July 14th - Coop, There It Is

Created on July 14, 2025

2025   ·   coops   garlic   onions   wood   ground   straw   rocks   greenfield   rustic   wooden   farmland   nature   landscape   skies   coop   chicken   wire   farmer   grass   crates   green   plastic   tub   table   field   anise   herb   bulb   greenery   wild   scapes   meadow   pasture   harvesting   wheat   pickup   asparagus   farm   celery   hand   rural   leafy   ·   daily-notes

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TL;DR

We moved chicken coops, harvested the first early onions and garlic, and prepared for all the cabbage that will be coming in from the fields for the next few weeks.

Back to Reality

The weather was really nice…70s, sunny, and breezy. Perfect for just about anything you have to do on the farm. After a long, traveling weekend for a memorial service, it was nice to be back home and back to work.

We started by moving the chicken coops, mostly because the new hens had arrived late last week and it was time to get them outside for the first time in their little lives. As part of the new setup, we used one of the fences between the old coops and the new coop so that the birds could get used to each other without any sort of skirmishes developing between them.

Then we moved over to harvesting the first early onions, so juicy and sweet right now that you get sticky bunching them. By then it was lunch time.

A Garlic Harvest, Part One

After lunch, we harvested the first of the garlic. Jamie said to ‘pull with your knees and legs’…I quickly found out why. A few hundred later, if you used your back to do all the bending and pulling, you’d be in trouble. Also, positioning almost directly over the garlic shoot and being patient prevents from snapping the shoots off without properly getting the bulb. We drove the truck full of garlic to the barn, where we bunched it then drove it over to the utility shed where on the other side we hang the garlic to dry out a bit before putting it in CSA member shares. Tomorrow, we’ll pull the rest and do the same.

Then we harvested some celery and fennel. By this time in the season, the fennel is starting to flower, so we only pulled a little before we decided to call it. The rest of the day was spent washing and storing the produce.

AI Summary from Field Notes

This weekend while on a drive up to Maine, I was able to prototype and test out some vision-based LLMs for use with the photos on this blog. After trying a few, I settled on ‘gemma3:4b’ because it seemed to get more accurate results than ‘llama3.2-vision:11b’ or ‘qwen2.5vl:3b’.

You can check out the results in the gallery. Though not all tags are correct, this handles many of the photos well and then I can more quickly go back and update the tags as needed.

And as always, my personal AI-based summarization process produced the following summary:

Summary

Okay, the user provided a detailed summary of an intern's day in agriculture, and they want me to consolidate it into a final summary. Let me start by going through each section they mentioned. First, the main themes. The original summary lists four themes: agricultural work, post-harvest handling, storage solutions, and team collaboration. I need to make sure these are clearly stated and concise. Next, the activities. The intern did harvesting various crops, processing them, storage planning, and future planning. I should list these in a structured way, maybe bullet points for clarity. New things encountered: the cracked Tupperware basin, storage challenges, and freezer temperature concerns. These points are important to highlight as they are specific observations. Questions and future research areas: the freezer temperature for cabbage, validity of the storage method, cabbage harvest timing, and fennel quality. These are the open questions that need addressing. Suggested actions: cleaning the basin, reconfiguring storage, monitoring temperature, and planning for the next day's harvest. These are the actionable steps taken. I need to check if there's any overlap or redundancy. For example, the storage solutions are part of both the main themes and activities. Also, the cracked basin is mentioned in both new things and suggested actions. I should ensure that each section is distinct but connected. I should also make sure the language is clear and the summary is easy to read. Avoid using markdown, so just plain text with clear headings. Let me structure each part step by step, making sure all points are covered without missing anything. Finally, review the summary to ensure it's accurate and captures all the key elements from the original document.

Consolidated Summary

Main Themes

  1. Agricultural Work: Harvesting and processing crops (cabbage, garlic, celery, fennel) and animal chores.
  2. Post-Harvest Handling: Washing, packing, and sorting produce for storage.
  3. Storage Solutions: Creative use of existing resources (e.g., cracked Tupperware basin) for cabbage storage.
  4. Team Collaboration: Tasks shared between interns and Jamie, including planning for future days.

Key Activities

  • Harvesting:
    • Cabbage (planned for tomorrow), garlic (harvested two rows for drying), celery (young, sweet variety), fennel (partial harvest due to flowering).
    • Animal chores: Watering and feeding chickens and pigs.
  • Processing: Washing, packing, and sorting harvested produce.
  • Storage Planning: Exploring storage methods for cabbage (e.g., walk-in fridge, cracked Tupperware basin).
  • Future Preparation: Preparing for tomorrow’s cabbage harvest and reconfiguring storage space.

