Lee Rice at the Capital City Public Market in Boise last fall
I got this email from Lee Rice at Rice Family Farms in Meridian, Idaho the other day. Lest you think organic farming is a walk in the sustainable ag. park, take a read at what Lee and his dad Gilbert have been up to for the first few weeks of the new growing season:
Rice Family Farm's fall produce
“Since April 6th when we were finally able to get into our heavy Mason Creek soil fields, crews, Dad and/or I at Rice Farms have transplanted 36 rows of shallots and leeks, seeded 60 rows of carrots, green onions, scallions, beets, radish parsnips and turnips; planted 51,000 onion transplants; visited Sweet Valley Organic farm; transplanted 40 rows of lettuce kale chard, cabbage, bok choy and mustard, etc.; planted 22 rows of potatoes, 10 rows of corn transplants, installed some row covers . . . not enough in this cold weather; seeded 1st planting of melons and cukes in greenhouses; built a 16 tray germination box (with help form Bill Ward); poured a new concrete wash rack floor; cultivated twice, seed prepped twice, fertilized thrice, ditched the ditch, broke down one tractor (in shop), roto tilled 2 acres, layed irrigation tape and mulch for onions and set up irrigation on about 50% of production areas, recovered one greenhouse, transplanted 6000 strawberry plants in grow tubes and started transplanting tomato, eggplant and pepper seedlings into plug trays in greenhouse, watched our 5 acres of over winter rye cover crop creep up to 1 foot tall and yesterday signed a contract with NRCS EQIP for help with a 800 foot long three row windbreak shelter belt for plant, birds and native pollinator protection to go in spring of 2011.
Those are some of the key items I have in my journal anyway . . . oh, and did a little watering here and there.”
Rice Family Farm's fall produce
Believe me, I’ll think about that long, run-on farm-life sentence of Lee’s the next time I take a bite of a big, juicy, locally grown carrot or feel like grousing about the cost of organic food.
Thanks Lee.
Here’s an audio slideshow with Lee Rice at last fall’s farmers’ market
And here’s the Rice Family Farms’ Website
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Guy Hand is a writer, public radio producer and photographer specializing in food and agriculture. |
