Peppers and tomatoes are coming along nicely

So my peppers and tomatoes are growing nicely. In fact, I have a lot more tomato plants than I anticipated. I think I had something like a 95% germination rate for my Black Krim, Brandywine, Legends and Chadwick tomatoes. The peppers haven't germinated that effectively, except for my poblano peppers. These are growing like gang-busters so far.



Right now, I have them under three 150watt CFLs, and running on a 24/hour cycle. Growth looks good. At first I was getting a lot of spindly little starts, especially outta my kale and broccoli till up'd the light. The little guys were struggling to reach the light. Now, it is nearly on top of them.

Anyway, with the germination rate on all my other peppers, I think it is time to start more seedlings! But that is ok, this next planting will be a few weeks behind so I can have a tapered harvest for the peppers.

Trying to keep on top of things!

Apologies for my long absence. I have been spending so much of my time juggling the duties of being a PhD student, father, and now farmer.

Nevertheless, it is time to take a break and reflect. For one, I know the gardens need to be finished. I need to plant my beets and greens! I have already started celery, three different varieties of tomatoes, kale, broccoli, rosemary, strawberries, walla walla sweet onions, and the peppers are now germinating in their little starter flats.

The chicken coop is nearly completed. Just need to finish the roof to their run (gotta keep the eagles out!), and bolt their nesting boxes to the coop. So things are coming along nicely, just haven't had much time to sit back and write about all the things going on up here.

I will say this, the biggest stress is less about planting and upkeep, but ensuring that I have enough operating capital to last till we begin harvest. There is so much one needs to accumulate in tools and equipment just to complete your tasks. Plus, there are the legal and certification hoops one has to jump through before you can even begin selling your produce at the local markets.

But we are plugging away, refusing to be deterred. And overall, this adventure has been fun and continues to be fun, even if it still just the beginning.

Changing Direction: From Peppers to Self-Reliance

So I started this blog to record my experiences cooking and growing peppers. Obviously I have posted a damn thing since I started the blog!!! But, I think this project is going to expand in a significant way. As fate would have it, my family and I are moving out of the Pullman area, and going back to the West Side of the Cascades, Everett, WA to be exact. The kicker is we found a 30 acre place to rent. We are able to have animals, fish, grow food, etc. Not to mention there is a farmers market about 10 minutes from where we will be living.

We will be taking over the property as of this coming Saturday, and this will mark the beginning of an experiment where a couple of city folk and their children will embark on a quest to increase our own self-reliance off the land.

I will still stay true to my pepper fetish, but that is only a part. And somewhere in there I will find time to finish up my dissertation, but I plan for us to grow as much as possible the things we need, preserve excess, and take the remainder to local farmer's market.

Of course, it isn't like we are completely clueless about what we are getting ourselves into. I have been farming here on the Palouse with the WSU Organic CSA farm for the past few years, I have helped to manage the local farmer's market. So yes, this isn't just a whim. I'm doing a PhD on urban agriculture and sustainability. Yet, my research doesn't address anything that touches upon the experience of being a part time farmer in the city.

I want to know, intimately what it is to feed my family and myself.

Certainly, there is a lot of stuff out there on the web on how we need to change our food habits, where we purchase our food, what we purchase, and when we purchase. Michael Pollan has even gone so far as to suggest that a sustainable food system will require a mass exodus of people to take up life back on the land. He argues that we need to promote and incentivize the creation of a new agricultural revolution where farmers and consumers are closer together. Where consumers are bound by the land and seasons for their food, and where farmers can make a living from growing and selling food within in the local community or region.

Others have suggested that we not only need this sort of reconfiguration, but we need to ramp up urban agricultural production, or at least urban expansion should consider and support urban agriculture. I am a big proponent of urban agriculture. You know, the whole "Food Not Lawns" idea. While urban ag is a huge component of the food system in developing countries, in the US it is still in its nascent form. With my little project I hope to change that...

Anyway, I will be making more posts about this journey, probably sprinkled with some of my research ideas, projects, and of course, all the wonderful food creations I come up with. In fact, I'm thinking I ought to start listing all the recipes that I can't live without. Perhaps that would be a good starting point for thinking about the things to grow; consider the recipe for my favorite foods, and grow the ingredients!