Somehow these two hooligans graduated from high school. No one really saw it coming, but there it is. So although we still goof around on a farm all day, we no longer have to post about how much we learn from it. But this hooligan at least sort of missed writing jumbled thoughts about her scrambled days. So she decided to pick it up again.

What's new with Riverview? Literally everything. The ground erupted and has been throwing vegetables at us for weeks. We try as best we can to wash and sort them all but it's pretty hard to keep up with. Beets, carrots,  and radishes,the main root crops right now, are popping up from the dirt and begging to be picked. There's lettuce, arugula, mizuna, tat soi, and lots of greens resolutely flipping up more leaves no matter how many times we trim them off and bag them. And of course we've got peas climbing up their trellises and dumping crates and crates of peas at us. We've got zucchinis, the beginnings of cucumbers, and lots and lots and lots of herbs, especially cilantro. And we've got onions and garlic as well.

What do we do with this ridiculous amount of food? Well, on Thursdays we're in frenzy to get it all ready for our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) members to come and pick it up. We have a hundred full shares which equals lots and lots of produce. And the rest we give to our half shares, our work shares, and our neighborhood markets to sell. And the rest is dumped on volunteers to take home and savor.

In a temporary bout of insanity, Oren promised Jaffna and I our very own market stand. It might not get the most customers, but it certainly gets the most enthusiastic. Every week our three favorite customers have extensive photoshoots with their newly purchased organic veggies. Plus, yesterday, we brought free samples of kale chips and rhubarb cake which we doled out to anyone walking by. One group of kids on scooters and bikes stopped by three times to take advantage of the cake. We also hand out free mint, oregano, and lovage to all our customers.

More news about the going-ons at this urban farm that somehow got stuck with these two hooligns to come!

Dent de Lion (tooth of the tiger)

There’s a lot of unappreciated weeds in the world. Dandelions are one of them. They’re pretty, smell nice, grow everywhere, and are edible! Edible is of course not synonymous with ‘delicious’ or ‘tasty’ or ‘I want this for dessert every day.’ But by applying some creativity, dandelions definitely can be seen more of a handy, hardy volunteer, and less of a nosy, annoying nuisance.

I ate a dandelion leaf today. It was a small, young leaf (supposed to be the least bitter) and was similar in consistency and texture to romaine lettuce. It definitely had a bitter aftertaste which I didn't find particularly pleasing. But supposedly a bitter taste can signify some healthy benefits of a food. It can also signify something being poisonous though, hence bitter things don’t taste good.

Anyways I won’t go into detail about how to combine dandelion flowers with fermented fluids to create an interesting twist to some adult beverages, but I think I have to mention the plethora of dandelion-themed edible delights, including dandelion-blossom bread, dandelion pancakes, cream of dandelion soup, etc etc.

The roots can be boiled and eaten, though I have not heard too many positive things about their taste. The blossoms, as I mentioned can be used in cooking and flavoring (but only the yellow part.) And the stems are generally stripped of leaves, which can be eaten plain or in salads, and discarded due to their bitterness. 

A google search would doubtless bring up a few thousand things which dandelion roots, leaves, or blossoms, would help some of which might be valid and some of which might be based on tradition. It is however, known to aid digestion.

A lot of bitter herbs cause your stomach to release more hydrochloric acid and bile which makes digestion in the stomach go faster. This effect continues in the liver which likewise helps the digestion process go smoothly.

Apparently, it’s an appetite stimulant and I have no scientific reasons as to why that might be. My personal theory though is that after eating a bitter leaf you start craving something sweet, like a brownie. That was my experience at least.

Dandelions also contain high levels of boron and calcium. I have never heard of boron before, or seen cornflakes boasting of their high boron levels so I was curious and looked it up. It’s a trace element and boron deficiency has never been noticed in humans, though they managed to inflict on rats. Anyways, don’t worry about boron deficiency. And, you know, if you feel like it, try eating a dandelion leaf. 

