Tiny House Farm Augusta New York

Let’s call it a rain day today. Heavy storms expected, rains, flooding, lightning. Doom and gloom abound. Lions, tigers, and bears, oh my! For us, catching up is always a hard thing to do. Had planned today on moving mushroom logs, brush hogging, and weeding at the farm today. What to do at home to be productive? Got it! I need this year’s starting supply of mushroom paper bags. Exciting! Great way to stay cool, dry, and out of the way of incoming storms. Always enjoy listeni...Continue reading

Stick a fork in it and call it done! This is what 603 Shiitake mushroom bolts/logs look like after final stacking. FINISHED Brother Don stopped out yesterday for a final burst of energy. No matter what, they were getting done. Make it all end. Last 53 completed. Cheese wax was down to last few bits, two bags of spawn left over. Log count perfect (+3) Whew!... Now what? We wait. We wait, one full year. They sit for one full year before production. Talk about slow food. Will start transporting and soaking lasts years logs in a few days. Stopped counting after 2000+. Shiitake production begins between May 15th and June 15th. Temperatures must be a constant 60 degrees. Remember, we are not in charge here. Was in the 30s last night! Farming, such as it is. What’s next? We just started. Pouring rain today, brush hogging canceled due to lack of interest. Repotting tomato plants? Could be. I have over 70 Berkeley Tie-Dye from Wild Boar Farms ready for the next step. It’s all about the specialty products/produce and that’s what we’re doing. Farm is coming alive. Big grin. Plenty more to come, too early to list. Rain gear, off I go!

Well . Almost done. 500 out of 600 mushroom logs (bolts) completed. Not too shabby. Even with all the COVID happenings, we’re still getting it done.... Normally, we have a group of about 15 mushroom people come in to assist us. This is the second year in a row without our kindred spirits. So sad, we miss them. Good news is, we’re still able to pull this off with just us three plus brother Don pitching in. We’ll slow inoculation process down this week as we have business appointments and the second Pfizer vaccine is scheduled for us all. SUNY Poly has an amazing operation and we’re awed at its’ speed and efficiency. Highly recommend it. No excuses, get vaccinated! Get this . Second dose warning. Throughout the rest of your body: Tiredness Headache Muscle pain Chills Fever Nausea This sounds like a day on the Tiny House Farm inoculating and moving logs all day. For those who question the high usage/cutting of maple sugar logs, its’ part of recommended thinning process to maintain a healthy sugarbush (for maple syrup production). We follow and have close ties with Cornell forestry programming. Cornell: a reasonable goal for a sugarbush is to make sure that trees of good vigor and potential longevity have adequate sunlight, stress events are minimized, and the effects of crowding are controlled by the owner who selects which trees will remain. Interesting stuff. By next weekend, we’re done, BUT, other projects coming.

Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally. I remember the first Earth Day. Yup, I am that old. As Junior High School students, we were not at all sure what to do, how to even react, but signs were readily painted and a little march went on, then back to class. Wahoo, a few hours out of class. Full effect never sunk in. Entered the mili...tary a few years later and all forms of radicalism had shifted to conformity. Only time I thought of nature and the environment was on my world travels and how folks trashed every tourist site I visited. People just don’t give a shit. Even at Tiny House Farm, my road frontage is scattered with trash. Daily, the same people, every day, toss out the same Styrofoam coffee cups and cigarette butts. Like clockwork in their superficial lives. Again, my favorite comic line. You can’t fix stupid! Went out to Tiny House Farm today to clear my head, take some pictures, hug a few trees, do some minor projects. Mother Nature is getting another laugh on us. Temperature hovered around 30 degrees and one inch of wet packing snow on the ground. Winds were ripping at 25 30 mph. Not a great day to inoculate mushroom logs. But hey, it’s Earth Day, a time to enjoy our little slice of nature. Temps will be back up in the 60’s on Saturday. Main thing to remember, we’re not in charge here. Take it as it comes, enjoy it while you can, find some time to hug a tree today, It’s Earth Day 2021.

