MOSES Organic Farming Conference 2012

After a long night of rest, I'm ready to get back into the blogo-sphere after attending my first MOSES Organic Farming Conference.  This conference, sponsored by the Midwest Organic & Sustainable Education Service, just finished its 23rd year and saw the greatest attendance to date - over 3,300 people!!  That makes it the largest organic farming conference in North America.

This conference offers an abundance of workshops, activities, films, social and networking opportunities, it can be quite exhausting! But I made the most of my two days there and am back in Milwaukee with pages of notes, a bag full of handouts/resources, and a list of "things to check out" in the coming weeks.  Here are some highlights:

• Farm Planning and Record Keeping: One of the sessions I attended included a great process for identifying and answering questions about our farm operation that will inform the kinds of records we keep.  Questions such as where to plant, when to plant, and how much seed to buy can best be answered by keeping the right records now.  While spreadsheets and fancy mapping programs on the computer can be useful, I think I'm going to opt for the old-fashioned "pen and paper" method - at least for this year! 
• Enterprise Budgets: Speaking of records, in most vegetable operations, labor tends to be the most limiting factor in terms of production and ultimately revenue/sales.  So to create an accurate enterprise budget (that is, identifying the income/expenses and profit margin for each crop), I will need to make sure and record how much TIME I and our volunteers/interns are spending per crop.  This sounds time consuming, and may end up being, but I think in the long run it will help us make decisions about which crops are most beneficial to the operation and which might be more work than their worth.
• Social Media is about being SOCIAL:  After attending a workshop facilitated by Tim and Emily Zweber, of Zweber farms.  They inspired me to keep up with my blog content and maybe even start an Edible Skyline facebook page!  But another take home message for me was to remember that I need to also be active on other blogs and list serves.  The more I can get the Edible Skyline name out there, the more successful we'll be! 

Thanks to Organic Voices, all conference sessions from this year and the past 10 years are recorded and will be available for purchase on their website.  Check 'em out! 

Planting Beds are Taking Shape

I visited the Clock Shadow building today for some inspiration as I continue to put together the farm plan and start to set-up operation systems for our first year.  The rooftop - a long with our indoor office spaces - is really starting to take shape.  We are exactly FOUR weeks from moving in and it's exciting to see the walls going up!

You can see in the pictures, we will have four long planting beds, as well as one L-shaped bed surrounding the deck/movement and meditation space.  In addition to the beds you see here, which are built into the rooftop, we also have the recycled Earthbox planters that I highlighted last August. This will give us a total of over 3,000 sq feet for vegetable, herb, and (in future years) fruit production!!!  Let the planning begin!

What a View!

Facing East (can you spot the Hoan Bridge in the distance?)

View of Downtown (facing North/NE)

Last week I stopped by the Milwaukee Fix building to see a construction update and get some sunny shots from the rooftop view.  We are EIGHT WEEKS away from the move and I, for one, can barely wait!  I’m already beginning my “shadow research” to see where sunlight falls on the rooftop.  But remember, it is still winter (or should I say finally winter!) so the shadows are much longer now than they will be in June-August, but it is good to note, as we will eventually be trying for some year-round production.  

While on the roof, I spoke briefly with one of the construction crew working to put pavers on the rooftop.  He explained they have put a double layer of the drainage material (seen below) to help capture and release rainwater as it falls on the rooftop.  The risk-benefit balance of growing food on a rooftop is that roofs are primarily made to drain water, that is you want the water off the roof as quickly as possible (so it doesn’t leak into the building).  But plants and farmers want to retain water, that is keep it around for as long as possible so the roots can drink when thirsty (and so you can enjoy salad when you’re hungry!).  Details are still being worked out, but there will be a different drainage system around the production beds (west end of the rooftop) that will try to retain water a little better than the other rooftop areas.  

As I described in the Construction Update post on December 11th, the rooftop will also be home to a small yoga/movement studio.  The below picture shows the permeable pavers that will let water go through the floor to drain into the cistern under the building while also offering a comfortable support for dancing, stretching, or meditation.

We still have a lot of work to do for the planning and design of the rooftop plants, so stay tuned for dates/times of our community planning sessions!

