Cold Frames: So Hot Right Now

On a hot, lazy September day, what better activity to do than build a cold frame out of some extra pieces of wood lying around the tool shed?

A cold frame is a boxed enclosure with a transparent roof. Essentially, it's a mini green house. It allows folks like us to grow plants year-round—our plans with this cold frame will probably have to do with planting and growing kale, as well as other types of lettuce. But of course, cold frames can be used to grow just about anything so long as they're kept sealed during the cooler seasons and don't allow heat to escape into the atmosphere.

Matt and Kevin nailing together the boards.

Preparing to photosynthesize. Don't forget to make sure the cold frame works properly and that the transparent piece of the structure completely covers the box before thinking you're finished!

Easy to make, cold frame construction requires only a few pieces of wood, an old window, some nails, hinges, and a few power tools. It also helps to be in good company; some parts of the procedure would have been difficult to accomplish without a few extra hands to help out. Speaking of which, we would like to thank the dogs for providing excellent moral support.

The finished product!

Slab Wood Furniture

Benches and end tables made from slab wood.

Whether you're short on cash and in need of some indoor/outdoor furniture or you just love the way rustic building looks, here's a simple and free way to deck out your patios, decks and interiors: slab wood.

With a table saw, some slab wood from your local lumber mill (often discarded by them, free for you!), a few wooden dowels, some screws, wood glue, and a little help from your friends, you'll have your guests guessing what boutique you went to in order to find this one-of-a-kind furniture.

Slab wood donated by Grisanti over at Redwood Lumber

Because all pieces of slab wood are different, and because your needs will be different, there's no sense in us offering sizes for cuts of wood. Just make sure your legs are even lengths, your seat or table top is wide enough, and you offer appropriate support for weight. We used a table saw to make all our cuts and trimmings.


Here are Greg and Elyna cutting down the boards:

And visualizing the finished product:

 Pre-drilled holes get screws, a dollop of wood glue, and some dowels:

 And voila:

Got a great DIY project to share? Itching to volunteer your time and expertise at Better Farm? E-mail us at info@betterfarm.org or call (315) 482-2536.

Heirloom Tomatoes at Better Farm

Say goodbye to your store-bought tomatoes. You haven't tasted anything like Better Farm's heirloom tomato plants.

In the last several decades, we've lost about 75 percent of the genetic diversity in our seeds. Through GMO programs by bigwhigs like Monsanto, smaller family farms that supported heirloom varieties have disappeared; and the multitude of heirlooms that had adapted to survive well for hundreds of years were lost or replaced by fewer hybrid tomatoes, bred for their commercially attractive characteristics. (Click here to learn all about how we sacrificed flavor for irrelevant, tasteless color.)

In the process, we have also lost much of the ownership of foods typically grown by family gardeners and small farms, and we are loosing the genetic diversity at an accelerating and alarming rate.
Every heirloom variety is genetically unique and inherent in this uniqueness is an evolved resistance to pests and diseases and an adaptation to specific growing conditions and climates. With the reduction in genetic diversity, food production is drastically at risk from plant epidemics and infestation by pests. Call this genetic erosion.

As genetic diversityerodes, our capacity to maintainand enhance crop forest andlivestock productivity decreasesalong with the ability to respond tochanging conditions. Geneticresources hold the key to increasingfood security and improving thehuman condition.

The late Jack Harlan, world-renowned plant collector who wrote the classic Crops and Man while Professor of Plant Genetics at University of Illinois at Urbana, wrote, "These resources stand between us and catastrophic starvation on a scale we cannot imagine. In a very real sense, the future of the human race rides on these materials. The line between abundance and disaster is becoming thinner and thinner, and the public is unaware and unconcerned. Must we wait for disaster to be real before we are heard? Will people listen only after it is too late."

It is up to us as gardeners and responsible stewards of the earth to assure that we sustain the diversity afforded us through heirloom varieties.

