Under Construction [now - May '18]

Thank you for visiting my blog. It is currently being refigured for more productive use in the future, so check back in a few months! Happy winter!

Oh, How the Corn Grows

Observing sweet corn that has tasseled early is the perfect height for capturing this scene on video. Once the corn tassels, the pollen is released. It is the movement of the corn plant in the wind that will cause the pollen to move from the tassels at the top of the plant, to the maturing corn silks below. The pollen must land on each individual white silk, as each thread of silk is attached to a single corn kernel. 

Although, having only received a 10-minute briefing on corn pollination by family members that grow a significant amount of it, I would recommend checking out the additional reading/resource links below.

Additional reading: 

Sciences, Plantsciweb@missouri.edu Division of Plant. "Corn Pollination, the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly-Pt 3." Integrated Pest Management. University of Missouri, 31 July 2012. Web. 10 July 2017. <https://ipm.missouri.edu/ipcm/2012/7/corn-pollination-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-pt-3/>.

Heiniger, Ronnie W. "The Impact of Early Drought on Corn Yield." Yadkin County Center. NC Cooperative Extension, n.d. Web. 10 July 2017. <https://yadkin.ces.ncsu.edu/department-of-crop-science/north-carolina-corn-kernels/corn-production-information/the-impact-of-early-drought-on-corn-yield/>.

"Hand Pollination: Corn." Seed Savers Exchange . Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area, n.d. Web. 10 July 2017. <http://www.seedsavers.org/site/pdf/corn-hp.pdf>.

"Forecasted corn yield potential and attainable yields." K-State Agronomy :: eUpdate Issue 467. Kansas State University, 25 July 2014. Web. 10 July 2017. <https://webapp.agron.ksu.edu/agr_social/eu_article.throck?article_id=293>.

Resources for Teachers: 

"Inherited Traits in the Living Corn Necklace (Grades 6-8)." Inherited Traits in the Living Corn Necklace (Grades 6-8). National Agriculture in the Classroom, n.d. Web. 10 July 2017. <https://www.agclassroom.org/teacher/matrix/lessonplan_print.cfm?lpid=543>.

"The Great Corn Adventure: Teacher's Guide." The Great Corn Adventure. University of Illinois Extension, n.d. Web. 10 July 2017. <http://extension.illinois.edu/corn/guide.cfm>.

Plant & Soil Sciences eLibrary Lessons:

Russell, Ken , and Leah Sandall. "Corn Breeding: Types of Cultivars." Plant and Soil Sciences eLibrary. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 July 2017. <http://passel.unl.edu/pages/informationmodule.php?idinformationmodule=1099683867&topicorder=1&maxto=9&minto=1>.

Russell, Ken, and Leah Sandall. "Corn Breeding: Lessons From the Past." Plant and Soil Sciences eLibrary. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 July 2017. <http://passel.unl.edu/pages/informationmodule.php?idinformationmodule=1075412493&topicorder=1&maxto=12&minto=1>.

Cooperative Extension Summer Intern

Now begins the Instagram series, the story behind the photo:

My title is now "Cooperative Extension Summer Intern", and I wear this name tag with pride. The Cooperative Extension is a service that allows citizens of the county to gain professional help regarding their agricultural pursuits.

"The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience." [Eleanor Roosevelt] #summerinternship #learningbydoing #cooperativeextension #cooperativeextensionservice #agriculturaleducation #knowyourfarmer #knowyourfood

A post shared by Olivia Horning (@practice_farm) on May 17, 2017 at 9:20am PDT

I have been fortunate in being able to spend time with each of the agents in the Rowan county office, gaining a greater understanding of what their job title entails.

At the Rowan Cooperative Extension office there is a livestock/field crops agent, a horticulture/local foods agent, a 4-H agent, and a Family/Consumer science agent. I encourage you all to inquire of the cooperative extension office in your home county, as there is an extension office in every North Carolina county!

If you have been following me on Instagram (second icon in the row of icons to the right side of the screen), you already know that I have been able to participate in a wide variety of projects during my four weeks at the office thus far. Projects including video editing, planting a teaching orchard, and planning a 4-H Summer Fun camp.

Below you'll find the product of a 1-Day video training that I was able to attend, regarding the use of mobile devices to shoot high quality video. Enjoy!

Seeds {Round One}

Below is the Seed information for those planted on March 8th, 2017, and can also be found in under the "CSA Menu" tab above. Comment below if you have any questions about individual varieties or have other varieties to suggest.

Variety: The type of seed planted, Seed company 
Planting Date: When the seeds were planted
Germination Date: Will be recorded when leaves appear
Days to Harvest: Number of days from germination to harvest
Harvest Date: Approximate date of "whatever's ripe"

Variety: Red Russian Kale, Seeds of Change seed
Planting: 3/8/17
Germination: ?
Days to Harvest: 55
Harvest Date: ?

Variety: Vates Champion Collard, Seeds of Change seed
Planting: 3/8/17
Germination: ?
Days to Harvest: 70
Harvest Date: ?

Variety: Blenheim Orange Muskmelon, Seeds of Change seed
Planting: 3/8/17
Germination: ?
Days to Harvest: 85
Harvest Date: ?

Variety: Red Pear Tomato, Seeds of Change seed
Planting: 3/8/17
Germination: ?
Days to Harvest: 70
Harvest Date: ?

Variety: Amish Paste Tomato, Seeds of Change seed
Planting: 3/8/17
Germination: ?
Days to Harvest: 85
Harvest Date: ?