One Stop Shop for Food Production, Processing and Distribution

Every year, the U.S Department of Agriculture’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture releases a Community Food Project Competitive Grant Program proposal and this year the Edible Skyline is in the mix!  As part of the Crema y Cosecha/Cream of the Crop proposal, CORE/El Centro’s Edible Skyline rooftop farm will provide hands-on education and skill-building in organic fruit and vegetable production. Partnering with first floor building tenants, we will produce and distribute healthy, nutrient dense whole food products to the Near South Side Milwaukee neighborhood.

The first floor of the Milwaukee Fix building will be home to two whole food dairy processors: Purple Door ice cream and Clock Shadow Creamery (owned and operated by Bob Wills of Cedar Grove Creamery).  Purple Door, owned and operated by Lauren and Steve Schultz, was started in 2010 and can currently be found at famer’s markets, Outpost and other area Milwaukee retailers such as Beans & Barley, Sendik’s and Groppi’s markets. The new processing facility will allow the Schultz’s to spend more time with their growing family instead of driving to Racine to make their sweet product. Purple Door will be sharing space with Clock Shadow Creamery, the first urban cheese facility in the state - and one of few in the nation!  Clock Shadow will host an apprenticeship program, supporting the nation’s next generation of cheesemakers.  The cheese processing facility will offer public viewing spaces to education consumers on the cheese making process and the importance of knowing where your ingredients come from.

In addition to processing dairy products on site, there will be a small deli on the first floor to sell these products as well as value-added options (think salads, sandwiches and salsas) using rooftop-grown produce.  This “food hub” model is part of a rapidly growing movement across the United States to connect consumers with producers and shorten the distance from farm to fork.  We will be growing and producing herbs, fruits, vegetables, and cheeses in the building while distributing through local restaurants, corner stores and our own on-site deli. Possibilities abound for joint marketing, volunteer discounts and “Deli Days” featuring in-season products at lower cost.  As construction crews continue working through the snow-less winter days, we are still on schedule to move in mid-March and it’s likely the deli will be up and running before the year end.

Construction Update

The building at 538 S. 2nd St has its exterior nearly finished.   The recycled cream city brick building will be home to, among other exciting things, the Edible Skyline project of CORE/El Centro. In addition to on-site geothermal heating and grey water retention/recycling, this Living Building will use passive cooling and ventilation strategies to keep energy costs down. Our 3,000 square foot rooftop farm is another energy- and water-saving aspect of the building.  Access to the roof will be available via the open-concept, sunlit staircase or the nation's first-ever energy regenerative Otis elevator. The elevator, currently in use in China, will actually feed energy back INTO the energy grid to support lighting, computers and other electrical equipment.  Please visit MilwaukeeFix.com for other building information, including the innovative funding structure and more information about building tenants. CORE/El Centro is also updating construction photos on its website.

Our rooftop farm is part of a 7,000 square foot rooftop which will also offer a small movement space (for evening yoga or meditation groups) and a 2,000 square foot meditation garden looking out on Lake Michigan. As the Plan above shows, there will be space for composting and educational demos, as well as some seating areas.  The meditation garden (shown here on the far right section of the rooftop) will also have seating and possibly a water fountain or other landscaping elements.  There are also plans to offer the rooftop area for event rentals, celebrations and/or corporate gatherings.  This innovative space is intended for public use and involvement. Rosheen Styczinski, FASLA, of New Eden Landscape Architecture, LLC has been working with the building developer and myself to design the rooftop elements. Construction is currently on schedule and CORE/El Centro is planning to open its new doors on Monday, March 19th.  We have much planning and organizing to do until then - stay tuned for more updates.

Winter Planting in Wisconsin

Though we haven’t yet seen snow (or much frost!) yet this month, the falling leaves tell us that winter is around the corner, which means it’s time to feed the soil, spend time in the kitchen and plant garlic!  Garlic is a member of the Allium family, related to onions, leeks, and shallots.  Allium is actually the Latin word for garlic.