Here's a quick cheat sheet about heirloom plants:

1. Commercial Heirlooms: Open-pollinated varieties introduced before 1940, or tomato varieties more than 50 years in circulation.
2. Family Heirlooms: Seeds that have been passed down for several generations through a family.
3. Created Heirlooms: Crossing two known parents (either two heirlooms or an heirloom and a hybrid) and dehybridizing the resulting seeds for how ever many years/generations it takes to eliminate the undesirable characteristics and stabilize the desired characteristics, perhaps as many as 8 years or more.
4. Mystery Heirlooms: Varieties that are a product of natural cross-pollination of other heirloom varieties.

(Note: All heirloom varieties are open-pollinated but not all open-pollinated varieties are heirloom varieties.)

At Better Farm, we got a bunch of different heirloom tomato seeds this year from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. Here's some information about the varieties of striped, green, and red tomatoes we have for sale at our farm stand :

(Lycopersicon lycopersicum) This crop, native to the Americas, has become the most popular garden crop over the last 200 years. We offer an amazing selection of many of the finest old varieties in lots of delicious colors! A few heirloom varieties have plants that don't get quite so large. Called "determinate" varieties, these get to a certain size and then set all their fruit more or less at once. Determinates may be a better choice where tomatoes are grown in a very small garden, or in containers. All varieties are believed to be 'indeterminate' (long vines), unless specified 'determinate' (short vines). The best tasting varieties tend to be indeterminate, as most of ours are unless otherwise noted. 

Everyone at the farm attests to the fullness of flavor on these tomatoes; like your classic beefsteak or roma on steroids. The various sizes make them universally great for stews, sauces, or sandwiches.

Organic heirloom tomatoes available at farm stand, varying prices according to size. Special bulk orders can be called in: (315) 482-2536.

Kids Make Their Own Blues Instruments with betterArts

Elyna Grapstein, far left, Kevin Carr, center, and Matt Smith, right, help local children create harmonicas and tambourines at Blues in the Bay Festival on Saturday in Alexandria Bay, N.Y.

betterArts on Saturday offered a free arts and crafts station for children to make blues instruments on the front lawn of Bay House Artisans in Alexandria Bay, N.Y.

The local non-profit, based out of Better Farm in Redwood, received funding from Watertown Evening Rotary to provide children with free arts supplies and instruction to create tambourines and harmonicas out of popsicle sticks, rubber bands, paper plates, and bells.

Children also had the opportunity to decorate the musical instruments with paint and crayons. The event was put on in conjunction with Alexandria Bay's Blues in the Bay music festival.  Here are some photographs from the afternoon:

BetterArts is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to increasing access to the arts throughout the North Country through the provision of free and low-cost workshops, residencies, private instruction, studio and gallery space, performances, and events. For more information, visit www.betterarts.org or call (315) 482-2536.

Spent Hens, One Week Later

It was just a week ago when we rescued 20 "spent hens" from a local egg farm and brought them back to Better Farm to live out their retirement. The mission was daunting; seeing birds so beaten down was difficult to bear. We washed them, clipped their toenails, and introduced them to their new surroundings. Then we waited for them to start acting like chickens.

The first day at Better Farm, these girls just sat there, looking stunned. But a mere week later, we're blessed with 20 feisty, organic egg-laying hens whose crowns are getting their color back, bellies are being filled with fresh fruits, veggies, bugs, and greens, and bodies are getting all the thrills of fresh air, soft breezes, snuggly hay, dirt, and grass to scratch and peck in. Click here to take a look at where we started; and look below (and at the video, above) to see these girls being the birds they were born to be. Feathers are growing back in, they're running (running!), jumping and flapping their wings, and just having the best time:

Want to sponsor a spent hen? $5/month covers all the costs of one bird! Donate by clicking here.

Condy Rouses Education Debate—And What of the Arts?

Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice addresses the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., on August 29, 2012. (AP Photo)

In her speech last night at the Republican National Convention, Dr. Condoleezza Rice called failing schools "the civil rights issue of our day."

"We need to give parents greater choice; particularly poor parents, whose kids—most often minorities—are trapped in failing neighborhood schools," she said from her podium in Tampa, Florida. "This is the civil rights struggle of our day."

She continued: "If we do anything less, we will condemn generations to joblessness, hopelessness and dependence on the government dole. To do anything less is to endanger our global economic competitiveness. To do anything less is to tear apart the fabric of who we are and cement a turn toward grievance and entitlement."