Tiny House Farm has started our 2021 Shiitake Inoculation process. Normally (what’s normal now - these days), we have a group of folks come out to assist us in the inoculation process. Folks learn, get first hand tips, and the camaraderie of like-minded individuals. Tree huggers, one and all. Also, I feed people well! Fifteen was a comfortable number. We get, many hands make light work). Here are just some random notes (tips, thoughts) if you’re considering a grow operation...Continue reading

Hard to believe it, 2021 Shiitake inoculation season is here at last! We’ve been locked up for months and now, PANIC! No, not really, just the same-same as last year. Family members slogging away at the stack of 600 logs to be processed. "Better than a gym membership."... Tent is all set up, equipment on the ready, meals - ready-to-eat (no, Ron’s, not Army's). Great to be a gentleman farmer and have all this free time to get the busy-work done. Normally, we’d invite 15 strangers (friends) and demonstrate the Shiitake inoculation process, along with tours and inside secrets. We’ve had them come from as far as the Buffalo region, the Hudson, Watertown and Binghamton. To us, this was fun. Sharing our story, giving advice in a hands-on but fun fashion. Hope to keep you posted on our progress as we make our way through the mountain of logs. Going to be a great year. More good news coming on specialty produce. Be safe, wear a mask, get your COVID19 inoculation.

You would think that as calendula infused oils are the base of my soap, lotion bars, lip balm and cream that I would be very invested in the rows of flowers Tiny House Farm is growing. This year, not so much. Behind all those weeds is my calendula. My poor, neglected calendula. We had covered the rows with a tarp to kill off the weeds and that part worked out great. [ 1,280 more word ] https://ronboughtthefarm.com/2020/10/20/calendula-woes/

Not much of a photograph. It’s me, I’m too lazy, too harried, and way too busy to take photographs. Plus I stink at it, with my eyesight being so poor. Ginny has the knack, not I. So, what’s going on at Tiny House Farm on Saturday, 10/3/20? It’s Juneberry planting time. All 240 of them. But the story is not that simple. For us, it never is.... Actually, it’s a project, a process, a few years in the making. The start, a workshop presentation by Cornell Small Farms. That was 2015! Spark! Light bulb! In motion! Then WAIT! Starting by laying down landscaping cloth two years back. Getting it blown up by high winds. Repositioning and adding to rows (of course, gotta have, more, more, more) Reinstalling using 10 landscaping timber spikes with rubber grommets instead of useless staples. Wait one season to see if spikes hold. This year. Burning holes in fabric using a 18 foot jig. Drilling 4 holes in soil (mostly rock), and finally, yes finally, placing three varieties of Juneberries (Smokey, Theissen, Honeywood) in soil. Back up. What’s a Juneberry? Why? From Cornell The juneberry (known commonly elsewhere as a Saskatoon berry) is a dark-colored fruit that is grown on the Canadian prairies. The juneberry is native to North America, more particularly to the upper Midwest and northern prairie region of Canada a bitterly cold and dry climate with low-fertility soils (sound familiar, like us, a-huh?) Gets better, ever hear of global warming? How about Spotted wing drosophila? I am hedging bets siding on doom and gloom. Sounds so much like Ron? Plus, I am a sucker for anything newly mentioned by Cornell. Different is better? I think so, Specialty. To continue. You just cannot go to your corner nursery to obtain plantings. One such, in the Finger Lakes wanted almost $12.00 a plant. You do the math. In steps, research, right to the source, Alberta Canada. Never pay retail! Again, wait one year. Not off the shelf. Agricultural permits, business and tax I.D.s, border crossing, cross country trek, COVID19, (getting it?) Shipment arrives. Boxes destroyed, finger pointing, first frost hits us. Firm, steps up to the plate, sends a new shipment by carrier freight. All is well. Great articles: https://smallfarms.cornell.edu//juneberries-they-go-where/ https://time.com//saskatoon-berry-juneberry-canada-intern/ We, at Tiny House Farm, are in this for the long haul, no matter what delay or obstacles, we’ll get the job done. Already planning next year’s installment of another 200 juneberry seedlings, look out Alberta. I am calling on Monday. 2021 baby!!! Gonna be a great year!!!