Variety: Cherokee Purple Tomato, Seeds of Change seed
Planting: 3/8/17
Germination: ?
Days to Harvest: 85
Harvest Date: ?

Variety: Patty Pan Squash, Wyatt-Quarles Seed Company
Planting: 3/8/17
Germination: ?
Days to Harvest: Approximately 45 to 55 days
Harvest Date: ?

Variety: Sugar Baby Watermelon, Seeds of Change seed
Planting: 3/8/17
Germination: ?
Days to Harvest: 65
Harvest Date: ?

Variety: Painted Serpent Cucumber. Seeds of Change seed
Planting: 3/8/17
Germination: ?
Days to Harvest: 65
Harvest Date: ?

Variety: Calabaza First Prize Hybrid Pumpkin, Burpee seed
Planting: 3/8/17
Germination: ?
Days to Harvest: 85
Harvest Date: ?

Variety: Table Queen Acorn Squash, Wyatt-Quarles Seed Company
Planting: 3/8/17
Germination: ?
Days to Harvest: 75-90
Harvest Date: ?

Variety: Waltham Butternut Squash, Wyatt-Quarles Seed Company
Planting: 3/8/17
Germination: ?
Days to Harvest: 95- 110
Harvest Date: ?

Variety: True Green Hubbard Squash, Olds Seed
Planting: 3/8/17
Germination: ?
Days to Harvest: 95-110
Harvest Date: ?


But that zera/seed on the tov/good ground are those, who in an honest and tov/good lev/heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.  Luka/Luke 8:15

Best Regards,

The Garden's Transition from Winter to Spring

Wednesday was a big day! Thanks to good friends that were willing to lend a hand, here is the farm & garden update:

Left- collard greens, Top- brussel sprout tops, Right- carrots,
Bottom middle- brussel sprouts (turnips and kale not pictured)

• Rose bush pruned to a manageable size, which is very exciting
• Last season's herbs pruned to the ground (they will come up again soon)
• The 2nd greenhouse was constructed 
• Both greenhouses are now securely anchored in the ground in their new location for the season
• The extension of the garden was prepared, mowing the grass down and covering with clear plastic to kill the grass
• Bought peat moss for seed starting and crimson clover seed for the future cover crop, 5 lbs of seed!
• Mixed potting media, peat moss and worm castings, from my own vermicompost. Thanks to mother for keeping the composting bin in the kitchen all this time!
• The garden rows were weeded with the last of the winter crop removed (featured above) 
• Prepared the garden for the spring crop. No seeds in the garden yet, due to the uncanny threat of snow this weekend. 

Up next: the first round of seeds in the greenhouse, now called "Seeds (Round One)"

Then He said to His talmidim/disciples, The harvest truly is great, but the workers are few.

Make tefillah/prayer therefore to the Master of the harvest, that He will send forth workers into His harvest.  Mattituahu/Matthew 9:37-38

Best Regards,

Why Have a Hobby Farm?

While mowing the cover crop in the garden today, the separation of "life" and "work" became more prevalent, as I was trying to figure out why I do what I do. 

I was thinking about past friends in agriculture and current professionals in the field- and how they may be working the the agriculture field, their home lives do not reflect agriculture at all. Like professors in Raleigh that live in neighborhoods, or college friends that are enjoying the apartment life away from the family farm, while majoring in agriculture. 

This concept has baffled me prior to today and was quite frankly frustrating because I did not understand this division of work and life, until today with: 

A post shared by Olivia Horning (@practice_farm) on Mar 6, 2017 at 5:40pm PST

"First, determine how you are going to work. 

Then, determine how you are going to live."

For example, lately I have been experiencing a pull toward focusing on my future job as an Agriculture teacher and less on unproductive portions of the farm, such as the pygmy goats I have determined to sell. 

I have established that I am done hobby-ing with livestock and the next time I have any sort of previously owned species (goats, sheep) it will be on a larger productive scale, paired with cattle, because I have a more established knowledge base surrounding managing them now. Haven taken small ruminant management in the fall and currently enrolled in beef cattle management this spring, I shall hobby now with horticulture. 

Thus I have established that animal science is the focus of my Ag teaching career and horticulture is my "hobby" of sorts.

With this concept I have established why I have the hobby farm, it is "living" for me. It is not "work",  as it does not produce monetary income and would be cheeper to buy produce in the grocery store imported from outside of the United States.

But rather, the hard physical labor is good for my body and teaches me discipline. The farm builds character and it is how I want to raise my children. Not necessarily to perpetuate agriculture as I have, expecting them to all be farmers, but rather to teach necessary life skills and equip them to decide:

how they will work and how they will live.

Best Regards,

The Garden of 2016

As it is the fourth week of the spring semester, I feel like it would be appropriate to reflect on the progress of 2016. This past year I have been particularly interested in growing vegetables, and developing the most efficient management system, as this is totally new to me.

I worked on a vegetable farm for a month out of the summer and took the vegetable production class at NC State during the fall, so what did I learn?

Photo timeline video of the 2016 garden, beginning in March when the land was purchased:

I have noticed that a management system that works for one person at one farm, may not be the most efficient for another grower on a different farm. The process that is growing a vegetable garden in a new place, may be a bit tricky to figure out, like....what about the weeds? How much is this going to cost? How do I replenish the soil with minimal inputs? How many hours do I want to invest in this project a week? How do I create a complete system, sort of like a self sustaining ecosystem, on this piece of land?

While I do not claim to have all the answers, I have learned much along the way. Looking through pictures of the garden of 2016, I have tried many different systems, and experienced both success and failure. But one of the better problems to have: when you think to yourself, how am I doing to preserve all of this food?!