Smoothing out the circle of life

It’s a fact of life that everything dies. And sometimes death occurs at the hands of people engaged in the seemingly peaceful activity of farming. I’m pretty sure I’ve stepped on a few ants in the past ten months. But the type of death going on that had me concerned today occurred on a larger scale.

Animals that are classified as ‘pests’ such as raccoons, squirrels, rabbits, geese, and their insect counterparts like Japanese beetles, ants, aphids, etc. are often killed for the convenience of those owning the land and trying to grow produce on it. The killing of animals makes me uncomfortable, but I am a meat-eater and my continued existence doubtless causes the death of hundreds of animals every year. But I’m at least able to assuage my conscience by knowing regulations in place that prevent the inhumane slaughter of livestock to some degree. Needless to say, I heartily support efforts to raise animals and kill animals humanely and compassionately.

Drowning has sometimes been seen as a “peaceful” and “painless” way to die. It has a certain degree of passivity and doesn’t create a mess of blood and gore. Certainly in the past it’s been used to eliminate pests, and it’s highly probably that it’s a method used today.

I have never gone experienced anything close to drowning. But like almost every kid, I at times engaged in competitions to see how long I could hold my breath, or how far I could swim underwater at one time. And I wouldn’t call the burning sensation in my lungs peaceful or painless.

The American Veterinarians Medical Association would agree. In 1993 and every year since they have affirmed their stance that drowning is not a humane method of euthanasia.

Previously it had been believed that the rise of CO2 in the bloodstream would render the subject unconscious and incapable of feeling pain, and that thus drowning was painless. In 1983 an article published by Gilbert and Gofton stated that drowning animals resulted in death by carbon-dioxide-induced narcosis.

Since then, new evidence has been introduced. The study mentioned above for instance did not monitor the blood levels in their experiment. Subsequent experiments have. Eventually, levels of CO2 result in unconsciousness but not quickly. In fact, there is a spike in adrenaline or norepinephrine indicating stress. Survivors of incidents involving near-drowning report searing chest pain, panic, and terror. Imitated and intentional, near-drowning, most commonly referred to as ‘water-boarding’ is classified by the UN as torture.

I hope killing animals doesn't become a necessary practice, but if it does, I am confident that there is a better method than drowning.

good-natured hooliganism

Gourdening in May

Riverview Gourdens

Today at Riverview we planted gourds and squash. Both of these closely related plants are Cucurbitaceae- an important plant family consisting of of 825 species also including varieties of various melons,cucumbers, pumpkins, and luffas.

 Gourds and squash arrived in mesoamerica roughly 8,000 to 10,000 years ago, the culture they’re most connected with. But though they underwent significant change and domestication in the Americas, they probably came from somewhere in Asia according to DNA evidence. From there, some archeologists suggest they were carried by Paleoindian hunter-gatherers across land bridges that no longer exist to the Americas. Others believe they floated across the Atlantic and took root from there. Gourds have been known to float for up to seven months while still carrying viable seeds.

However they were introduced, they were a pretty big deal to the people there, a staple food item alongside maize and beans. Oftentimes, squash, corns, and beans were planted together—corn provided shade necessary for the squash, and a place for the beans to climb. Squash vines, in turn, cover the ground well and keep down weeds. Beans were the nitrogen fixers. What a great symbiotic relationship! It reminds me of how we try to plan our beds at Riverview so that each crop ends up helping others planted near it.

A note about summer and winter squash—there are different varieties that are specifically summer or winter squash. But the main difference is mostly in maturity. Summer squash is harvested early in the summer before the plants have matured. Thus the rind is tender and edible, and they require little or no cooking. I think I’ve only eaten winter squash because all the squash I’ve ever eaten definitely needed every second under boiling water that it got. Winter squash  is left alone all summer and harvested in fall. It’s much larger, harder, and lasts much longer. They can also be ‘cured’ to last even longer.

