THE ART OF REFUELING.

I had a chef once who often told me something––many things, really––that I've never forgotten. It was simple and anytime I've employed it, it has served me well. I would come down after a long day of work, or before one, and he would be flipping through a book in his office. Tired though we all were, he would remind us a professional should read for no less than fifteen minutes a day on his profession.And I realize that may seem like a small thing, but let's break it down:I don't know how many pages you read a minute, but I'm going to pretend (for my own morale) you're a painfully slow reader like me. I read, depending on what it is, around 1 to 2 pages a minute. So, let's just say 1.5 pages on (generous) average. That means I can theoretically read 22.5 pages everyday, only spending 15 minutes reading. That's 157.5 pages a week. That's 8,190 pages a year. And if you say the average book is what? 250 to 300 pages? That's roughly 30 books a year. Or hundreds of articles. I don't know about you, but I used to read a lot more than I do now. I don't always get to thirty books a year anymore. Sadly. Because what parent, what farmer/parent no less, has the time to read book after book these days? Few of us. Fifteen minutes a day, though? That, we may be able to find. I mean, when it's a good enough read, you will struggle to only spend fifteen minutes with it.Reading, though, is important. Because output––farming, writing, whatever you love––needs input. Fuel. Energy. You need something constantly coming in to influence all you have going out (and notably, vice-versa). To inspire it. To inform it. To craft it. To add perspective. To keep it coming.Personally, I find lethargy and repetition in my writing, and in my farming, when I slack on reading. I need to read a sentence that challenges me to challenge my own sentences. I need to see how someone else manages their weeds to reimagine my own management. Art, to me, has always been about inspiring other art. So when I am always just creating, eventually the tank runs dry. I need fuel. I need to stop, take at least fifteen minutes every day, and fill up.How does one define "on your profession"? Well, for me last week it was a book called "Grass, Soil, Hope" by Courtney White about carbon farming. This week was Melissa Coleman's memoir "This Life is in Your Hands" about growing up the daughter of famed farmer Eliot Coleman. Now it's The Atlantic's latest edition coupled with "Unseen City", by Nathaniel Johnson. So, obviously, it's a pretty wide spectrum. Anything really. It could be technical garden stuff, or fiction, whatever. My feeling is the diversity is as important as the dedication to it.So of course I'd love to know how you insert reading into your busyness (or business)? And what's on the nightstand these days?-Jesse.

TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME.

You never think you'll become that dude. Never––growing up a hiphop fan, a skateboarder, a besotted twenty-something in New York––could you imagine yourself as the kind of person who sings "The Wheels on the Bus" or "Twinkle Twinkle" on a regular basis. But it happens.And you know what? Heck yeah it happens! It happens all the time with us and frankly, I love it. The other night, coming home from market, Hannah was in the front seat with me (as opposed to her usual back seat, nursing position) and Further was crying. Since Hannah couldn't just nurse him, we decided to sing. We sang "Twinkle Twinkle". We sang "The Rainbow Connection." We sang "You are my Sunshine". And, a personal favorite, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." Twice. So long as we were singing, he was happy.Now, Hannah and I really work to not judge the way other people parent their children. Having one of our own, you just can't. It's a hard business, parenthood. We're learning that quickly. But singing like this, interacting with Further, having these ridiculous family moments, is important to us. We want him to grow up in a environment where we don't just hand him a device (again, no judging), but where our solutions to his discomfort encourage his, and our own, creativity.We won't always succeed at this. We know that. A movie or a tractor YouTube video will be, and has been, utilized. Sometimes we get frustrated and do nothing but grin and bear it. But by creating the goal itself, we can at least have a direction in how we deal with a disgruntled toddler, how we want to parent through the hard times: all together, creatively.And I like when it's singing. Hannah is the musical one, and hopefully he'll get a little of that. But it's okay if not, so long as he remembers that it's "Root root root for the CUBBIES," just like he learned in those ridiculous car rides home from the farmers' market.-Jesse.

I AM GARDEN.

 A persistent theme on this blog has been that we don't want comparison to be the thief of joy––we don't want people to come to our site, think we live some perfect homesteading existence and leave feeling worse about themselves. We are not, to be sure, Martha Stewart's of off-grid farming. We are messy like anyone, dirty like all farmers, normal. For that reason, we always try to be as honest and transparent as we can because the goal of this blog is more to inspire people to do what they want to, or long to, than it is to impress you with our perfection. Perfect we are not. Fortunate. Happy. Those I'll accept.But transparency is not always easy, and I'm not always aware of when we are putting on a show.Take for instance a recent visit we had with our photographer friend Tim who was shooting for an exciting project (more on that later). I found myself at 7 a.m. on that Sunday feverishly running our machinery through the garden to get the weeds in check. The potatoes got a fresh hilling up. The cucumber bed suddenly found itself ready to plant. Everything not food got mowed. In essence, I scrubbed the garden.Once Tim arrived, I finally went inside to change clothes into something mildly less dusty. It was then, in front of the mirror, that I realized I had put zero thought into what I was going to wear. Zero thought into trimming my beard. Zero thought into my hair. I thought only about the garden. Then, looking at my reflective wildness, I laughed.I laughed because I realized in that moment that I have become our garden. And it is admittedly sometimes hard for me to show it to you. This small plot of land is my most intimate representation. I don't just take pride in it, I am it. It is me. So when I want to present myself to the world, I pull my weeds, harrow my beds, clean my paths and cultivate. Even then I hesitate, because even then it's still too revealing, too cluttered, not in shape yet.I don't know what this says about me, I just know that it isn't always easy to show the world the weeds, even if I'm the only one who can see them. My personal weeds, that's okay. My depression, my anxieties, that time I fell off the porch eating watermelon––that's all fine. The garden, however, is different. It's painfully personal, even though, or perhaps especially because, we want it to be a community space––shareholder owned––I still feel protective over it like an unfinished short story, or an unabashed love of pop music.So I just hope when you look at a picture of me––the bearded me––you can still feel good about yourself. And when you look at a picture of the garden, you know I'm sharing something really special. Because I do believe in showing you the dirt. But like anyone does when they have guests, I can't help but tidy up a little first.-Jesse.