Bold!

Rice's apparent commitment to improving public education, and her belief that by paying attention to our children and their ability to think on their own they will go on to contribute to society instead of relying on help, resonate. For two reasons: One, because the connection between a good education and an ability to be successful as an adult is obvious; and two, because in creating

betterArts

I've found myself paying a whole lot more attention to educational funding (and, by extension, arts education funding).

Despite the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002,

public education and the arts continue to suffer in American schools

, especially in poor and minority communities. One-quarter of all school principals report decreased instructional time for the arts, with only 8 percent reporting an increase, according to the

Council for Basic Education

. The percentage of students involved in music is now at its lowest point in 20 years, declining from 18.5 percent of the total student population to just 10 percent.

So here's some information specifically on the power of arts education. Maybe this is something our leaders on every level should consider when redrafting budgets:

• Studies have shown students who study the arts are more likely to be recognized for academic achievement, be elected to class office, and score higher on the SAT. 

• Students who study art are less likely to be involved with drugs; and students who were in band or orchestra reported the lowest lifetime and current use of all substances

• In 2010, there were 20 million visits from every corner of Toronto to city-supported arts events. Every dollar Toronto invests in arts organizations attracts $17 more from private and public sources. Arts and culture funding has a great return on investment

• In the United States, every few cents the government puts toward arts education gets an estimated 7-cent return.

• Students who are educated in the arts are three times as likely to graduate high school

This is one area of federal funding where we actually see returns

on the investment—which additionally means lower costs in welfare, food stamps, and more. Lots and lots of returns. Food for thought as the deficit continues to soar and we debate where to cut the fat.

“When Winston Churchill was Prime Minister and he was told that there were going to be major cuts in arts and culture because of the mounting costs of World War II, he responded with a simple reply, ‘Then what are we fighting for?’”

For more information, check out these sites:

• National Endowment for the Arts

• Creative Coalition

• betterArts

DIY Musical Instruments

With the Blues in the Bay festival coming up Labor Day Weekend, the betterArts brigade is planning a public arts and crafts demo for kids from 1-4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 1. The free workshop will be held outside of Bay House Artisans in downtown Alexandria Bay, and is made possible through a generous donation from the Watertown Evening Rotary.

That free workshop will show children how to make their own instruments out of simple supplies. While researchig what to make next Saturday, we ran into a plethora of great ideas for kids of all ages. A few of our top picks below!

Join us from 1-4 p.m. next Saturday, Sept. 1, on the lawn in front of Bay House Artisans, ttkk, Alexandria Bay, N.Y. Contact us at (315) 482-2536 or info@betterarts.org with any questions. For more information about betterArts, please visit www.betterarts.org.

For any of these activities, you can leave the items plain or decorate them. If you need ideas for decorating these projects, try any of the following items. We are sure this list will help you think of even more items you can use. Combine different things such as buttons and glitter or sequins and yarn. Let the children's creativity surprise you!

Note: Keeping items such as these in a large plastic storage container makes for easy access and quick clean up:

• sequins, buttons, yarn, ribbon, masking tape, beads, glitter, sand, cellophane, construction paper, magazines, photos, crayons, markers, colored pencils, paint, nail polish

TAMBOURINE

2 paper plates
stapler or glue
hole punch
string
jingle bells
crayons
Staple or glue two paper plates together, facing each other. Using a hole punch, make holes around the plates and tie jingle bells to the holes with string. Decorate the tambourine with crayons.
Shake to play.
Note: Heavy duty paper plates may be more durable for this craft.
Safety note: If using a stapler, an adult should do this. When finished be sure to cover the staples with scotch tape.

DRUM empty oatmeal box with cover
yarn
pen
2 pencils
2 spools
construction paper
crayons
Before beginning, you can decorate the oatmeal box with construction paper and/or crayons for a colorful effect.
Place the cover on the box. Use a pen to make a hole in the center of the cover and in the center of the bottom of the box. Through these holes, pull a piece of yarn long enough to hang around child's neck and down to their waist.
For the drumsticks, place the spools at the ends of the pencils, secure with glue if necessary.
Beat to play.

