TL;DR

It was the perfect weather for just about everything on a farm, so we harvested, weeded, washed, and chored. The mosquitoes only came out in the afternoon and I had some help with the egg washing so that went faster than expected. A pig had to be returned due to a hernia.

From Seedlings to Gigantic Plants in Two Months

The kale and swiss chard that we planted in early April are now massive…it seems only yesterday they were babies…so we bunched about 90 heads of kale (about half the row) and about 10 heads of swiss chard. Elastics in the front pocket of my overalls works well when tying them up.

The process starts in the nursery greenhouse. As of today, there are a many varieties at many stages, since some of them (like lettuce) get harvested and replanted while others (like squash) need to be planted just at the right time of year and will stay in the ground for the rest of the season.

Hoes Don’t Work Well in Wet Soil

The thing about the farmable soil on this property is that, while well taken care of for many decades, much of it is loosened clay. It’s not compacted, but regularly worked with a tractor, amended with OMRI-certified ProGro fertilizer and it’s weedy veg matter is tilled in to act as a little green compost.

Stirrup hoes work best in somewhat loose, somewhat dry soil. In extremely dry or caked over soil, effort required often leads to mistakes and chopping the plants you want to weed around. In wet or damp soil, it tends to cake on the hoe and not cut cleanly. Then all you’re doing is dragging a clump of weeds and dirt over other weeds which doesn’t work at all. There is a time and a place for every tool.

On a positive note, rain does tend to loosen up soil and after waiting a while, is perfect for planting and weeding by hand. So that’s what we did around the beets for about an hour. One 200-foot row with three people…and plenty of bug spray.

Meanwhile, a Pig Exchange

A month or so ago when we got a dozen pigs, Jamie noted that they didn’t seem to be in the best shape, but that they’d been through a lot and would recover quickly in their fresh new environment. As it turns out, what was identified then…an abnormality on one of them…developed into a visible hernia. So today, that one was returned for another one.

After a little research, hernias seem to be a relatively common occurrence in pigs from pig farms. The best article I could find during my time-boxed search suggested that there are two main reasons: umbilical/scrotal (mostly stocksmanship) and familial predisposition (genetics). Either way, it’s a business problem for the pig farm when there is an uptick in returns, so I hope it was just us (but likely not).

Scallion Harvesting

We started to harvest the scallions that we planted in the dry field all the way back in early April. They are almost indistinguishable from the weeds, but you get good at doing so quickly. Once this row is harvested, Jamie will go over it again with the tractor and till them in as green compost. Just in time too because much of the grass (rye, buckwheat) sprouts are beginning to form seed heads, and if they come to maturity and get added to the soil, well, there’s your next weed problem again right there.

Waiting for Chickens

Our existing 300 hens lay about 100 dozen a week. We are on week 2 of a 20 week CSA. Our target is around 160-175 dozen a week for the summer. We’re still waiting for 300 more chickens. This will become a problem in about another month if we can’t get them by then. Why is this even a problem? Well…

With the avian flu having wiped out many other big farm’s populations this past year, the supply of high-quality chicks is low. This has been creeping up on the American supply chain since 2022, but only since February of this year has the USDA put together a sizable strategy to combat the problem.

It’s only $1B dollars, and I personally can think of at least one or two tech companies we could sacrifice with a guillotine or at the stake to make that same amount up…but money alone wont solve this problem. It’s a matter of demand for chicken products and the monoculture macro-farms this pushes our industries and governing bodies to further invest in.

I can’t do much about that macro-problem, but I can put my efforts into being part of a local farm (i.e. food system resilience). As boring as egg washing is, I can learn how to produce farm-fresh eggs for a community even though it makes very little money, because it is safe and not simply because there’s demand for it. I can learn how much or little I can contribute to the local food system, and I can learn how to be a better steward of the land and the animals.

AI Summary from Field Notes

For some reason, today’s note summarization ‘think’ effort seems to be higher than usual. Maybe when I do a more diverse set of things, there’s more rabbit holes it potentially goes down. Bounding the think effort is something I want to look into, particularly with Deepseek over Ollama-based reasoning models such as Phi 4. Though I have the curiosity for it, I don’t have the time to take apart the reasoning process and do things via command chains, but I think I may have to play with that to make deeper progress on this front.

I know for sure that sometimes when I am recording my voice notes, I remember something about a prior topic I touched on…or conversely when I mention something and say that I’ll talk about that later…for the most part LLMs don’t get too tripped up about this out-of-sequence pattern in the transcripts. But it does cause a little more thrash in the reasoning part of the process for some reason.

