Author: shoshinfarming

GroBuckets ready to go.

This is a spreadsheet created from form entries of vegetables that have been seeded.  There are 25 crops with their own unique days to maturity.  To the right of the column titled “Total Square Feet Planted” is the column titled “Estimated Date of Harvest” which is autogenerated from column B (“Timestamp”) plus column D (Days to Maturity).  The IF/Then formula I used is as follows:

=IF(C2=“Arugula”,40,IF(C2=“Artichokes”,85,IF(C2=“Beets”,50,IF(C2=“Carrots”,75,IF(C2=“Fennel”,70,IF(C2=“Green Onions”,65,IF(C2=“Cilantro”,50,IF(C2=“Lettuce Mix”,30,If(C2=“Spinach”,30,If(C2=“Summer Squash”,60,If(C2=“Radishes”,30,If(C2=“Green Beans”,55,If(C2=“Peas”,65,If(C2=“Leeks”,75,If(C2=“Chard”,55,If(C2=“Parsley”,75,If(C2=“Bok Choy”,45,If(C2=“Tatsoi”,45,If(C2=“Kale”,65,If(C2=“Cabbage”,63,If(C2=“Collard Greens”,55,If(C2=“Kohlrabi”,45,If(C2=“Brussel Sprouts”,100,If(C2=“Garlic”,180,If(C2=“Braising Greens”,30)))))))))))))))))))))))))

I am not sure what the limit is for crops that can be entered in this formula.  I actually took some crops out, as I wanted to focus on succession planted crops.  For certain there is lots of this that need more work, but it’s what I can contribute to the discussion between bunching baby turnips and seeding out flats of Vegetables.

I was really looking forward to getting started early on some summer crops, things seemed to be going well.  Then the frost hit, leaving in it’s wake devastated basil and tomato seedlings. There’s no recovering from that.  Seeded two more flats, along with another round of tomatoes.

Harvested a little bit of beets, Radishes, fava bean greens, and baby turnips in the rain.  A little wet here in soCal, but not too bad.

Really enjoying my new transportation rig.  Took a crate full of citrus down the hill yesterday, and brought up some chard from the bottoms.  Good workout, feeling good!

I drilled a hole through it, would rather not have to go through the trouble.  Morakniv’s smaller camping knife does have a hole built-in, but that blade seems shorter in lenght, more tiresome when harvesting a small stand of Arugula.  Opinels come with holes sometimes.  Careful with these knives as they are sharp as hell.  $20

It took me four years, but I finally got around to cleaning my dad’s last papalo seed harvest.  Gotta see how viable it still is.  Here’s hoping.

I have used this configuration for years as a way of cutting lettuce, bunching greens, and harvesting broccoli.

Continue reading “Opinel Harvesting rig” →

“A man is a fool not to put everything he has, at any given moment, into what he is creating. You’re there now doing the thing on paper. You’re not killing the goose, you’re just producing an egg. So I don’t worry about inspiration, or anything like that. It’s a matter of just sitting down and working. I have never had the problem of a writing block. I’ve heard about it. I’ve felt reluctant to write on some days, for whole weeks, or sometimes even longer. I’d much rather go fishing, for example, or go sharpen pencils, or go swimming, or what not. But, later, coming back and reading what I have produced, I am unable to detect the difference between what came easily and when I had to sit down and say, ‘Well, now it’s writing time and now I’ll write.’ There’s no difference on paper between the two.”

Frank Herbert

What your see here is a 40 pounds of Lettuce mix.  This was all cut by hand, though it’s possible to mechanize via the Farmers Friend greens cutter (as shown here).

 Shade tunneling will be important heading into warmer weather.

Farmer Miguel spinning it dry.  Special tables were built with plastic mesh to allow the greens to drip dry a bit as it’s sorted.