CHIMES
ruler or stick
washers
nail polish
string
mixing spoon
Hang the washers from the ruler or stick with pieces of string by wrapping the string around the ruler or stick and securing. Strike the washers with the mixing spoon to play.
Note: You can make this craft colorful by painting the washers first with different color nail polishes, such as red, gold, glittery, etc. Parents should supervise this part of the activity closely.

HORN
paper towel roll
waxed paper
rubber band
pen
Cover one end of the paper towel roll with waxed paper, secure it with a rubber band. Punch a row of holes along one side of the roll with the tip of a pen.
To play, sing a tune into the open end of the horn.

CYMBALS
two matching pot covers
yarn or ribbon
Tie the ribbon or yarn around the handles of the pot covers. To play, strike together.

XYLOPHONE
tall glasses or jars
water
mixing spoon
Fill the glasses or jars with different amounts of water. The more water in the glass, the lower the pitch will be. Having less water in the glass or jar will raise the pitch.
To play, gently strike the glasses with a mixing spoon.
Note: This instrument should probably be played by older children in "the band" because of the use of glass.

COMB BUZZER
pocket comb
tissue paper
Fold a piece of tissue paper over the tooth edge of a comb. To play, hum through the tissue paper.

GUITAR
empty shoe box
rubber bands
ruler or stick
Remove the cover from the box. Stretch the rubber bands around the box. Attach the ruler or stick to the back of the box on one end to act as the arm of the guitar.
To play, strum or pluck the rubber bands.

HAND BELLS
2 paper towel rolls
hole punch
4 jingle bells
string or yarn
Punch a hole in each end of the paper towel rolls. Tie two jingle bells to each side of the paper towel rolls by running string or yarn through the holes and carefully tying off.
Shake to play.
Have fun and let creativity and imagination run wild! Record the band's first song and play back for some great giggle time. Enjoy!

DIY instructions from Family Corner,

Redwood Field Days 2012

 

The Redwood Volunteer Fire Department's Firemen's Field Days is always a big event in Redwood. This year's festivities featured live music Friday and Saturday night, lots of rides for kids, performances by the Original Yangs Drum and Bugle Corps, a junk auction, chicken barbecue, cash raffle, and all the fried dough you could stomach. The weekend's events culminated Saturday night with a parade, in which we were determined to shine.

We've been kicking around ideas for our float for months; but it was in the last week that we put the whole thing together. Here are some shots of the construction:

 Here's footage of our ride to the parade:

Here we are at the parade:

We cranked Canned Heat's "Going Up The Country", threw bags of organic string beans into the crowd, and cheered our way through downtown Redwood. And, we scored second place!

Here's Holly, Sally Jane, and I with our second-place check:

See you all next year!

Click here to see the full album.

Spent Hens Rescue Mission Complete!

There are roughly

280 million egg-laying hens in the United States confined to battery cages

.

Scratch that—279,999,980. Better Farm's team yesterday

rescued 20 such hens

from a local egg farm.

Commercial, egg-laying birds are stuffed into small wire cages stacked in tiers and lined up in rows inside warehouses. In accordance with the USDA's recommendation to give each hen four inches of 'feeder space,' hens are commonly packed four to a cage measuring 16 inches wide.

Because egg-laying chicken breeds have been genetically selected exclusively for maximum egg production, they don't grow fast or large enough to be raised profitably for meat. Therefore, male chicks of egg-laying breeds are of no economic value, and they are discarded on the day they hatch.

The female birds' confined space doesn't allow the ladies to stretch their wings or legs, and they cannot fulfill normal behavioral patterns or social needs like scratching in the dirt, chasing bugs, and taking dust baths.

As you can imagine, constantly rubbing against the wire cages means these birds lose a lot of feathers; and it's not uncommon for the ladies to have lots of bruises and abrasions. In order to reduce injuries resulting from excessive pecking—a behavior that occurs when confined hens are bored, stressed, or frustrated—the front of most laying hens' beaks are cut off.

