Reflections

2011 was truly a year of growth.  Lots of small successes and lots of humbling.  After going to my last small farm workshop for the year in Fallon, NV,  I feel re-inspired to grow upon the strengths of what worked and learn from what didn't to turn it into a success next year.

I wish I would have known to do this last year, but I know now.  These are aspects to remember and good points to keep in mind to help stay focused.

#1.  GOAL:  My goal is simply to sustainably grow and sell produce in a Market Garden at elevation.
DID I ACHIEVE THIS GOAL THIS YEAR?  Yes and No.  I grew a healthy food in a Market Garden at elevation, but not in a sustainable way.  My time wasn't accounted for, lots of garden space wasted, rotations were not accurate, and lots of mistakes, which are to be expected during the first year.  I did sell at Farmer's Markets and New Moon Natural Foods.    GOAL provides CLARITY so stay FOCUSED.

#2.  VISION: (Long-term focus.) To run a small sustainable farm using better than organically certified practices, selling my produce at a fair price, and teaching others in an informal way.

#3.  MISSION:  BIJA Gardens offers high quality market crops with altitude!

#4  CORE VALUES:  Sustainable
                                     Personal
                                     High Quality
                                     Passionate
                                     Clean
                                     Fresh
                                     Delicious
                                     Local

#5  MARKETING:  My goal is to produce such a high quality tasty food that it will sell itself effortlessly.


#6  COMPETITORS:  Know the competitor better than your allies.  Friendly competition ends up being good for everyone.  Who are my competitors? I tried to not have any competition this year because I didn't want to step on any toes, and felt a need to respect my mentors.  Next year I will, however, jump into the ring and grow some of the same products.  It will  all sell and people will appreciate the products because of the fact that they are local and taste better than something grown in SoCal or Mexico.  I know my competitors very well because they are my mentors and my friends.

#7  PRODUCT:  What did I grow this year?  Wild Baby Arugula
                                                                            Cilantro
                                                                            Mint
                                                                            Quinoa Greens
                                                                            Carrots
                                                                            Medicinal Herbs
                                                                            Sunflowers
                                                                            Chamomile 

quinoa will stay unwashed for now

What will I grow next year?  Same, but more and a few more hot crops that are not found as of right now at the market.      

#8  PLACEMENT:
Where can people find BIJA Gardens?  New Moon Natural Foods & Truckee Thursdays Market

#9  BRAND:  Mountain Grown~Pesticide Free~Local

#10  WHY AM I DOING THIS?  I created BIJA Gardens to become part of the local and global food movement.  I want to practice what I believe and to do what I can, with what I have, from where I am, and to show people that it is possible to grow food at altitude with some creativity.

SOME OTHER CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE NEW YEAR....

*Size  (For next year~6, 3x30' beds under a hoop house; 3, 4x6' beds, 2 small greenhouses)
*Labor Costs, what are they?  Are other activities compromised? Family time?  Do you have support from family i.e. financial help if it comes to that?
*Be prepared for disaster.
*Do you have another job for additional income?
*Have a plan for success and growth.
*Do you have money going into this year to get back on your feet for year two?

Information from www.girlfarm.org


****Are you still having fun???*****

It's About the Journey

Well, here we are November 6 and three days into snow!  Temps have been low and frigid.  I picked maybe the last Spinach on Thursday afternoon before the snow came in that evening.  There are still beets hanging on and tomorrow I will go check on them underneath their double layer of Agribon.

Today I am so happy to announce that I have finished two out of the three steps towards finishing the production of my Quinoa.  After feeling very tired, burned out, and extremely frustrated,  I finally contacted a friend of a friend's in Colorado at the White Mountain Farm.  They were so helpful! Why can it be so hard to ask for help?  Earl, the gentlemen that I spoke with extensively, laughed as he told me his insights as to more efficient steps to take in order to finish sooner than later.  It was so relieving and re-inspiring to chat with someone who knew my frustration and could relate with what I was telling him.

If you decide to grow Quinoa, too, here are some helpful hints for what comes after the harvest:

Poly Feed Bags work great for "de-stemming" plants

Trimming

Moved the operation in the garage due to snow

Refining the chaf, seed, and stem pile

"Refined" Pile ready for sifting 

Turn fan on low, pick from refined pile, and drop into colander~current blows chaff away

Sift through seeds many times in front of fan~here I am putting seeds into Mason Jars until Phase III: Rinse

12 Lbs and Approx 20 hrs later: Quinoa!

Before I started trimming, I let my plants dry out completely.  There was no moisture left in the stalk at all.  I tried "threshing" but to my dismay, it wasn't working out as easily as I had thought it would.  The seeds were sticking in the outer covering of the plant and were also flying all over the place!  I was only really getting a very little bit of seed.  Once I used the bags, my time was significantly decreased for this process.  The Poly bags worked well for stepping, rubbing, mushing the trimmed plants!  (Thanks Earl!)  I made some refining decisions, sifting multiple~multiple times into the colander.  Notice all the chaff at the top of Picture #3. 

So here I am at the end of Phase 2.  I am delighted, but am reminded of all that I have learned during Phase II of Processing~patience, a sense of humor, sheer exhaustion and frustration, perseverance, and remembering it IS indeed, ALL ABOUT THE JOURNEY!  

Today's Song

Failed Attempt #1

  Well, after threshing, winnowing, washing, and drying, I cooked my first Quinoa last night. I didn't get the saponins off  good enough and had to throw it out after about two hours of trying to rinse and do whatever else I could think of~it was just too bitter.

It seems in that all the research I have done thus far, there isn't much detail as to the "how to rinse" process...warm or cold water?  How long in the washing machine?  Could I just "massage" the saponins out like our "Ninjalicious" Sushi Teacher (vkphaivane@gmail.com) did with rice?  There are no straight answers for the small time farmer that I have found, thus begins the uphill ride of learning.  I saw this coming last April so my spirit is ready!

PS, Peace Day in Truckee Ruled!