Tillers...

Random Stuff Monday

It is the time of year to start thinking about farm equipment. Tilling becomes a farmers preoccupation in the spring, waiting for the perfect field conditions for good beds all year.

So today's Random Things No One Told Me about Farming is about Tillers!

1. Are you aware of how much soil will erode a tiller blade, over time? The silver blade started at the same size as the black one. Look at the difference when they are laid on to of each other.
2. Replacing the blades may make the tiller work as good as new.
   
3. Blades are cheap when compared with a new Tiller.
4. If you have a high tunnel you should maybe consider a walk behind tractor. Earth Tools makes a wide range including BCS tillers.
   
5. "Rock burriers" are tillers where the tines rotate backwards. This throws dirt on top of anything the tiller brings up making wonderful beds. But they also cost a ton more, but think about how much heavier that must be made for the tines to go against the direction of the tractor... Also, the tractor must be higher horse power. One of these are on our wish list...
   
6. Along with a "spader", these are a tiller alternative which helps maintain more of the soil structure.
   

Coupons

Frugal Fridays.

Earlier this week someone was talking about this show Extreme Couponing. It sounded very interesting so I went on the computer to try to find it. Of course, TLC does not broadcast their shows on Hulu and we do not have cable, but I did get to watch several clips and trailers.

My first thought was my mom. While not as bad (or good) as these people she went through a phase where she was an avid coupon clipper. Some of this (or all of it) was my fault because I was working at a grocery store with a great coupon policy.

We did 24 hours of cashier training on how to calculate/ring these (this was way back in 1993 and cash registers were not that smart.) The store accepted “Tear outs” from other stores deals. So you had to ring the item, look at the price on the other store’s ad and then subtract and write down the savings. Now we also doubled coupons up to a total value of $2.00 (except on certain days we would triple coupons with a face value of less than $0.50.) But in no case could you give the customer more than the value of the item.

As you can imagine this could get very complicated, which is why the application for the job included a 2 page math test and if you passed you were a cashier, PERIOD.

For instance you bought 5 cans of soup which were $0.89 each. You have a tear out from another store for soup for $0.25 each (for up to 4 cans). So you do some quick math and write down $2.56 on the tear out. So you know that the customer is now paying $1.89 for those cans of soup and then they give you coupons for $.25 off one can and $.75 off 4 cans. So you triple $.25 the one to $.75 (since it is Thursday) and apply it to the remaining $.89 cent can. And the other coupon is doubled to $1.50. But since the customer only paid $1.00 for those cans you can only value it at that. So the customer ends up getting the 5 cans for $0.14.

Don’t think I made this overly complicated on purpose, these are the types of things we had all the time. People came to the store from hours away because the couponing was SO GOOD! We regularly had customers save 80% off their bills. Ringing some of these customers would take an hour.

I taught my mom the ins and outs of the system. She started couponing with a vengeance. She would spend 10 hours a week or so clipping and organizing her plan. ANYTHING she could get for under $.05 she bought, and if we did not need it she gave it to the food bank. She would come home with 10 boxes of cereal and a pile of canned goods almost every trip. But it was a lot of time and commitment.

Now I heard on this show about “Coupon Clipping Services” and looked them up. Pretty cool, you can get good, high value coupons for $.05 to $.12 cents each. If it is a $.75 cent one you double to $1.50 that can be quite a savings. But as I looked through I realized that it is of little good to us.

We use ALMOST NONE of these products, they seem to be 90% highly processed foods, with lots of ingeredients we avoid. But I did do some research and I found a few coupons which looked good. Here are the links if you want to take advantage of them…

• Organic Valley - milk, yogurt, cheese, more


• Cascadian Farms


• Brown Cow


• Earthbound Organics


• Seventh Generation


• StoneyField


• Arrowhead Mills

Nuclear Power.

Topical Thursdays...

So I guess I cannot hide from controversy forever in a blog. So here I thought I would share this really interesting article from The Guardian in the UK on The Double Standards of Green Anti-Nuclear Opponents.

I thought it made some really good points. And while there are justifiable concerns over the technology, the question is, what are our options? Give up huge swathes of coastlines to rising sea levels all around the world or every 25 years a disaster effects a 15 mile radius. Which is less?

And even though I think renewable power is a great thing we still need non-renewables in the mix, unless you are OK with power being cut to all non-essential parts of the grid (including your home) in the middle of the night on calm days. Biofuels are in the future, but for now, the petroleum/new energy ratio of these systems is a concern.

Hydro power could provide base load power but that is not without it's effects. Three Gorges will flood almost 400 square miles of land, which is roughly equal to the exclusion zone around Fukushima.

Of course, battery systems are an option, in a 100% renewable system, but the cost/resources/energy/oil needed for those seems to be unreasonable if we expect to maintain anything like our current lifestyles.

I know, I know... FUEL CELLS will be the savior. And they may be. But the technology is not that new (Sir William Grove developed the first fuel cell in England in 1839), and has not even begun to come into it's own. Expensive...

Even the thought of a hydrogen economy is scary. Hindenburg anyone?

I am not saying I have an answer, and I don't know if nuclear would be it if I did, but we do need to consider options holistically.

That is not saying that I would not be thinking twice if this was happening at Perry, instead of Japan.

I hope you will take the time to read the piece.

Snow?

Wordless Wednesdays...


Wordless Wednesdays...