Laying more than 250 eggs in one year, a laying hen's body is severely taxed (whose wouldn't be?!). They suffer from "

fatty liver syndrome

" and "

cage layer fatigue

"; and, percentage-wise, after about a year most hens in the egg industry are considered "spent" and sent to slaughter. The hens who did nothing but lay eggs usually end up in soups, pot pies, dog food, or similar low-grade chicken meat products.

But the truth is, these hens don't have to be spent! They can still make loving pets, wondrous mini-tillers, voracious composters, initmidating bug-eaters, and (if you're into this sort of thing), lovely egg-layers. And besides—doesn't someone who's worked so intensely day after day deserve a nice retirement?

We drove out to pick up the birds yesterday. The farm we adopted the hens from is a small, family farm that by all accounts is considered a hygienic, high-quality operation. Even so, the birds were kept indoors in very cramped conditions. They had never been outside, never walked on the ground, never known a breeze, or a floor that wasn't a mesh cage.

Standing outside the large barn where the birds were kept, we heard screeching and yelling coming from the chickens inside. And we just weren't prepared for the sight of these birds when they came out. Their beaks had all been clipped, rendering their mouths into a puckered shape uncharacteristic of any bird. Their toenails were so long they had trouble getting around (a few couldn't walk at all). Many had open wounds, all were filthy. They were all missing feathers on their bellies and butts and backs from rubbing up against the cage and each other, and their undercarriages were horribly swollen.

Our hens were looking pretty shabby when we picked them up (that chicken in the bottom left can't walk because of her toenails, leaving her subject to the trampling of the others):

But, enough of the sadness! Here we are unloading the ladies from the truck, about to be introduced to the outdoors for the first time:

...their new digs:

Before setting the birds free, we had to get them good and primped like proper ladies. Pedicures, massages, bubble baths, and fresh water were all musts (watch video at top to see that process). And, drum roll please, here are the birds (mostly cleaned up, it's a process!) seeing grass, bugs, and sunshine for the very first time:

Two short clips of them checking out their new surroundings:

They got a great night's sleep last night, and this morning were making normal chicken noises, scratching and pecking in the dirt, preening themselves, and stretching out those glorious wings. We couldn't love these ladies any more, or be happier to see them get that retirement they so well deserve.

Free Arts & Crafts for Kids Sept. 1 in A'Bay

A free instrument-building arts and crafts demonstration for children is slated from 1-4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 1, on the front lawn of Bay House Artisans at 21A James Street in Alexandria Bay.

The demonstration is being put on by betterArts, a Redwood-based not-for-profit, and is made possible through space provided by Bay House Artisans and a donation by Watertown Evening Rotary.

Youngsters can show up anytime between 1 and 4 to learn how to make a variety of instruments, including kazoos and harmonicas. Children will also have the opportunity to decorate the musical pieces with paint, glitter, and other arts and crafts items.

The event is being put on in conjunction with Alexandria Bay's Blues in the Bay music festival. All attending will get their own instruments to play and take home.

BetterArts is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to increasing access to the arts throughout the North Country through the provision of free and low-cost workshops, residencies, private instruction, studio and gallery space, performances, and events. For more information, visit www.betterarts.org or call (315) 482-2536.

A Crabapple a Day...

Crabapple trees produce beautiful flowers and provide all kinds of critters with nourishment. But few people have found the fruit appetizing... until now. Check out the following recipes, turning this most bitter of fruits beyond palatable.



Mary Wynne's Crabapple Jelly
from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 8 cups fresh crabapples
• water as needed
• 3 cups white sugar
• 1 (3 inch) cinnamon stick (optional)

Directions

1. Remove stems and blossom ends from crabapples, and cut into quarters. Place them in a large stainless steel or other non-reactive pot or saucepan. Add enough water to be able to see, but no so much that the crabapples are floating. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and let simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. The apples should soften and change color.
2. Strain the apples and juice through 2 or 3 layers of cheese cloth. You should have at least 4 cups of juice. Discard pulp, and pour the juice back into the pan. Bring to a simmer, and let cook for 10 minutes. Skim off any foam that comes to the top. Next, stir in the sugar until completely dissolved. Continue cooking at a low boil until the temperature reaches 220 to 222 degrees F (108 to 110 C). Remove from heat.
3. Pour the jelly into sterile small decorative jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Process in a hot water bath to seal. 