Anyway, today this is what my AI thinks I did based on my audio notes:

Summary

Alright, I need to help consolidate the information from the two documents into a single, organized summary. Let me read through both summaries again to make sure I capture all the key points. From the first document, the main themes were greenhouse maintenance, weather impact, activities like watering and checking plants, no new things encountered, questions about watering based on rain vs forecast, and suggestions for tools or techniques. The second document talks about harvest preparation, problem-solving with tools, animal handling, teamwork dynamics, sustainable practices. Activities include harvesting veggies, weeding, washing produce, moving pigs, scallion harvesting. New things were stirrup hoe efficiency in wet soil, scallion harvesting methods, egg washing optimization. Questions are about tool use and harvesting techniques. Suggestions involve task optimization, team efficiency, and better tools. I need to combine these into one summary with sections for Main Themes, Activities, New Things, Questions, and Suggestions. The user also provided a structure in their first response, so I should follow something similar but make sure it's concise and captures both documents. Let me list out each section: Main Themes: 1. Greenhouse Maintenance (watering, plant observation) 2. Weather Impact 3. Harvest Preparation 4. Problem-Solving with Tools 5. Animal Handling 6. Teamwork Dynamics 7. Sustainable Practices Activities from both docs: - Watering greenhouse - Checking plants - Harvesting (kale, Swiss chard, scallions) - Weeding fields - Washing produce and eggs - Moving pigs - Scallion harvesting New Things Not Encountered: - Stirrup hoe efficiency in wet soil - Proper scallion harvesting methods - Egg washing process optimization Questions: - How to determine watering needs based on actual rain vs forecast - Best stirrup hoe use in wet conditions - Optimal scallion harvesting technique - Efficient egg washing techniques Suggestions for Action: 1. Use better tools suited for tasks (e.g., effective weeding tools) 2. Assign more hands earlier to improve task efficiency 3. Develop and teach proper scallion harvesting methods 4. Consider equipment improvements for specific tasks like egg washing I think that's a good start. Let me make sure I didn't miss anything. Both documents also mention the importance of teamwork, so I included that as a main theme. Now, organizing this into sections as per the user's example but with a more consolidated approach.

Consolidated Summary

Main Themes:

1. Greenhouse Maintenance: Focus on watering and plant observation.
2. Weather Impact: Awareness of environmental factors affecting tasks.
3. Harvest Preparation: Preparing vegetables for CSA and other uses.
4. Problem-Solving with Tools: Adapting tools like stirrup hoes for efficiency.
5. Animal Handling: Assisting in transporting pigs with care.
6. Teamwork Dynamics: Enhancing productivity through collaborative efforts.
7. Sustainable Practices: Maintaining cleanliness to prevent contamination.

Activities:

• Watering and checking plants in the greenhouse.
• Harvesting vegetables (kale, Swiss chard) for CSA.
• Weeding fields and preparing them for planting.
• Washing produce and eggs for safe handling.
• Moving pigs using trucks for transportation.
• Scallion harvesting with attention to proper techniques.

New Things Not Yet Encountered:

• Stirrup Hoe Efficiency: Learning optimal use in wet conditions.
• Scallion Harvesting Methods: Discovering effective techniques without damage.
• Egg Washing Process Optimization: Exploring efficient techniques and tools.

Questions:

1. How to determine optimal watering schedules based on rain data.
2. Best practices for using stirrup hoes effectively in wet soil.
3. Ideal methods for harvesting scallions without causing damage.
4. Ways to streamline egg washing processes for efficiency.

Suggestions for Action:

1. Task Optimization: Invest in tools suited for specific tasks (e.g., effective weeding equipment).
2. Team Efficiency: Assign more workers early to enhance task speed, especially during peak times like egg washing.
3. Harvest Techniques: Develop and implement training programs for proper scallion harvesting methods.
4. Equipment Improvements: Consider upgrading tools or workflows to improve efficiency in tasks like egg washing.

This structured approach captures the essence of both documents, providing a clear overview of the key points and actionable insights.

Part 1

Okay, so I'm trying to figure out what the main themes are from this field note. The intern talks about watering the greenhouse for 45 minutes because it hadn't rained much despite some sprinkles. They also mention other activities like checking on plants and maybe some tasks later in the day. First, the main activities they did were watering the greenhouse and checking plants. So that's two activities right there. Now, looking for new things not yet encountered, they don't mention anything specific like a new tool or technique, so maybe there's nothing here. Next, questions. The intern doesn't ask any direct questions but points out that despite the weather, the greenhouse didn't need much watering, which makes me think about how to determine when to water based on actual rain versus forecasts. Maybe they're curious if overwatering is an issue or how often they should check the plants. For suggestions, since the intern noted the weather wasn't too bad despite the forecast, maybe suggesting monitoring tools or better planning based on accurate weather data could be helpful. Also, if the greenhouse isn't needing much water despite rain, perhaps discussing efficient watering techniques or when to cut back on watering could be useful.

