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Jam Lady
Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 2507
Location: New Jersey, USA
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 Posted: Tue Aug 21, 18 11:46 pm Post subject: |
 
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Better and better - I found this on the catering site:
"Over the past 10 years Great Performances has worked toward building stronger farm to city connections and supporting the local food system and community. In 2006 we became the first caterer to own and operate an organic farm, reflecting our commitment to supporting sustainable agricultural practices. The farm serves a robust 600-member CSA program, delivering the freshest produce to NYC every year. Our Katchkie Farm is also home to The Sylvia Center, a nonprofit organization founded by CEO Liz Neumark that inspires young people to establish healthy eating habits through hands-on garden and cooking workshops at the farm.
In the GP kitchen, over 100 tons of food scraps are diverted annually from landfills through repurposing, composting and recycling efforts. Event leftovers and farm surpluses go to food pantries across the city, including NY Common Pantry, Bowery Mission, City Harvest and West Side Campaign Against Hunger. Annually, over 2000 gallons of discarded cooking oil are transported to Katchkie Farm to heat our greenhouses." |
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Mistress Rose
Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15579
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gregotyn
Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 2201
Location: Llanfyllin area
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| Posted: Thu Aug 23, 18 2:01 pm Post subject: |
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The single mother and her offspring need looking after and subsidising too, in order to have a stable home life. After my father died when I was 8. My mother made her widow's pension and child allowance last so that she was at home for me and my brother. I used to grow small bedding plants and sell them from the front gate-pansies in particular, and I collected the manure from horses that pulled the milk and bread carts, selling that for a shilling,(5p), a bucket, I gave that to my mother and had sixpence,(2.5p), for pocket money a week. I also sold lettuce, can't remember how much then, but guess about 5p. We were lucky as my grandfather paid for the car running costs and maintenance. My mother used to sew tapestries and embroider, I used to help when she got behind the completion date, then she knitted all our jumpers and socks.
I am sure you are right MR, that most people out of work do want to work. I have had my share of dole, but have always saved, which cushioned the blow. And up until a few years ago grew a lot of my own vegetables. I am getting near to retiring and will start that again when I have more time on my hands. Right now chopping wood is important, I am somewhat in arrears for the time of the year. The new method of chopping the wood at a friend's farm is good but I find they come out much bigger than my customers are used to, so I am having to do some hand chopping still. It is however much easier to chop small pieces into 2 or 3 pieces than chop 3" x3" from scratch. I am chopping about 25%, with 75% being in the right size bracket for my customers off the processor. It has relieved the pain in the chopping arm!
Have you heard from Cassandra? I am hoping she is well.
I have another problem that my email a/c won't let me in for some reason. It is a problem as I want to 'talk' to some friends and can't. Yahoo is not playing ball.
I am off to fetch a small shed tomorrow afternoon from a friend's house, which having been sold, the buyer wants it removed; only 6'x4' but will keep some wood dry! |
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Jam Lady
Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 2507
Location: New Jersey, USA
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| Posted: Thu Aug 23, 18 10:32 pm Post subject: |
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We went to the Hunterdon County 4-H Agricultural Fair today. Perfect weather, sunny with some puffy white clouds, comfortable temperature, nice breeze. Dairy cattle of several breeds, horses, sheep, milk and meat goats, rabbits, poultry mostly chickens but also ducks, an Egyptian goose and her goslings - and an emu (which did not look very happy.) Vegetable competition, flower competition, preserves. Honey. Hay bales - but I have no idea how they decide that - for example - this bale of first cut alfalfa is better than the others. A barn filled with beautifully restored antique tractors - lots of John Deere, also Case, Allis Chalmers, and some even more off beat brands. Oldest I saw was from 1936.
While Himself was sitting on a bench in the shade, waiting for me to finish photographing in the tractor barn he was chatting with a man. Man said he hadn't been to the event in 15 years. He had been a farmer. Back then the fair was for farmers and the 4-H children. This, in his opinion, was too commercial - booths selling Kubota and other tractors, sheds to be used for chicken coops and rabbit hutches, a real estate company had a stall. So did the Democrats and Republicans (but not near each other!) A long double row of stands with fair type food - barbecue, gyros, hamburgers, hot dogs, cotton candy, thick shakes, etc etc.
What can I say, things change. |
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cassandra
Joined: 27 Mar 2013
Posts: 1733
Location: Tasmania Australia
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Mistress Rose
Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15579
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| Posted: Fri Aug 24, 18 7:49 am Post subject: |
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Glad your wood chopping has improved in efficiency and your arm is better Gregotyn. Sounds like just too much chopping. Your mother did the best she could and you seemed to help her a lot. More difficult for children to do that sort of thing these days I think, although I suppose a 'stall' at the front gate is still possible.