Spicy Pickled Crabapples

from AllRecipes.com
Ingredients

• 6 quarts fresh crabapples, washed and stems removed
• 1 cup whole cloves
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 pounds brown sugar
• 1 cup distilled white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons whole allspice berries
• 6 cinnamon sticks
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

Directions

1. Stick 2 or 3 cloves into each of the crabapples, and set aside.
2. In a large pot, stir together the water, sugar, and vinegar. Place allspice berries, cinnamon sticks, and lemon zest in cheesecloth, and tie cheesecloth to make a small bag; add to pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the crabapples,and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes.
3. Use a slotted spoon to lift out crabapples and place them into sterile jars. Cover with hot syrup, and seal in a hot water bath for 10 minutes, or until the centers of the lids are depressed. If the syrup seems too thick, add more water. Refrigerate after opening.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 315 | Total Fat: 0.6g | Cholesterol: 0mg

 

Starting Tomorrow: Redwood Field Days!

 

The Redwood Volunteer Fire Department's 54th Annual Redwood Field Days is slated from tomorrow, Aug. 23, through Saturday, Aug. 25. Here's the full run-down of the weekend's festivities (games and rides all day every day!):

THURSDAY
Junk Auction 7 p.m.

FRIDAY
Chicken BBQ 6 p.m.
Band: Bad Husbands Club 8 p.m.

SATURDAY
Kids Parade 12 p.m.
Specials on the rides!
Big Parade 7 p.m. (watch for the Better Farm float!!!)
Band: R19 8 p.m.
Cash Raffle at midnight!

Nutritional Benefits of Shopping Local

Produce for sale at Better Farm's roadside stand.

On average, the food that lands on our tables from a grocery store travels 1,500 miles. And get this: Only about 10 percent of the fossil fuel energy used in the world’s food system is used for production. The other 90 percent goes into packaging, transportation, and marketing of the food. All this inefficiency creates many environmental problems.

Buying local has obvious benefits: supporting local business, cutting down on fossil fuel consumption for transportation, and food that has been treated with fewer (if any) harmful chemicals. But did you know local food inherently has higher nutritional value, as well?

The length of time that produce stays on the vine, ground, or tree contributes to nutrient content and flavor. The longer foods are able to ripen naturally on the vine, the higher their nutrient content, and usually, the richer their taste.

But to ship long distances (whether organic or generic), produce is picked before it is ripe. In some cases, as in the case of tomatoes, they are picked when green and then ripened with a gas in the states to turn them red. Nutrient content and taste are substantially affected in this process.

It’s a double-edged sword. Global shipping opens our access to fruits and vegetables we might not be able to get in the States, as well as offering us potentially lower prices. It also enables us to enjoy most fruits and veggies year-round, instead of just seasonally. But nutrient loss and a lack of flavor are the obvious trade offs.

Locally grown food is safer because small farmers do not use chemicals as much as large commercial growers use them, according to the Center for a New American Dream. The farmers’ market products may not all be organic, but those foods tend to be healthier than grocery store products—especially if chemicals and pesticides are a concern. Many vendors at farmers’ markets have recognized the need and desire for healthier, chemical and hormone-free foods and tout their organic, pesticide-free grow practices.

Some countries are working to pass laws to promote the selling of in-season fruits and vegetables in the hopes that it will encourage consumers to purchase more local goods (British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey is working to get such a law passed in the UK). Buying foods that are in season would increase our access to nutrients and better tasting items. Clearly, this is why the “local” movement is growing so rapidly.

Fruits and vegetables you find at farm stands and farmers' markets are picked when perfectly ripened. This enhances the taste, texture, and aroma of the produce. Double bonus: market prices at stands and markets are lower than at grocery stores. Shopping at the Farmers Market benefits the local farmer and strengthens your local community. 

Since the produce is picked at the peak of the season, nutrients and phytochemicals will be more abundant. Hippocrates said, “Let food be your medicine.” The following chart shows many of the health benefits of fresh produce according to color:

Chart from sparkpeople