Walking in a Winter Myrtleland (take two!)

Every now and then, something happens which makes College Station, Texas, a little less bland, a little less "United States of Generica".  For example, later this year, construction will begin on our very own Chuy's restaurante y cantina. 

We have friends who prefer only "local" restaurants, and Chuy's is a chain, but we fervently believe one trip to the Elvis Presley Memorial Nacho Bar, margarita in hand, will make converts of even the most fervent locavore.

Then, there are the natural events.  Like snow.  We've had measurable amounts of snow four times in the past 22 months, which for College Station, is quite an event.  "Global Weirding" is here, as avid Myrtle readers will know from previous posts.  

The fact that the very same scientists who tell us that the Earth is warming also predicted that we would have a cold, wet winter in College Station is all too easily lost for some pedestrian thinkers, but we suppose that is only understandable.  The world is a big place, and it is sometimes difficult to digest just exactly how interconnected it is, and it can also be frightening when you consider how much it is changing.  That which we always understood to be timeless and unchanging is not timeless, nor is it unchanging.

Better than getting worked up about it, though, is getting out in it and enjoying it.  Revelling in it.  Owning it. 

The slogan for everybody at Myrtle's place is "Do what you can with what you've got when you've got it."  We can't stop the Chinese from burning dirty coal, nor can we stop irresponsible drivers from purchasing gas-guzzling SUVs, nor can we convince all our fellow Texans that Adam and Eve did not ride dinosaurs to church.

But we can grow as much of our own food as possible, reduce our consumption of shared natural resources (like getting off the city's water supply, for example, or converting to solar as soon as is practicable, or etc. etc. etc.), and in general live as free from the tyranny of desire as one can imagine doing while still being a part of the greater world.

And when it snows, as it will occasionally do, especially in an El Niño year, we can get out and play in it.

Two-and-a-half weeks to planting time!  Until then,

Happy farming!

Raising the Roof at Big Myrtle's Place

"Beware of muddle."  --E.M. Forster

"Ouch!"  --The Proprietors of Big Myrtle's Place

A clear vinyl corrugate roof seemed like such a clever idea when we started.  The circling hawks would be able to see the chickens, but not get to them, the slight tint of the plastic would keep out the summer heat, but let in the wan winter sun.  English majors are so cute when they start farming.

We will say this on behalf of the plastic roof -- it stayed on through two hurricanes and three ice/snow storms.  It lasted through the longest, hottest, driest summer on record, and it almost lasted through the torrential rains of an El Niño winter.

Plus, it kept out the raccoons and other predators who inhabit our neighborhood only slightly less thickly than political yard signs seem to these days.  (One wonders, with all the "True Conservative" county constable candidates how many "Fake Conservatives" must be roaming the Brazos County courthouse, but we digress...)

We have managed, in one weekend, to swap out the plastic for the more tried-and-true heavy plywood.  And it's a good thing it only took one weekend, too, because the hawks have been circling all day today.  I think they viewed our activities as the prelude to the raptor equivalent of a blue-plate special at Luby's.

Next phase?  Painting.  We plan to go with a black, white and red motif, to show off the Barred Rockiness of the place.  Once we reach a plateau of aesthetic quirkitude, we plan to organize a Brazos Funky Chicken Tour.

Next week:  prepping the vegetable beds for Spring planting (in about two weeks!!!)

Until then,

Happy farming!

Is It Spring Yet? (Hint: NO!!!)

 Over at Mother Earth News, The Happy Homesteader ponders the inbetween time in Kansas and notes that they plant Irish Potatoes at Saint Patrick's time every year.  We have annually made a tradition of planting jalapeños on the anniversary of the Battle of the Alamo, which is invariably a week too early.  March 6th just sounds right to someone who puts up with balmy late February weather every year.

In Texas, you get bikini and speedo weather in February (never mind that you also get a lot of people who shouldn't be wearing either item).  You also get bobsledding weather in March.  So don't get fooled!