New Observations

  1. Cracked Tupperware Basin: A 30-gallon basin repurposed for cabbage storage after being used for washing produce.
  2. Storage Challenges: Limited fridge space for cabbage, prompting creative solutions.
  3. Freezer Temperature Concerns: Uncertainty about whether freezers are suitable for cabbage (needs 42–46°F).

Questions & Future Research

  1. Freezer Temperature for Cabbage: Is the freezer’s temperature too low for cabbage?
  2. Storage Method Validity: Will the cracked basin and table suffice for cabbage storage?
  3. Cabbage Harvest Readiness: Will cabbage be ready for harvest tomorrow?
  4. Fennel Quality: How to handle fennel that has started to flower and go to seed?

Suggested Actions

  1. Clean the Cracked Basin: Sanitize it for use as a storage container for cabbage in the walk-in fridge.
  2. Reconfigure Storage Space: Use the cracked basin and broken table for cabbage storage while maintaining stacking space.
  3. Monitor Temperature: Ensure cabbage is stored at 42–46°F in the fridge.
  4. Plan for Next Day’s Harvest: Confirm storage readiness and prepare for tomorrow’s cabbage harvest.

Part 1

Okay, let's break down the user's query. They want me to identify the main themes, list the activities the intern did, note any new things encountered, and find any questions or future research areas. Also, any suggested actions. First, I need to read through the provided text carefully. The conversation is from an intern's day, detailing various agricultural tasks. The main themes would be the day's work in the fields, processing produce, storage solutions, and maybe some teamwork or planning. For activities, the intern mentions harvesting different crops like cabbage, garlic, celery, fennel, and others. Then there's processing, washing, packing, and storage. Also, there's a mention of animal chores and planning for the next day. New things: The intern encounters a broken Tupperware basin that's being used for cabbage storage. Maybe the cracked basin is a new thing. Also, the storage method using the basin and the table is a new approach. Questions or future research: The intern mentions the temperature of freezers for cabbage, which is a question. Also, the storage solution using the basin and table is a new method, so maybe that's a suggestion. Also, the intern is thinking about using the cracked basin for storage, which might be a question on whether it's suitable. Suggested actions: The intern and Jamie decided to clean the broken basin for cabbage storage. That's a direct action mentioned. I need to make sure I didn't miss any details. Let me check again. The main themes are agricultural work, processing, storage, teamwork. Activities include harvesting, washing, packing, storage planning. New things: the cracked basin. Questions: about freezer temperatures, storage method. Suggested actions: cleaning the basin.

Main Themes

  1. Agricultural Work: Harvesting and processing various crops (cabbage, garlic, celery, fennel).
  2. Post-Harvest Handling: Washing, packing, and storage of produce.
  3. Storage Solutions: Creative use of existing resources (e.g., cracked Tupperware basin) for cabbage storage.
  4. Team Collaboration: Tasks divided between interns and Jamie, including animal chores and planning for future days.

Activities Performed by the Intern

  1. Harvesting:
    • Cabbage (planned for tomorrow).
    • Garlic (harvested two rows, to be dried).
    • Celery (young, sweet celery).
    • Fennel (partial harvest due to flowering).
    • Chickens and pigs (animal chores: watering and feeding).
  2. Processing:
    • Washing and packing harvested produce (cabbage, garlic, celery, fennel).
    • Sorting and storing in bins.
  3. Storage Planning:
    • Exploring storage solutions for cabbage (e.g., walk-in fridge, cracked Tupperware basin).
    • Modifying storage space by reusing the cracked basin and a broken table.
  4. Planning for the Future:
    • Preparing for cabbage harvest tomorrow.
    • Suggesting a storage method for the next day’s work.

New Things Encountered

  1. Cracked Tupperware Basin: A broken 30-gallon basin used for washing produce, now repurposed for cabbage storage.
  2. Storage Challenges: Limited fridge space for cabbage, requiring creative solutions.
  3. Freezer Temperature Concerns: Uncertainty about whether freezers are suitable for cabbage (needs 42–46°F, not lower).

Questions and Future Research Areas

  1. Freezer Temperature for Cabbage: Is the freezer’s temperature too low for cabbage?
  2. Storage Method Validity: Will the cracked Tupperware basin and table be sufficient for cabbage storage?
  3. Cabbage Harvest Timing: Will the cabbage be ready for harvest tomorrow?
  4. Fennel Quality: How to handle fennel that has started to flower and go to seed?

Suggested Actions

  1. Clean and Sanitize the Cracked Basin: To use it as a storage container for cabbage in the walk-in fridge.
  2. Reconfigure Storage Space: Use the cracked basin and broken table for cabbage storage, maintaining stacking space.
  3. Monitor Cabbage Storage: Ensure the cabbage remains at the correct temperature (42–46°F) in the fridge.
  4. Plan for Next Day’s Harvest: Prepare for cabbage harvest and confirm storage readiness.


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