Jam Lady, sounds like an interesting day. More traditional than most of the shows round here. We get all sorts coming. The one we did last week wasn't too bad, but did have some clothing stalls. The Great Dorset Steam Fair is on this weekend, and apart from Dorset being clogged up with traction engines and all sorts, it will have a range of stalls from tools, clothes and you name it.
Cassandra, I did think you were having internet problems from your posts on FB, but glad you got through. Poppet wouldn't have anything to do with the frayed lead would she? She seems to be into everything else. Your bullock festival sounds amazing. I would love to see something like that round here, but we haven't used oxen to pull things in this country since the middle ages I don't think.
I finally got round to buying another pair of boots for working yesterday, so hoping they will be all right. Should be easy to find as they have bright orange on the laces and loops.  |
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gregotyn
Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 2201
Location: Llanfyllin area
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| Posted: Fri Aug 24, 18 2:28 pm Post subject: |
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I took one look at the traffic on the road to the shed house and said no! Far too much traffic on the road at lunch time to get on to the main road and turn across the traffic later to get to the house concerned to get the shed. So I am off there in the morning, the shed is only 6ft. x4ft, and free, but it will store wood in the dry and when full the contents will keep it upright......I hope!
Yes the firewood chopping machine is about 80% efficient so my personal chopping is reduced to a manageable level. The problem is a vertebrae in the neck and the Bowen treatment method has simply transferred the pain from the left arm to the right arm, but much reduced and I can stand a bit of pain. My chopping is reduced to one swipe as some of the machine cut kindling is too big, but it is easier to cut one piece into 2 pieces of final product, than to try to chop a whole piece of 4x4 inch square, 10 times via the many knots!
I heard about the traffic jam down Dorchester way on the radio this morning, and thought about the good times I have had down in that area. I used to go to a college friend's farm. They were a couple who met at college and married, and took a Dorset C. Council smallholding of about 70 acres and a bit of rented grazing, 25acres, bought in hay and a few tidying up sheep. I haven't kept in touch, but should have!
Nice to hear from you Cassandra, I was starting to wonder how you were. Still demonstrating the wheel and hopefully winning the prizes with your wool and knitted "kit". I too have got problems with the internet, but managed to get in this afternoon for the first time for a week.
Good luck with the phone, Cassandra, I am still managing without a one.
The agricultural fair sounds wonderful Jam Lady, old tractors, mine is a 1959 Massey Fergusson 35, 3 cylinder so it starts! We have the same ideas in the UK with the shows that are put on round the country. I can't resist a good show, getting expensive to go round them now-£28 for a day at the Royal Welsh! I help at that show and our local Llanfyllin show where we show Zetor and New Holland tractors. The only truly agricultural bit as far as the locals are concerned is the sheep shearing competition-winning at that is top drawer stuff! Bores me but it is important to many as they want to get top prise, and so go to Australia and New Zealand to shear on contract in the UK winter.
Have a good w/e if I don't get here in the morning. |
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Mistress Rose
Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15579
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| Posted: Mon Aug 27, 18 4:29 pm Post subject: |
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Just got back from the Oak Fair in Dorset. Saturday was brilliant, both in weather and in visitors. We did pretty well, selling a good range of things and demonstrating our little retort kiln. Sadly it was really wet yesterday and the show closed early, but still not a bad day, although we sold very little. The show is at Stock Gaylard and it is a lovely place. One of the main sales areas is down the Oak Avenue, and that is really amazing. We were tacked on the end of the timber and machinery yard, so various noisy and large bits of equipment cutting, shredding and all sorts beyond us. Our group were demonstrating charcoal burning (retort and oil drum), hurdle making, pole lath turning, leather work, and probably gipsy flower making, but I didn't actually see him doing anything as I was rather busy trying to persuade a couple of scoops I am making to co-operate. Overall a pretty good weekend, even if somewhat yet yesterday. |
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Jam Lady
Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 2507
Location: New Jersey, USA
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Mistress Rose
Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15579
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Jam Lady
Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 2507
Location: New Jersey, USA
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gregotyn
Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 2201
Location: Llanfyllin area
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| Posted: Tue Aug 28, 18 2:47 pm Post subject: |
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Your theory, Jam Lady, about the narrow front wheels is correct. Wheel distances are usually only altered when the tractor is involved with "Row crop work", where the objective is not to run where the crop is planted, as in potatoes and sugar beet for example. Basically the wider the wheels the safer you are, particularly crossing slopes. Always better to go up and down. The centre wheel has gone out of use here in the UK-except on old tractors going to shows! Due to size of tractor wheels now, crop row widths have increased to accommodate them. The tractor with the tines underneath the engine are usually called 'tool-bars' They were usually used in that format for inter-row cultivations I drove one once-disaster-I cultivated out some of the crop too! It had a seat on the left hand side at the back and a tool bar mounted in the middle below me where I could see it. The engine was mounted on the chassis to the right hand side of me. In theory I had a good view of what was happening, but I tended to look at the crop and not at where I was going! The wheels in the front were the only way till somebody saw the light and the safety aspect. Thankyou I enjoyed looking at them. My old Massey Fergusson model, 3 cylinders and it seems to do what I want it to do. It does have a problem in that it won't pull my roller up the slope to the top fields. Nothing to do with the power, it is that the tractor is light and the roller is heavy and it is not mounted on the tractor so it is "dead weight" and the tractor loses grip. I may well put some ballast in the tyres, then the grip will be there!