Tiny House Farm, along with the rest of the world, is still coming to terms with our new reality. Hardest part is, that none of us know what that reality will end up being. It is going to take a lot more time before things shake themselves out. Nature being what it is, Ron started our normal shiitake process in June. [ 1,344 more word ] https://ronboughtthefarm.com//04/getting-through-to-normal/

This really made my day when I finally realized Nicole Pitt (Flower Hill Farm) made a video posting to YouTube. Simply, she cracks me up as most u tubers sit there all stoic and act serious. Nicole lets er' rip! What a pro! "What the Thrip!" I knew when she pm'd me, she was up to something but frost was on my mind. Saying Goodbye to the Flowers for 2020 : A Look Back at 2020 : Sticker Winners!... https://youtu.be/sV3tFcNCBeA Yes, season almost over as frost ripped through the farms. Not sure of all the losses yet. Will know more by Monday. Shiitakes are "pinning" under frost blankets and sheet plastic barriers. Let us hope for Tuesday deliveries. Maybe a slight delay. Want some stickers or to buy a t-shirt, pm me. Thanks Nicole, you're a charm. #flowerhillfarm #boonvilleisblooming #flowerfarm #cutflowers #flowerfriends

I've been following Nicole Pitt from Boonville for some time (NO, not stalking). She has a family farm called Flower Hill Farm and is personable and engaging. She has a long record here in CNY and I find her a riot. Glad to see someone "lives her work." Cheers Nicole Pitt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT_Ki8zurG4&t=853s Give it a watch, be patient, it'll get to the point.... Morning update 9/11/20 On a more personal note, another Ron story coming up. I cannot figure out my fascination with cut flowers lately. I have had some experiences of late selling cut flowers to restaurants but not of Nicole’s quality level. Flowers me? Finally dawned on me this morning, 25 years ago, while in the Army preparing to depart after 21 years’ of service, we were put through a bunch of bulls#it training classes and seminars on how to get ready for the civilian world. As I was in the military since the age of 17, Me?, I was institutionalized,. I knew nothing different. Brain-washed. Point A-to-B, Resume? Huh? Goals? Salary Expectations? Vocational interest tests? Just tell me the mission and I’ll gett’er done!!! Thankfully I had already decided to attend college full-time at Cazenovia College for Advertising/Graphic Design. (Why I chose that, is another long Ron story, glad I did!). Back to the bulls#it Vocational interest tests. I was pegged as a Florist/Flower Arranger. Stupid a$$ test!!! How the boys laughed their a$$es off on that one. Now, 25 years later, I am still just as stupid, me flowers? #flowerhillfarm

Every time I head to the farm, I am always met with something new, offbeat, puzzling, or just plain joyous. Semi-retired (har-har) so they say, I'll enjoy every day. The mix of things I am involved with makes every day, a sheer pleasure. Today's photo is a log grown shiitake in "natural-flush." Just love it when they do that. Logs are ready for another run. Today, lifting work to be done. The "log shuffle," as I call it. My favorite pastime. Moving last weeks flushed logs (ha...Continue reading

Always have to thank those who have mastered their craft, kudos to Chef Victor! Victor Ramirez

One of my favorites! Shiitake Bacon. An amazing flavor combination with steak. For our Vegan crowd, goes equally well on a quality bean burger. We've tried it, it works. mmmmmm As with Utica, restaurant scene has been kicking it up a notch lately in Rome NY with the addition of Sugarbeets, Vine & Fig, and Gardners. Old standbys remain solid and I enjoy my visits.

https://www.facebook.com/ron.del.9?__tn__=%2CdlC-R-R&eid=ARAwu9mTAXKEdVTxi1WJx6zf7wjhVHGPhjVwKVeHOxs1ZoTnGfQvR07jyF4wVRaoPNEV9xnauwPRrEg9&hc_ref=ARTmeYv6DWALCAmE-KuTbAYk0HL_-1ftVVPuyF5062IjQX5SPRaK2SGmy2pwXRHYz7w Had to share this story.

Ron is hitting the road shortly. Making the rounds to close friends bringing cheer, silly stories and of course forest-grown Shiitakes. Some will get little added bonuses (just because). Remember the ditti, "it's the Shiitake man, it's the Shiitake man" for even bigger gifties. See ya soon.