Flat Bread Pizza

Tuesday Recipes...

This is our new favorite meal. Easy and quick, and so yummy!

Take two Flatbreads and put it in the oven at 400, on a pizza stone or cooling rack to start to crisp it a bit.

In the mean time put Olive Oil and some Garlic in a pan. Slice a large onion and start to caramelize.

We like to add in a couple sliced roasted peppers to the onions. Once the onions are caramelized pull the flat bread out of the oven. Put a little olive oil on the bread.

Pile a couple large handfuls of spinach on top of the flat bread. Put half the onion/pepper on each. If you like olives add a few of those. Put as much feta on top as you like.

Put back in the oven for 10-15 minutes, until the feta starts to get some color... ENJOY!

This has become a go to meal for us this spring.

Boots - Random Stuff Monday

So last Monday I talked about how important coffee is to a farmer, at least this farmer. This weeks installments of Random Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me About Farming But Nobody Did is about BOOTS!

As a child my experience with boots was almost solely confined to two types. Children's Snow Boots and my Father's Army Boots. Being an Army Brat and ,as a result, a City Girl, I really did not have much need for any other types. My mother used to help my father off with his boots when he came home, and like us with our snow boots, they were worn ONLY when we had to! Boots were a nasty thing.

In High School I started hiking, and with my bad ankles, needed something more then $10 sneakers. I got a pair of Lady Lite Hiking Boots. This was a big deal, because on the salary of an Army Sargent in the late 80s there was little money for things like expensive shoes, and these were that. At $100, they were probably the most my mother would EVER spend on shoes. But they hiked hundreds of miles with me, and I had those boots for years, I loved those boots.

Now unfortunately, boots don't last that long because I wear them a lot more, but are just as important. So this week's list about boots:

1. You will need multiple pairs of boots. In our household our boot list includes our everyday work boot, comfortable and utilitarian, these will be on your feet for most of the summer. So be sure you get a pair that is really comfortable. In addition to your main boot you will need a summer Muck boot,and a winter insulated&waterproof boot. (Muck boot note: because the tops are elastic, be sure the calves fit right. I have very Robust (read fat) calves. I needed to get a lower style, or else the higher ones wanted to hold my heel a little off the shoe, which gave me horrible foot cramps, as always FIT is essential.)


2. Do not buy cheap boots, this is false economy. You are a grown up so your feet are done growing. Cheap boots may last for months, (or weeks in our experience). Good boots are worth every penny. For me my main boots are Airait, my Muck boots are Muck, and my winter/insulated boots are Sorrels. So you can see, you will probably have a couple hundred dollars in your boots.


3. Take care of your boots. If they require oiling be sure to keep up on this, it is amazing how quickly July dust will crack leather...


4. When you pick out your boots get ones WITHOUT flared tops. This may seem a strange thing to say but look, many boots have padded tops. These create a perfect place for dust, small stones, and dirt to rest and fall down into your boot. A fitted top is your friend. These boots, for instance, I would not buy...


5. SOCKS, SOCKS, SOCKS... Good socks to match good boots. Especially in the winter. We love our WigWam socks. Be sure you bring the socks you plan on wearing when you buy your boots. Winter Socks with Winter Boots and lighter socks for your main boots.


6. Did you know that boots can pull right off your feet in the mud. If the field is muddy enough and you stop moving, it becomes like quick sand, sloppy sticky quick sand. The first year hubby and I were farming together we were out looking at the field on the wetest, most disgusting day ever! Our old farm had drainage problems, so we were walking through the mud. I had overboots on, I got stuck. Pulled my foot right out of the boot (and my shoe) and ended up on my butt covered in mud. Nice! So here is a free tip for you - If your shoe gets stuck in the mud rotate it from side to side, and up and down (like a teeter totter) don't try to pull straight up... Also, do not take your foot out of the boot, stand on one foot, and try to pick up the boot stuck in the mud while balancing (I ended up in the mud that day too.)

Now that I have shared enough embarrassing stories, I will go! Feel free to share your own random boot stories...

Frugal Fridays...

So in my quest for things to blog about I decided to do Frugal Fridays... This is because when I think about what it takes to be a farmer "Frugality" comes to the front of my mind. This is not the same as being cheap at all. It is about making wise decisions about how to use resources.

In some cases this means spend more money now - on boots, for example. My $100 Ariat boots have lasted me going into the fourth season. The "cheap" $30 ones I got before lasted about 4 months and never were as comfortable.

In some cases this means making potentially difficult decisions. I always ask, if you are farming as a business, is there sense in driving a $25,000 new car and a $5,000 forty year old tractor? In our case we inverted that (value not ages!) The newer tractor will be reliable for years and not cause us some of the grief that the old one did, like when the seat broke in the middle of discing and we had to wait 4 days for a new one to be shipped - Nothing broken, except a seat, but all field work ground to a halt. If the car breaks down, Farmer Hubby fixes it, and if it really bad we can rent one for a few days. The new car will come as the tractor pays for itself, as it is already doing.

In some cases it means making due (replacing the blades on the tiller ($200) instead of spending $5000 on a new one), and in some cases it means doing without (like dropping cable.) In a lot of cases it means little things: sales, preserving, bulk buying, recipes, life style things, and other farm choices.

So in this segment "Frugal Fridays" I see it as being a hodge podge of different things. Some will be directly farming related, some will be food related, and others will just be real life. Hope you like it!