Main Themes:

1. Greenhouse Maintenance: The intern’s primary focus was on maintaining the greenhouse, including watering and plant observation.
2. Weather Impact: The mention of weather conditions influenced their actions, indicating an awareness of environmental factors affecting plant care.

Activities:

• Watered the greenhouse for 45 minutes.
• Checked on plants in the greenhouse.

New Things Not Encountered: None explicitly mentioned by the intern.

Questions and Future Research:

• How to determine watering needs based on actual rain versus weather forecasts.
• Potential issues with overwatering or the need for adjusted watering schedules.

Suggestions for Action:

1. Implement tools or apps for monitoring weather conditions accurately to improve watering decisions.
2. Discuss efficient watering techniques or strategies to avoid overwatering, ensuring plant health while conserving resources.

Part 2

Alright, I just read through the transcript of the farm intern's day. Let me try to break it down and figure out what they did, what's new, what questions they have, and if there are suggestions. First, the activities. The intern started by watering, then joined someone in the field with kale and Swiss chard to harvest about 90 bunches of Russian kale and 100 of Swiss chard for CSA week two. They used big blue totes to bring everything up. After harvesting, they washed the produce, and it was lunchtime. Then, another person had to take a pig with a hernia back to New Hampshire and bring a new one. They used the white truck for that. After lunch, there were only three people left: Jamie, the intern, and someone else. They went down to the beets field and weeded a 200-foot row. The intern started with a stirrup hoe but found it ineffective because of the wet soil, so they had to switch to manual weeding. They finished the beet row and went back to the barn. The intern then washed eggs alone for an hour before others helped speed up the process when they returned after moving a new pig. They washed 43 dozen eggs by that point, scrubbed the truck, and went back to pull scallions. They pulled about two totes' worth but only got halfway through due to time constraints. Now, what's new here? The intern mentions several things: using a stirrup hoe that wasn't effective in wet soil, handling pigs with hernias requiring a trip to New Hampshire, managing egg washing efficiently, and scallion harvesting techniques. In terms of questions, the intern didn't directly ask any but mentioned potential areas for learning or improvement. For example, how to effectively use tools like stirrup hoes in different soil conditions, the proper method for scallion harvesting (like when they're small), and how to optimize egg washing processes with more efficiency. For suggestions, the intern points out that having more help earlier would speed up tasks like egg washing. Also, noting that scallions should be harvested when well-established to avoid breaking them off, which seems a bit unclear—maybe they meant harvesting larger ones? And perhaps using better equipment for certain tasks could improve efficiency, especially in wet conditions. I think the main themes are harvest preparation, problem-solving with tools, animal handling, teamwork dynamics, and sustainable practices like truck maintenance to prevent contamination.

Main Themes:

1. Harvest Preparation: The intern was involved in preparing for CSA week two by harvesting kale, Swiss chard, and scallions, among other tasks.
2. Problem-Solving with Tools: The intern encountered issues with tools (e.g., stirrup hoe) and techniques (e.g., scallion harvesting), requiring adjustments based on the task and soil conditions.
3. Animal Handling: The intern assisted in transporting a pig with a hernia, highlighting the practical aspects of animal care on a farm.
4. Teamwork Dynamics: The intern noted how teamwork affected task efficiency, especially during the egg washing process when more hands were beneficial.
5. Sustainable Practices: The intern emphasized the importance of maintaining cleanliness and proper handling to prevent contamination, as seen with the truck scrubbing.

Activities:

• Harvesting vegetables for CSA.
• Weeding and preparing fields.
• Washing produce and eggs.
• Transferring pigs using a truck.
• Scallion harvesting techniques.

New Things Not Yet Encountered:

1. Stirrup Hoe Efficiency: The effectiveness of tools in wet soil conditions was a learning point.
2. Scallion Harvesting Methods: Learning the proper way to harvest scallions without damaging them.
3. Egg Washing Process: Optimizing this process with more efficient techniques or equipment.

Questions and Future Areas of Research:

1. How to effectively use tools like stirrup hoes in wet soil for optimal performance.
2. What are the best methods for harvesting small scallions without causing damage?
3. How to streamline egg washing processes for efficiency, possibly through better tools or workflow optimization.

Suggestions for Action:

1. Task Optimization: Consider using equipment suited for wet conditions (e.g., effective tools for weeding).
2. Team Efficiency: Assigning more hands earlier can speed up tasks like egg washing.
3. Harvest Techniques: Harvesting scallions at a size that allows for intact roots without breakage.

Conclusion:

The intern’s day highlighted the multifaceted nature of farm work, from harvesting and tool use to animal care and teamwork. The challenges and insights provide a foundation for future learning and efficiency improvements in farming practices.