Open retail sale of Forest-Grown Shiitake Mushrooms for our friends and followers. Another restaurant cycle has been completed and all orders have been fulfilled. We have three (3) pounds not spoken for and we want only fresh Shiitakes going out the door. Restaurants are reporting mixed sales and you need to go out and support them through take-out or limited seating. Send me a message (PM) or call me if you have an interest. I'll work out local delivery to you. I'll even w...ear the special mushroom mask Ginny just produced for me. Wishing you all well, please be safe. Hug and kisses Ron RonDel

We have a feature on Certified Naturally Grown homepage. https://certified.naturallygrown.org/producers/5303 Take a peek.

We will get by .. Touch of Grey, song Grateful Dead, how appropriate Received notice yesterday from the Mohawk Valley Garlic & Herb Festival staff that the September 2020 event has been canceled. This follows on the notice from our other favorite, the Cornell Cooperative Extension’s, Herb and Flower Fest, has also canceled.... Restaurant customers mainly closed or are limited to take-out orders. We’re hobbled. Hobbled, I love word play. I love words. Definition: tie or strap together (the legs of a horse or other animal) to prevent it from straying. We don’t place blame on the fairs, restaurants, or even the government(s). The Coronavirus is the blame! Our constant, short-sighted, knee-jerk reactions, too late half-assed preparations, and even to the jerks who say, my rights!, I don’t have to wear a mask! Get your shit together! Good news. Our 2020 inspection for Certified Naturally Grown (CNG) was completed. We passed, thanks Jared. We practiced social distancing FYI (forest creatures were taken aback as two leprechauns wearing face coverings wondered the forest.) Required testing of water supply for eColi / nitrates / nitrites completed. Again, we meet all standards! Our 2020 season has started, contact us, we have products available. Forest Grown Shiitakes Mushrooms are now coming in (aren’t they sexy?), specialty vegetables have been planted, natural skin-care products are made. Hell, we’ll even sell you an Eat My Shiitakes hemp t-shirt. We’re open folks, give us a call, send an email, comment on Tiny House Farm Facebook. We love and miss you all, Peace. Shannon, when the dust settles, I want a ride in the VW "Hippie Van."

Throughout this year’s Shiitake inoculation process, I kept hearing this strange, jungle-like bird calls. I've never heard these calls before, but we heard them often. Daily in fact. https://youtu.be/SNVGPmo1xuA Take a listen.... Last night brother Don came out for a farm visit and we sat, enjoying the days end beside the creek. Birding is an often topic for us. He has been at it for years. I know very little. Shame on me! Walking back from the south end mushroom laying yard, I spotted a male Pileated Woodpecker. I’ve seen one before in Rome, but never on Tiny House Farm. They are one of the larger woodpeckers in the US measuring Length: 15.8-19.3 in (40-49 cm) with a Wingspan: 26.0-29.5 in (66-75 cm). In other words, for a bird, BIG. Just a thought.

Done, done, done!!! Stick a fork in it!!! As of 11:15 a.m. Monday, 614 Shiitake mushroom logs (bolts) were completed by the Tiny House Farm crew. Amazing feat for the young at heart. From 25 a day (singlely), to 75 (full crew of 3), it was a humbling process. Especially with some logs exceeding 10 inches. Still glad we did it. Virus or not.... But we do miss our mushroom people as having friends, family, and new folks, around and about, makes this yearly task fun and exciting. This was the whole point of the farm. Community. More fun to be had. This morning, I get to entertain our flamingos by mucking out our spring fed, clean water source. Not to go into funky details, but it’s a dirty job and someone (namely me) has to wade in, and clean it out of winter debris. Again, funky. Fix/repair/service water pump. Hint: You can’t fix stupid! As temperatures rise, I will test small groups of bolts by shocking them in cattle troughs for 24 hours with this spring fed water. We’ll see if the 2020 Log-Grown Shiitake Mushrooms will begin anew. Reminder to those who received a bolt from us, temperatures about 60 Degrees, constant, before shocking. No more than 24 hours soak. Miss you all at Tiny House Farm Augusta New York.

If anyone is looking for naturally grown and organically raised dandelions, Tiny House Farm has a fabulous crop.