Garlic enjoys the “struggle” of being planted in early winter and staying dormant until early spring when it breaks ground.  However, because it is surviving winter it’s important to “feed” garlic well - planting it in fertile soil and adding compost throughout the growing cycle.  We planted garlic in our Mitchell Park garden last year (harvesting it this June), and we found small (2 inch) heads due to poor fertilizing throughout it’s growing season - especially in early spring it is important to add another inch (or more) on top of the soil.

A friend who owns a farm in Hartford, WI has also offered tips on preparing the garlic for planting - he followed the below process with half of his garlic crop last year and found much better results with those that he “cleaned” versus those that he didn’t.  Here are his tips to help kill mold and other bad things that could potentially stunt or stop the growth of the garlic:

• Soak each clove in a mixture of baking soda and water for about 18 hours (1 TB soda to gallon of water). Include a bit of seaweed fertilizer in the water.
• Dunk each clove in high proof (greater than 85%) vodka just prior to planting

Garlic should be planted about 3 inches deep, 6-9 inches apart.  Be sure to mark your plantings so you remember what not to pull in the spring!  Be sure to mulch the garlic heavily just after the ground begins to freeze.  Then in the spring, when the garlic begins to come up, it is recommended to leave some mulch on the garlic to keep it warm, but thin the mulch slightly around the upcoming shoots, so they don’t have to work as hard to push through.  Again, this is a good time to add 1-1.5 inches of compost to the soil.

For other areas of your garden that won’t be full of garlic, consider planting a cover crop such as winter rye, clove, or buckwheat.  At this time of the year in Wisconsin, winter rye is your best bet as it will survive the first few frosts if needed.  Cover crops are quick-growing grasses that keep down weeds, protect the soil and even add nutrients.  We planted Winter Rye in Mitchell Park last year and I found the soil beautifully soft and dark this spring.  Plant the cover crop by “scattering” seeds over the soil and lightly raking them in.  Be sure to water them consistently until they germinate - for winter rye this is as quick as four days.  Once they’ve sprouted you don’t have to think about them until the following spring.  Kill the plants in early spring by turning them back into the soil as a “green manure” (or fresh compost).  Wait two weeks before planting your spring crops to be sure the cover crop has fully broken down in the soil. This is a great way to maintain the health of your soil - even through the winter!

2012 Farm Bill Process is Heating Up

The Community and Regional Food Systems Project supported by the University of Wisconsin- Madison, Michael Fields Agriculture Institute, Growing Power, and UW-Extension recently offered a webinar on the Food and Farm Bill, why it is important to our local food systems, and some related key legislation which has recently been released. I summarize the process below, and suggest the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition as an important resource for follow-up information, resources, and links.

The Farm Bill, now being referred to as the Food and Farm Bill, is a collection of legislation which affects how Americans access, produce, sell and distribute food.  From school nutrition, to grants for beginning farmers, food stamps and farmers markets, the Food and Farm Bill touches all of us in some way.  Legislation included under the Farm Bill is re-authorized (i.e. reviewed and updated) every 4-6 years, with 2012 being the next “scheduled” reauthorization.  However, there are a few other things happening politically which may delay Farm Bill re-authorization next year.  First, 2012 is a presidential election year, which historically has meant its difficult to push through any major legislation.  Secondly, the country is in a budget crisis and congress has commissioned the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (referred to as the “Super Committee”) to identify over $1 trillion in cuts from the Federal budget.  The House and Senate Agriculture Committees have promised to offer $23 billion in cuts from the Farm Bill - this was expected to be finalized November 1st, but as of yesterday, no final Bill has been agreed upon.  

Meanwhile, two other “marker bills” have been released in the past two weeks which hope to be included in the newly authorized Farm Bill legislation. The Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity Act of 2011 increases or sustains funding for young and/or beginning farmers by supporting programs such as: beginning farmer microloans, conservation and environmental quality loans, and the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development grant program. This bill was introduced to the House on October 25th by Representatives Tim Waltz (D-MN) and Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) and Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and others are expected to introduce a similar bill to the Senate early next week.  The Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act was introduced November 1st in both branches of congress by Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Representative Chellie Pingree (D-ME-1).  This legislation supports the development of local and regional food systems by focusing on: production, processing, marketing and distribution for both producers and consumers. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition offers a detailed summary bill here: http://sustainableagriculture.net/our-work/local-food-bill/bill-summary-2/