I am glad that the norm now is to have the front wheels wide apart.
I really enjoyed looking at the old timers.
Glad you had a good time and did well at the show MR, even if marred on Sunday by the weather. I guess that the retort charcoal burners do the whole job in the time of the show. I have never heard of gypsy flower making before. There may be a book somewhere?
The shed I fetched on Sunday morning is a disaster and will hit the first bonfire I can get it to The whole of the base-not seen-is rotten and the base of the sides and ends, is also rotten and the roof was not so hot either. For it to have a future I will have to make some extensions for the sides and ends and also make a new floor. However, the back and front are covering the wood I have cut, ready to go to the man who will chop it in the machine about 6 miles away. Only takes an hour round trip, but we have to have a chat-read 2 hours!
Thinking on as we say about the tractor tyre widths they were set to the width of the potato rows and root crops generally. Most tractors of an age did interrow cultivations as a weed control method, but with potatoes they were "ridged up" as well usually using a 3 tool, or for bigger tractors a 5 tool machine The centre wheel would coincide with the working tool in the middle and the rear wide wheels would correspond to the outer side "in between rows" of the crop. Ridging up was to give some weed control as well as encouraging the crop to put out more growth shoots-more potatoes!
I had a good day yesterday and made a good start on cleaning out my wood shed long overdue-but I have found so much "stuff" that I thought I had thrown away-almost as good as a birthday! |
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Jam Lady
Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 2507
Location: New Jersey, USA
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Mistress Rose
Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15579
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| Posted: Wed Aug 29, 18 6:55 am Post subject: |
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Interesting about tractors, and that is a good idea for planting Jam Lady. Still not the nicest job in the world, but better than doing it by hand.
Yes, the retort will fire in a day Gregotyn, both the large and small ones. Our ring kiln will usually fire in about 12 hours, but it depends on how dry the hearth is, how dry the wood is, and to some extent how it feels. First burn of the year is always a long one, usually 15hours +
Went to buy some flour yesterday at one of the farm shops and came away with an order for 10 bags charcoal. This is the best way with small businesses. The supermarket just annoyed me by not having 2 of the items I usually buy, one of which looks as if it might have been discontinued.  |
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gregotyn
Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 2201
Location: Llanfyllin area
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| Posted: Thu Aug 30, 18 2:01 pm Post subject: |
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That small potato planting machine is how spuds used to be planted. Now there are machines that plant them automatically, several rows at a time! But that is how I remember it as a young farming student. As a child I have seen the ridging machine going down the rows opening up the furrows and hand planting behind and the tractor, the the tractor going over the ground again to cover up the rows of seed potatoes-all good stuff! At one farm I watched the tractor open the furrows then people followed another tractor pulling a trailer full of manure and they put the manure in the furrow and they planted a potato on top of the manure, or if fresh manure alongside the manure. Well rotted muck is the order of the day for potatoes if possible. The tractor which dug the initial furrow then went back afterwards and covered the planted potatoes and manure-driving on top of the ridge for obvious reasons!
The planter shown looks like a 2 row planter. The driver when he gets to the end of the row will follow the same line he has marked with the machine wheel we can see on his way back, the wheel being the centre between the rows. Some machines plant and cover the potatoes in one pass
Now that is the way to do business MR., selling to those you buy from, a true captive market-I like it!
I am off to the doctors now, check on one or two things, prostate, pain in arm and a small lump on a leg. But got 15 miles to get there! |
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