We have a long shopping list for when we do finally get to put stuff in the ground, and for lack of anything better to do, we hereby present "what we'll be putting in the ground at Myrtle's over the course of the next two months":

• Sweet Corn
• Nasturtiums
• Sunflowers
• Rosemary
• Pole Beans
• Cucumbers
• Roma Tomatoes
• Grape Tomatoes
• Jalapeños
• Serranos
• Bell Peppers
• Cantaloupe
• Catnip
• Goat's Rue
• Red Clover
• Wandering Jew
• Raspberry Autumn Sage
• Blackberries
• Loblolly Pines
• African Basil
• Aloe Vera
• Summer Squash

This is in addition to what we already have growing, of course.  We currently have Brison Blackberries, and if we can do so, we'll stick with the same variety this year.  However, we have recently had a problem with trespassers thinking they can simply hop our fence on the western side of the yard; thorn bushes are clearly the best solution.

Obviously, too, this list is in no particular order.  Some of these items can go in during the first week of March, some have to be started indoors this weekend, and some won't go in until April.  When you get to this level of ambition, you really have to do your homework, and graph things out.  Nasturtiums, for example, are a must have when you grow corn -- they are a combination deterrent for some bugs and trap crop for others.  If you don't know those terms, then I suggest gardening somewhere other than the Brazos Valley.  :)

We'll keep you posted as our pseudo-Spring turns into the real thing.  Until then...

Happy farming!

Things to Do at Myrtles While the Grass is Still Dead...

Soooo....   thumb-twiddle, thumb-twiddle.

We've planted our pomegranates (long story, we went back on our word, we know, yada-yada-yada... turns out Barack Obama actually did what few presidential candidates-turned-president do... he kept his promise and lowered our taxes.  Weird.), and it's now late February, and we aren't planting potatoes or spinach this spring, so there's not much we can plant yet.



This next weekend, we're going to re-roof the chicken coop, but for now, it's pruning time.  We'll try to be more careful than this guy, though.

Happy farming!

For the Record, It's Cold Because It's Winter...

We're not going to link any of the foolish "the world is actually cooling" stories because, well, they're foolish.  Basing your science on a wanton desire to keep burning fossil fuels like there's no tomorrow is a sure way to make sure there's no tomorrow.

To make things plain, before we express our opinion about global warming denialists, we start with the basics:

• We are not trained scientists; we are trained as literary critics.  This, however, is better training than that of most global warming denialists, who are frequently the same as evolution denialists, which is a whole other ball of uneducated wax to deal with.
• We do not have proof that man-made sources of warming are the cause of global warming.  We do, however, have evidence that warming is happening, and denying that evidence requires some serious mental contortion.
• It is snowing a lot on the eastern seaboard this winter.  That was something actually predicted by many of the same scientists who seek to educate the uneducated on global warming.

Now then, first things first.   Permafrost is disappearing.  Just ask the Inuit and they'll tell you.  Or, ask the Swedes, who are seeing it happen now.  Between declining permafrost and melting glaciers, the world's supply of "permanently" frozen water is decreasing rapidly.

There are plenty of disputes between and among statisticians about how to measure "global temperature" or even whether such a measurement, if theoretically possible, is even meaningful.  Ignore those disputes.  They are irrelevant.  The question is whether individual climates (and their associated ecospheres) are practicable in a rapidly changing global climate.  And the answer is almost invariably "no".  Permafrost is a great example, and it will have a hugely underestimated economic impact over the next couple of decades.  Just go ask a civil engineer what happens if the density of the soil you've built roads, railroads, pipelines, and buildings on top of changes by several orders of magnitude in less than a decade.  It ain't a pretty picture.

If you really want to know why, given the fact that the world is getting warmer, it's snowing on the East Coast, you ought to check with the folk who track such things.  You'll notice that the outlook for the East is cold, but the outlook for the West (including Alaska, all you permafrost fans) is warmer than usual. 

The reason?  The El Niño Southern Oscillation effect.  "Blame it on El Niño" is a convenient catch-phrase, but it isn't just a slogan.

El Niño is a change in the temperature of the water near the surface of a large part of the Pacific Ocean.  This has such a dramatic impact on our weather because the ocean has many, many thousands of times more heat-storing capacity than the environment does.  Changes in ocean temperature have a dramatic impact on winds, including "permanent" winds like the trade winds or the jet stream.  Check wikipedia if you are not familiar with these terms -- remember, we're English majors here.  But we've read the stories and evaluated the evidence -- Global Warming denialists are long on rhetoric, heavy on ad hominem argument, and short on science.

