Sunrise
and Sunset: 6:31am/ 8:07pm (actual)
Solar noon: 1:19pm
Moonrise and Moonset: 7:51am/ 10:41pm
On Friday May 18th there will be 14 hours and 28 minutes of visible light
Full Moon will be May 31st
Field Notes
Under large drops of rain and the penetrating sun, the fields stand empty. Strangely vacant of the chaotic tomatoes, bare of the outstretched leaves of cabbage, naked of the colors that scented the air and caught the eye. Last week’s unusual non-tropical depression Andrea sat off the coast for days promising rain, but instead blew onshore the smoke of distant forest fires. This past week’s rainy Monday brought in a breath of life, clearer skies and fresh spring air from out at sea.
Flora
Even as the rains fell this week, many flowers and fruit continue to drop due to continued drought conditions. We are still falling well below (more than 12 inches) our annual average water levels. As the hurricane season approaches we’ll hope for storms that deliver buckets of moisture, but are gentle in their bluster.
Fauna
Pairs of north-bound Sandhill Cranes glided way overhead in the thermals of last week’s front. Their distinctly raspy tones audible tens of thousands of feet above the passing train whistle, flowing traffic, and crowing mockingbirds. Most of the Lepidoptera family, moths and butterflies, has transformed into flying creatures that no longer need to snack so much on tender plants and veggies; many have simply blown away over the past week. Lady bugs (a.k.a., ladybird beetles) can be found en masse, representing every life stage, on dill and cilantro plants. They are a welcome sight. Fortunately not found in great quantity, incredibly bold grasshoppers robed in shiny black, ripe red, and golden yellow have been discovered hiding among the leafy plants still in the fields.
Vegetable Spotlight – Pigeon Pea (Cajanus cajan, syn. indicus)
also known as gandul(es) in Puerto Rico, kumanda yvyra’i in Paraguay, gungu pea in Jamaica, toor dal in India, arhar, red gram, kandi, Congo pea, and no-eye pea
I fell in love with this “little bean tree” during my years in Paraguay, South America. Kumanda yvyra’i, as it is known in the native Guaraní tongue, surrounded my house and that of my neighbor’s, its bushy five to ten feet of length bowing in the wind and attracting swarms of honey bees in spring. The softly muted leaves were the backdrop to the brightness of its yellow and red flowers. Its pods hung gently, plumping up as the season warmed.
In less time than the gestation of my friend’s baby, this little tree would sprout; grow tall; fill out in branches; flower; and produce the next generation. This new generation of seed provided us with the protein source to go with our rice. For this reason it is often referred to, in Paraguay at least, as “poor man’s meat”. Pigeon pea nourished not only our bodies, but also that of my neighbors’ cows and chickens. Through nitrogen fixing this leguminous tree also offered nourishment to the soil and further provided firewood for cooking up the next batch of (fresh shelled or dry) beans and rice.
The cultivation of the pigeon pea goes back at least 3000 years. The centre of origin is most likely Asia, from where it traveled to East Africa and by means of the slave trade to Caribbean Islands and American continents. Today pigeon peas are widely cultivated in all tropical and semi-tropical regions of both the Old and the New World (Information gathered from Wikipedia).
Although not standing up well to strong winds or frigid nights, the pigeon peas on Four Hands Farm have adapted spectacularly to all weather conditions that came our way this season. A beautiful miniature bean tree forest now provides shelter for bee and bird alike, shade for sun-evading crops, and protein rich plates of gandules y arroz (Puerto Rico’s traditional dish). All while amending the soil with nitrogen and nutrients that its roots bring to the surface. Thank you Pigeon Pea!
Eco-Agri-Food Definition of the Week – BioIntensive Growing
With historical roots reaching back over 4000 years in China and Japan, biointensive cultivation was also later practiced throughout the centuries by Greek, Mayan, and Early Modern period European societies. Today, it is practiced by many small-scale producers in México, Kenya, the Philippines, and in many North American states.
Revived from the past by long-time Biointensive (also called the French Intensive Method) practitioners John Jeavons and Alan Chadwick, this method approaches agriculture in a sustainable and holistic manner. Biointensive methods are used as a means of stabilizing and enhancing soil structure. With little use of mechanized equipment and a commitment to technique (rather than technology or expensive tools) that can be implemented by anyone, biointensive cultivation generally focuses on concentrated production of small areas (i.e., backyards and mini-farms of a couple acres or less). “Small-scale farming is as old as agriculture itself. One study of 15 countries, primarily in Asia and Africa, found that per acre output on small farms can be as much as four to five times higher than on large farms…The productivity of small-scale farms is also being widely recognized by agricultural economists who [refer to] it as the inverse relationship between farm size and productivity.”*
Biointensive cultivation focuses primarily on “growing” soil and valuing it as a living organism. “For a farm to be sustainable and productive, the soil needs two essential components that can be easily lost, thereby reducing the soil’s productivity: 1) water-soluble nutrients, of which nitrogen is the most important, and 2) organic matter.”*
It is well documented and acknowledged that the world’s topsoils are vanishing at alarming rates. Building soil to hold nutrients and water is an increasingly critical part of producing food. With high rates of humus (the organic material component of soil) available, soils can be stabilized (e.g., from nutrient leaching, erosion, etc…) and will require less water and fertilizers to grow healthier crops. In Central Florida’s subtropical locale, a constant supply of nutrients and organic material must be made available as our sandy soil provides little of the water and nutrient stability needed for healthy crop growth.