SOIL BLOCK BREAKDOWN.

 Had we never interned at Bugtussle Farm, I don't know that we would have ever tried soil blocks. Beyond Eliot Coleman and a few others, most farmers decry this seed propagation method as too slow, too much soil used, too cumbersome.We, however, seven years in, see it differently. And I thought I'd just do a little breakdown of what we've found using soil blocks––per an (always appreciated) request in our comments section––and why we still do. But first, some dispelling.SPEEDSlow is the word people often associate with soil block making. And though we've admittedly never used any other method on anywhere near the scale we use soil blocks, one soil block tray of 50 or 84 blocks takes me about 90 seconds (minus seeding which depends on seed size, color and shape). Give or take.  4" blocks, maybe take less. And that's with regular hand held block makers ––more efficient ones exist or are coming out. Is that slow? Hard to imagine cell trays going a whole lot faster (though let me know if I'm wrong!). Of course, when you first start out, it may be slower. No, it definitely will be. You will try and make every block perfectly crisp. You will try and clean the block makers of dirt before releasing the blocks. If you can push beyond that, however, get a block looking at least three quarters good––AKA good enough for a seed to approve of––that's all you need.CRUMBLYIf you have trouble with crumbly blocks, two things may have occurred. First, the soil may not have been properly prepared or moistened. I prefer too wet of a soil over too dry (explained below) for this reason. Second, you may have tried to transplant the block before the seedling took root––generally around first true leaves. Once roots are established in the block, they will more or less hold it together. You may lose soil here or there in transplanting, but it's no big deal. Throw it in the garden, or stir into unused mix.TOO MUCH SOILIndeed, you will use a lot of soil with soil blocks. But think of soil block trays as portable gardens. When these gardens exit your greenhouse and go into your field, not only are you transplanting a crop, but all of that soil, that garden, as well. By that logic, we have added roughly 1 1/2 tons of soil mix to our 3/4 acre garden so far this year from soil blocks. That's a lot of bonus organic matter!HOW TO USE:Start with a well-prepared soil mix. This can be purchased from a compost company like Vermont Compost or Johnny's or simply made at home. For us, our recipe is: one, 3-cubic yard bag of peat moss (or like substance), 20 gallons sifted sand, 10 gallons sifted compost plus 10 gallons sifted soil or old compost. We then add 4 cups blood meal for nitrogen, 4 cups lime, 2 cups rock phosphate (or other organic phosphorous source), 2 cups green sand (or similar potassium) and occasionally crushed egg shells for calcium when potting up tomatoes and peppers. (This is essentially Eliot Coleman's recipe). All ingredients should be mixed well, of course, and it seems to perform better when left to "marry" for a few months, so make in fall or winter when possible. (Four of these mixes will usually get us through the spring.) Next we wet the soil to a consistency where it is not quite puddling or muddy, but is definitely wet. It should drip but not run––you'll figure that out with practice. We then pack it into the maker and form our blocks. Don't worry about perfect blocks. Just make sure they hold together. To help with that, depress the soil block maker against the tray to compact the block a little before releasing the blocks. Then we seed, cover in accordance with the seed size (larger seeds like cucurbits generally like to be fully covered, whereas smaller seeds like lettuce can just be lightly covered––we simply pinch soil from the side of the blocks, no extra needed) and place in shade or greenhouse.GENERAL TIPS:Use a wheel barrow or similarly sturdy container so you can utilize the edges for pressing the soil in. Soft containers will bend and flex, eventually breaking. Make sure it's at a good height for you––don't break your back bending over. Dip your soil block maker in water after every blocking or two to rinse. This will help keep the blocks sliding out smoothly. If the mix gets too wet, add more dry mix and stop dipping until back to good consistency. Do not leave block makers out. They will rust and become more ornery over time. Always rinse and place somewhere dry and warm for longevity.WHERE TO PURCHASE:We have only used the soil block makers from Johnny's, though we are fully satisfied. Others exist, but I cannot comment on their efficacy. We have also made our own four inch makers out of old plastic pots––good for a small scale garden, but won't last long. Additionally, our block makers are all the small-handled versions, though we hope to step up to the long-handled makers one day to save on back strain. Johnny's is also, I believe, working on a maker that will produce an entire tray at once, which could drastically improve the speed.If you have any questions, additions, or comments, leave them below! We also made THIS video last month of potting up peppers for reference.-Jesse.