The only question, really, is how much of global climate change is man-caused, and what (if anything) can be done about it.  I'd suggest that the best place to find answers is from some of the same sources sensible enough to tell us that it's happening in the first place.

Whew!  Next post, we'll get back to your regularly scheduled farm updates.  For now, it's February, and it's cold.  We're going inside for some hot cocoa.

Happy farming!

Something Fishy Going On...

Chinese agriculture is a boring subject for most Americans.  There are good reasons for this, not the least of which is the fact that Chinese agriculture has next to no significant impact on the daily decisions we have to make as productive western citizens.

However, there are some bellweather issues which make Chinese agriculture very much worth noticing, not the least of which is its relationship with water shortages globally.  Of the most significant negative and positive trends in global environmental news, central asian glaciers are disappearing rapidly.  There are dramatic water shortages on the way for most of the world, and the food supply is going to diminish rapidly.

On the plus side?  Chinese aquaculture now outpaces poultry farming.  Why is this good news?  Because, if done right, the grand irony is that fish farming requires fewer resources than traditional animal husbandry.  This is particularly true when comparing fish to beef, but the bottom line is, you need water to plant crops, and that water is even better for crops if fish have been raised in it first.

We had put an 18 month timetable on our backyard catfish pond plans, making a Fall 2011 debut for our first batch of fingerlings.  That is now changed.  We are going to push like crazy monkeys are chasing us this summer to dredge the pond and get our first fish in by this fall.

This won't be an easy task, as we are not going to follow any of the exemplary plans we have found for this project, but instead are going to rely on the natural propensity of the heavy-clay soil on that side of the yard, and we intend to dig pretty deep, as well, as much as 8 to 10 feet.  Ideally, we'd like to hit bedrock, which in College Station is not always all that difficult, only about 12 feet deep in most of the city, but keep in mind as well that we are doing all of our digging with a hand shovel.

So, if we look grimy or gritty when you run into us out in the "real world" beyond Myrtle's little patch of heaven, you'll know why.  There's something fishy going on at Myrtle's.

Happy farming!

It's Amazing How After Years And Years...

...we eventually instinctively know just what to do!  Okay, we're still working on it, but... having transported Duck to Millican Farms, the mecca of chicken happiness, we have decided we really need to start getting more involved in Brazos Locavores, the local organization which pushes education and involvement in the locally grown foods movement.

This movement has the potential to change the most persistent and pernicious problems facing our health and welfare today; it sounds corny to make such a sweeping statement, but it is true -- low quality food transported too far and sold outside of the local economy rather than within it is sapping the lifeblood of our country.  It wasn't just the small farmer who suffered in the 1980s when the small family farm started to disappear; the local communities which used to be nourished by those farms also suffered.

So, how can eating locally help?

Taken liberally from Brazos Locavores, here is a summary: 

• Food Miles – Most food travels an average of 1500 miles from where it is grown to our plates. Want to help decrease our dependence on oil? Eat local! 
• Knowledge is Power – The current infrastructure of the food system is so vast and complicated there’s no way to know where your food originates. For example, the Summer 2008 tomato scare. How many months did it take the government to narrow down the source of those tomatoes? Too long. Want to know where your food originates? Eat local! 
• Tastes Better and It’s Better for You – Food grown on small, local farms reaches your table faster, which means it was picked at its peak (often the day you purchase it). Want high quality, nutritionally dense food that tastes great too? Eat local! 
• Better for the Environment - Small local farms generally practice crops rotation (nutritionally diverse plants occupy the same growing space in different seasons – tomatoes in summer, perhaps peas in winter)which creates a more rich, nutrient-dense soil, generally with fewer chemical pesticides and fertilizers in our soil, in our water, and in our bodies. Looking for a cleaner, healthier environment? Eat local! 
• Better for the Community – A number of research studes have shown that of every $100 spent at a locally owned business, $45 comes back into the community. That’s compared to only a $14 return when we shop at a big-box store.

For those of you in the Brazos Valley, please consider supporting the growers and organizations listed on the  Brazos Grows website.  For those outside the Brazos Valley, we urge you to look up your local Locavore organization.  And if there isn't one, start one!

Happy farming!