In order to feed the soil over the long-term, and not simply the transient plants that reside there, approximately 60% of a biointensive growing area is devoted to the production of crops that add carbon, nitrogen, micro-nutrients, and organic matter to the soil (essentially 60% of the garden space is planted solely for the soil’s benefit). The following 30% goes toward high calorie root crops such as potatoes and manioc, while the final 10% is left for vegetable crops. Biointensive cultivation uses seed saving techniques to secure future generations of plants.
The holistic approach of biointensive cultivation aims to produce, utilize, and return all required nutrients towards the creation of a closed-loop farming system. BioIntensive mini-farming relies upon six inter-related practices to construct a sustainable system of food production.
- Deep soil preparation that utilizes raised beds and two foot deep soil preparation to remove weeds and reduce soil compaction.
- Close spacing to provide living mulch over the soil. This micro climate prevents soil from being denuded by sun, rain, and wind. By avoiding planting in traditional rows, the more concentrated hexagonal spacing pattern helps to keep in moisture and shade out weeds.
- Compost - biointensive farming “adds annual applications of cured compost to all growing areas. The materials used to produce the cured compost are generated by the farm itself, thereby recycling the soil’s nutrients and fully replenishing the soil’s organic matter supply without depleting another soil.”
- Companion planting follows natural ecological systems by encouraging a diverse blend of plant types and varieties that enhance the growth of one another.
- Manual tool use (non-mechanized) minimizes soil compaction and avoids the use of petroleum products and their pollutants.
- Recycling of nutrients and residues created on site and not using off-farm fertilizers. Long term nutrient and humus production “can maintain and even improve the health, structure, and fertility of the soil and the quality and quantity of the crops produced.”
For more information about biointensive growing please check out the Ecology Action website* at http://www.growbiointensive.org or John Jeavon’s book How to Grow More Vegetables… 6th Edition or its more basic version, The Sustainable Vegetable Garden. Lots more information can also be found at www.minifarms.com/index.html.
Recommended Readings and Pertinent Websites
Barbara Kingsolver’s latest non-fiction Animal, Vegetable, Miracle explores the author and her family’s experience in eating locally produced foods in Appalachian Virginia over a year. I have not had the chance to look at this book yet, but judging by her many previous books, essays, and articles that I have read, I can almost guarantee another wonderfully descriptive, honest, and colorful written work of art.
Michael Pollan, author of The Botany of Desire which explores the cultural history of four well-known plants (I highly recommend it), brings us Omnivore’s Dilemma. His latest book looks into the journey that our food takes in getting to our plate.
If you are interested in learning more about or keeping posted on the 2007 Farm Bill, www.sustainableagriculturecoalition.org/ provides updates, background, and issue specific information.
“Everyday we are flooded with depressing news about what's happening to our planet. Not enough attention is given to those positive solutions that are emerging across the globe. WorldChanging.com is a new public interest website providing examples of sustainable and positive change.”
Although not local to Central Florida, the British Columbia based “Deconstructing Dinner” website and radio program, www.cjly.net/deconstructingdinner, is chock full of interesting and pertinent information related to food, its production, consumption, and more. The site archives all past weekly shows, offers definitions, and provides heaps of links about anything you can imagine regarding the modern food system. I can’t rave about it enough!
To stay abreast of current food and producer related issues, visit the Organic Consumers Association website at www.organicconsumers.org
Transplant
In an effort to balance personal priorities and enhance ties with my beachside community, I, Farmer Mandy Sunshine, will be leaving Four Hands Farm. Next season I plan to focus full time on coastal production using the biointensive growing method (see “definition” above for more details) at home in Cocoa Beach. Although somewhat sad to move from the fields of 4HF, I am truly grateful to have learned so much this season and to have had the opportunity to meet so many of you that care for the present and future of our food system and the wellbeing of the planet.
To anyone interested in future growing demonstrations and workshops, the biointensive method, beachside CSA and
Cocoa
Beach
farmer’s market sales, or in simply sharing information about the challenges and specifics regarding growing food alongside the sea, please contact Farmer Mandy Sunshine at luzdelsun@yahoo.com. I wish to send deeply rooted thanks to everyone for growing with us through this very difficult season.
With Deeply Rooted Thanks,
Farmer Mandy Sunshine and Farmer Morgan
