Organic Cranberries Mean More Weeds

One of the biggest differences between conventional cranberry farming, and organic is the way we deal with weeds.  The best way to get rid of a weed, is to hand pull it, and it's no small feat to hand weed 10 acres of bog.  If a weed doesn't get pulled, the bog doesn't just get a fresh start each year as cranberries are perennials and the seeds of the weeds are unfortunately dropped in the bog.

But say we could manage to weed the amount of area that we have have planted, we'd still be facing decreased yields because in order to get to the weeds which grow interspersed in the cranberry plant, the farmer must step on the vines.

This year our strategy for dealing with weeds was to continue to pull them through the spring, summer and fall, even if it meant sacrificing some of the fruit. It was mostly just the four of us weeding about an hour a day with two exceptions.

1. Spring Work Party!
We had a work weekend in March where we had some friends come out and weed and help us replant on of our bogs. This is always fun and super helpful, especially since we don't have to pay folks hourly (just in food and drink).

2. We tried Hiring
Replanting a bog, as I just mentioned, means a pretty bare bones vine matt for about the first 2 years. During this time, weeds can even more easily out-compete the vines if you aren't careful. SO we tired to hire help. We went down to the employment office in town (multiple times) and had probably half a dozen people interested in coming out. This was exciting, of course we have to train them how to care for the cranberries while pulling, but this was going to be great! We won't have to spend every waking moment weeding the new plant....
Of those six, only four actually came out to the bogs to work and maybe two of those showed up more than once. No body came to work more than three days.

A month of so later I came across this clip from The Colbert Report which sheds so light on the situation nationally: video.

Here's another article that talks about how though unemployment is soaring, people won't work on the farm.

Next year, I think we will try to use concentrated vinegar (organic approved!) to inject in the vines and see if that helps. We'll probably see if we can get lucky and find someone that is willing to work. In the meantime though, I'm appreciative of all the volunteer help I've had with pulling weeds over the last year. Community support rocks!

Creative Commons- Museum of Photographic Arts Collection 1910

We Need Big Business Helping Farming, Not Hurting

As many folks know, "organic" is not the answer to all our of food related problems here in the US (or anywhere for that matter), but it IS a step in the right direction. Unless of course the term "organic" continues to be abused.

I recently read BBC News article about how Wal-Mart's chief executive officer stepped down after overlooking an error in the labeling of conventional pork (coming out of China) as organic FOR TWO YEARS.

As a farmer who is current striving to be able to label our products as 'certified organic,' hearing things like this make me really hesitant to join the club. Getting a basic organic certification is daunting enough, but maybe their should be a more strenuous process out there that captures bio-intensive, sustainable growing practices?

When Wal-Mart started buying organic products it instantly became the largest purchaser of organics in the world. This is great because it's helping make 'organic' more accessible, but is it also hurting the cause?

Farming is Hard, but it's a Worthwhile Life

I love what I do (which is a great thing to be able to say), but that doesn't mean that every few days I don't wake up thinking, "Was this whole organic endeavor a bad idea?"

I mentioned in my introduction post that farming has drastically evolved in the last 100 years, and unfortunately not for the better. Here is a great TED talk from Mark Bittman to check out that supports a lot of the things I touched on in my first post.

One more thing to watch: There's a cute Canadian family that is currently living out of a retrofitted school bus and traveling around the USA interviewing organic farmers. It's cool because the Mom's a writer who wants to create a collection of tips/best practices from farmers who are organically and sustainably growing their land.

That's what I want to do, too. Our collections combined could be powerful!

Why A Transitional Farmer Creates a Blog

Check out a video of me, Jess, out in the cranberry bogs, as I explain a little more about the intention for this blog...                                                                

The Blogger and the Bog

Hi, my name is Jess and I'm a cranberry farmer.

I'm also a sister, daughter, grad student, foodie, runner, reader, writer, surfer, artist, lover, and occasional wino. None of this particularly matters, but none the less, helps lend insight into my perspective on life and the things I value.

So why am I starting a blog? I'm starting a blog because our food system in the US sucks. I believe this is for a lot of reasons, but as a small farmer (literally and figuratively), I'm particularly interested in why over the last century, small farms have become nearly extinct (you can check out a brief USDA report here) and farming as a profession, has waned into an almost second class, unworthily endeavor for young people. I'm also interested in the absence of comprehensive education to youth about where their food comes from. 

Our food system is an unavoidable part of our lives! The average person eats three meals a day, but rarely ever do most stop to think about how eating habits effect their health and the environment. How did we get to this point? No really, how did this happen in such a historically agrarian society???

So what qualifies me to write a blog about food? Well, I didn't grow up a farmer, but I have spent the last 4 year working in the agriculture and food industries (I'm currently working to convert 10 arces of bogs into certified organic fruit), and my experiences have only furthered my desire to learn more through research, reading, and hearing others' experiences and stories.

And that's what I hope to do with this blog, create awareness of the many struggles that we are facing as a culture lacking small farmers and shed some light on why, as a small farmer, it's hard to keep fighting the good fight. I also hope to be truthful, fact/experience based, non-bias (as possible), and fun. Oh and along with all my undoubted ranting, offer some solutions as to how we Americans can make our food system better. For everyone.

Are you an interested party? Let's connect.