Cicero said, “If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” I would add that you need a community with whom to share both. We have developed all three here at Venetucci Farm. In the warmer months our lives are consumed with the growing and its constant demands on our time. Now, when Nature is in her resting mode, we are afforded more time to spend with our books. Work on the farm continues year round, albeit at a slower pace. The food, the books, and the relationships each provides necessary sustenance of a different kind. I am grateful for all three.
A good part of the lower north field is covered in triticale, rye and winter wheat. It’s a good feeling to look out over the field and see it blanketed in green, knowing that the plants and their roots are storing carbon and feeding the biological life in the soil. The geese fly in each morning and evening, grazing and fertilizing the fields during their brief stay. Comet and Pumpkin, two of our Tamworth sows, are now rooting around in the potato and corn fields. For days Comet has been busily gathering corn stalks and carrying them to their hut for bedding. Who needs a weather man?
You can’t help but feel sorry for the lone Angus cow standing in the lower pasture. She escaped when the cows were being loaded for butcher. East of the cow pasture, Ellie and her fall piglets are also living the good life on pasture. Their digs have expanded to include the popcorn and squash fields and they’re doing a great job of cleaning those up, fertilizing as they go, of course.
In the upper fields, the garlic is beginning to shoot up above the surface. When I was out harvesting carrots for a restaurant order the other day I noticed the green spikes of garlic beginning to shoot up. It seems counter-intuitive that something green would be surfacing this time of year. Adjacent to the garlic is the chicken tractor. Each morning the chickens are let out to scratch around in the market garden, grazing on remnants of lettuce, spinach, chard, kohlrabi and kale, fertilizing as they go. Gradually the mobile coop will be moved further north where there is a good stand of clover and triticale. It is a good feeling to see the animals at work improving the health of the soil.
David Rudin, the farm’s education coordinator, has been walking the section of the farm that lies along Fountain Creek with Seth Gallagher of the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory and DOW reps, exploring the possibility of creating wetlands. Wouldn’t that be cool. Each time he comes back more excited about the diversity of birds who make Venetucci Farm and adjacent Pinello Ranch their home for part of the year.
We did some great things this year. We harvested and sold over 50 different kinds of vegetables at 35 markets over the summer, and had mostly happy CSA members at the end of the season. We had three great starlight dinners with fabulous chefs preparing incredible meals made from farm fresh produce for our guests. We finished eight cows on our pasture, welcomed four litters of pigs, and took nine hogs to butcher. We also gave away over 6,000 pumpkins to school kids and offered great hands-on educational experiences connecting kids with the source of their food. We are most proud of our donatation of over 2,000 lbs of potatoes and carrots to local Care and Share agencies.
We couldn’t have done all this without the support we receive from the community – from you. We continue to have great response to our calls for volunteers, many of whom came back again and again. We continue to receive invaluable support from community groups such the Broadmoor Garden Club, and the East Side Rotary Club. Wait until you see the beautiful signage created by members of the garden club when you visit the farm next spring. Also, East Side Rotary Club members have made it possible for Patrick to install the much needed electrical in the chicken house by building the internal wall, which will now provide separate storage space for animal feed.
One of the most important measures of our success, though, lies in the health of the soil – whether or not we’ve built organic matter, improved the mineral content, increased water and carbon holding capacity. There are positive indicators that we are moving in the right direction. Seems like everywhere I dig in the market garden I uncover a handful of worms. We are using the best tools at our disposal – animals and plants – to restore the soil to good health. The soil test next spring will tell all. Stay tuned!
Eat well and be well, Susan