Gourds are also very cool. But generally not to eat. They’re not poisonous but they’re rather flavorless, tough, and lacking in edible flesh. Instead, they can be used to make awesome water bottles, musical instruments, utensils, and tasteful decorations. And they have been used thusly for the last 10,000 years.  I’m quite enthusiastic about a gourd instrument so I found some examples of them.

This is a maraca. A percussion instrument, it seems pretty difficult to make but it's easy to play. 

They also make very cool birdhouses. I hope we'll harvest some gourds towards that end.

I can't believe someone actually made fiddles out of gourds. I can't even imagine how difficult that must have been.

Smith, Bruce D., 1997, The Initial Domestication of Cucurbita pepo in the Americas 10,000 Years Ago, Science 276, pp. 932-934

Yup. And Wikipedia. 

AND PILES AND PILES OF SPINACH

So when I arrived at Riverview today, Oren and Liam were still expecting their order of a forest. Another busy task was at hand though because a local farmer, Steve, needed to collect around thirteen pounds of spinach and had only been able to gather about nine. There are two beds in a hoop house dedicated to spinach and, to help out Steve, Oren ordered Nate (the college-kid wannabe farmer) and me to exhaust the rows of any viable, green leaves. We managed to fill two large bags about halfway with spinach and although I'm not sure if we collected four pounds, they were quite heavy considering a single leaf is seemingly weightless in your hand. I would describe our collection as "a good amount."

While we were rooting through the yellowing leaves of spinach, Liam came across a leaf that was hosting a small colony of aphids. Aphids are these tiny yellowish bugs that almost resemble the dots of butterfly eggs except for their pair of antennae. Aphids are sometimes referred to as plant lice because they can be pretty destructive to the plants they inhabit. They feed on the sap of plants that travels up the phloem in their stems. The phloem is what carries sugar manufactured from the plant's leaves to other parts of the plant that do not conduct photosynthesis, like the roots. So when that sugar is being redirected into the stomachs of aphids, it doesn't bode well for the plant. Here's kind of what the aphids on the spinach leaves looked like

I would also like to mention that I would have not been half as interested about aphids had I not spent the summer at Riverview, in the company of a various assortment of eclectic and populous bugs. I've definitely become quite desensitized to their presence. Anyway, Oren and Liam will probably want to get rid of these bugs- I think Lam mentioned planting some herbs by the spinach would help.

I guess I should mention the trees now. I happen to know the exact figures- 2000 saplings! And each of them needs their own separate hole to call home. Is a certain Louis Sachar book coming to mind to you too?

Oh and lastly, about two days ago, Oren saw a mouse just minding it's own business and probably contributing to the ecosystem in a positive way and wanted to kill it. Mice are an integral part of the food chain in many habitats because they reproduce so quickly and in large quantities and they also control grain distribution by consuming them. I'm not saying you should make any sort of character judgment because of this but...

TREES EVERYWHERE

So. Many. Trees. It’s overwhelming. I don’t think there’s ever been this many trees in one spot in Appleton before. I don’t even know what to do. There are so many.

I can’t give a decent estimate as to how many there are, because I didn’t see them all. The trees are pretty tall, maybe a bit over six or so feet on average.  There’s pear trees, apple trees, peach trees, cherry trees, gooseberry bushes, raspberries, buffalo berries (I have no idea what those are), nantuk cherries (they’re a bush?), frostberries, (whatever those are) and grapes that had really long roots.

Folks at Riverview have spent all day digging holes for them, and making mounds of wet woodchips in the garage to store the ones that can’t get planted yet. It’s going to take a lot of man hours. Luckily, there’s a big group coming out this weekend from Appleton North High School. Kudos to them!

It’s actually very exciting, now is a great time to come to Riverview.  It’s pretty reliably over 40 degrees, the mud honestly isn’t that bad, there’s stuff to do besides painting walls, and, yup, there’s trees everywhere!