Post by bvillebill on Mar 17, 2012 22:02:38 GMT -5
After thinking about it I just wanted to clarify that I sure didn't mean to insult anyone with my comment about those who "made it". I didn't mean people running small farms and market gardening, I meant those who get stories about them in the Wall Street Journal and appear on talk shows...
These days I've cut down to just a 1/4 acre garden for good food and like to play around with genetics. I've learned my lesson several times in life about taking something I love and making a business out of it. It's nice to be able to just enjoy it.
I still say thanks every time I get in a hot shower and I've got running water and didn't have to start by splitting wood.
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Post by davida on Mar 18, 2012 23:19:18 GMT -5
davida, I just wanted to thank you for your recommendation on the Coleman book. Bill, Glad that you enjoyed the book. Welcome to the forum. Excited to hear about your gardening experiences. David |
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. When you have all these combinations in one person you can score some pretty nice greenhouses at a rate not available to the general public. I'm just guessing here.
