cool article

Interesting article I stumbled across.
Street Farmer

Making Compost

This is my first try at composting. I have been told that it isn't a hard thing to figure out. So we will see. I started this compost pile on Nov. 12 and have been steadily adding to it layer by layer. I have some large sticks and things on the bottom layer, followed by a layer of green plant material, and then a layer of brown plant material (straw) and then a thin layer of compost or soil on top of that. I hope this method works out. I haven't seen any steam rising from it yet... so I have some more trouble shooting to do.


Pulled my fall bean plants from the field to boost the size of my pile.


Adding the thin compost layer.


Adding the brown plant material layer.

insect sighting

Saturday was an interesting day spent in the company of hardy citrus hobbyist which I am not, yet... And as I was wondering how people could get so excited about all the small differences in citrus, I was reminded that I am a werido too. I got excited when I recognized this Assassin bug / Wheel bug (Arilus cristatus) crawling on my shoe.

Palmetto Institute Agribusiness Summit

Last Friday I attended the 2009 Agribusiness Summit in Charleston, SC. It was an excellent event put together by the Palmetto Institute, a think-tank dedicated to finding ways to increase the income of South Carolina residents.



This summits direction focused on increasing profits in agriculture related areas. The challenge from the Palmetto Institute is to increase the economic impact of SC's ag sector from 34 billion annually to 50 billion annually by 2020. A study found that SC trails North Carolina in per acre profits by $700+ and Georgia by $400+. That information make the 50 billion dollar goal seem very reachable. I also provide rainbow chard for an "All South Carolina" meal. All very exciting!

Beautiful Delivery

This is a cooler packed with produce and ready for delivery to Hunter Gatherer in Columbia, SC.



Lacinato Kale, Rainbow Chard, Chioggia Beets, Valentines Day Mix Radish.

Bugs on my mustard

Anyone have a clue what these 1/4" long pests are?

Harvested Heirloom Kale

This heirloom kale is known as Lacinato, Dinosaur, Black Cabbage, Italian Black, or Tuscan. It is an excellent variety and looks wonderful!



I harvest the mature leaves when they reach 8"-12" in length. Then wash and rinse the leaves in ice water to remove field heat. I have the kale tied in generous half pound bundles (.5lbs - .7lbs each) using kitchen twine to tie them together. I am currently in the process of tracking down some good rubber bands to replace the twine and speed up the process.

Walk-in Cooler Day 2

Day 2 progress on the walk-in cooler.


Final wall finished and insulated.


Insulation board cut and fit into ceiling.


Floor laid. 3 layers of 1" R5 insulation board, with 5/8" plywood on top, toenailed into the sides. The insulation board is so sturdy that no additional floor support was required.


Interior finished, except for sealing joints and painting.


Joints sealed with "Great Stuff" from HomeDepot.


Door Installed and painting commencing. Behr Porch Paint Ultra White is the route I went. 3 coats.


More painting.

This is where our day ended today. The AC unit is ordered (12,000 BTU) and the Cool Bot (storeitcold.com) is on the way. There is plenty of field work to keep us busy until they arrive.

Walk-in Cooler

Here is today's progress on the walk-in cooler. I hope to do an entire materials list at the end of the project and possibly a step by step.


1" R5 insulation board to fill walls


First wall framed and attached to the building wall. Foam board in part of the wall.


Expanding foam (Great Stuff from Home Depot) filing gaps in the foam board inside the walls.


First wall almost complete.


First wall complete.


Framing up the second wall.


Wall framed and stud nailed in place, ready for plywood to be attached.


Plywood being attached.


Three walls up. Completing the final outside wall.

More updates tomorrow.

Dibble Board

I saw this cool idea for a quick way to space garlic and onions and just had to make one of my own. Here are some images of the construction in progress and the final product. It works great! I will be building my walk-in cooler this week so check back for updates on its progress.


3'x3' 3/4" plywood sheet


plywood with 6" grid in an alternating pattern


how we cut out the pegs to make the holes, we cut them out of a 2"x6" board which created perfect 1 1/2" holes when used


pegs attached and ropes added to the board so one person could maneuver the board with out bending over

It was an enjoyable project.

Kale Yeah!

Last night we had a big dinner at the farm. Kale pie was on the menu. It was created for us by the head chef (Kathy) of one of our excellent restaurants in town, Foodscapes. It was delicious!



Anyone else have any cool kale recipes?