Tonopah Rob's Vegetable Farm

The above picture are of baby broccoli sprouts taken a few weeks ago on Tonopah Rob’s farm. 

It all started in August of 2011.  Plots were cleared, tilled and flattened to near perfection.  Seeds were planted, watered and cared for like a new born baby.  A few days later the ground began to crack and tiny pale green sprouts reached towards the sky for the late summer sunshine.  Day after day more and more seedlings emerged from the  farm’s sweet soil.  As each hot August day came to a close, more green tender-lings sprouted with possibilities.  I thought I was well on my way for a successful fall planting.  After a week of germination I knew something was wrong. One day the plots looked like a putting green on a golf course and the next day……..gone! Nothing but stubble. Here and there a few sprouts continued to grow. Baby spinach, carrots, watermelon radishes along with many other root crops and greens struggled for survival, in fact nearly all first and second plantings failed. Even though August frustratingly seemed to never end, it did.

The month of Virgo brought on a tremendous amount of hotter than normal heat and many a sprout died from the third sowing. What seemed to make it past their first adult leaves was later destroyed by the desert rats, grasshoppers and big ugly black ants that raided the farm day and night.  Seedlings were cut in two and carried off by scores of ant colonies.  Desert rats, being only active in the daytime were gnawing down baby carrot tops, spinach and beets.  Grasshoppers ate holes into the tender green leaves of the All Salad Mix and Swiss Chard.  Planting after planting after planting finally proved to outlast the critters. As my birthday month came to a close and the night time temperatures cooled to a near chilly degree more and more success showed throughout the farm. Grasshoppers were slowed down by the cold, desert rats went underground for the winter and those big ugly black ants could barely crawl across the nippy desert dirt.  I thought my problems were solved for the fall, I was wrong.

October is the migrating month for birds, here in my neck of the woods. White Crowned Sparrows, Lesser American Gold Finches, and other sparrows and towhees fa-niggled their way under and over the taunt bird netting, a requirement for desert farming. Again, more sprouts were gobbled up by the hungry migratory birds.  By mid month the damage seemed to cease.  Birds that ate their way through the farm left for greener pastures.  By the third week of the hallowed month, crops seemed to perk up and most all scars from the desert’s wildlife had somehow disappeared.

Halloween night just after midnight, the first freeze of the season hit the farm. On November 1 early in the morning while taking my daily walk around I noticed the freeze still hovered the farm.  Mustard greens, strawberries, and a few other crops had minimal damage.  In a way I was glad to see a mild frost, I knew it would help the taste of the crops to become sweeter.

November 4, we began harvesting for the grand opening that would take place the following day.  Me and my crew raced across the farm, harvesting all that had made it through the turbulent Indian summer.  Burning daylight was not an option, it was reality.  Working well after dark, we finally completed all that needed to be done.  Eggs were cleaned and boxed, root crops were bundled, packed and stored in the walk in cooler and me I finally hit the blanket show around 11 p.m. only to rise early in the morning, 3 a.m. to be exact.

November 5, 2011 was opening day and it was a doozie.  People from all over the valley showed up to buy yummilicious veggies from my all natural farm.  Yellow and green beans, beautifully colored Lilac Bell Peppers, Corno di Toros or better known as Bull Horn Peppers, and all kinds of greens, onions, and watermelon radishes donned the tables.  Heirloom spinach mix and the ever popular Tonopah Salad Mix filled large wooden crates with all kinds of flavors.  Excitement was heard in every voice.  Thankfulness and praise to Mother Nature and to other higher ups were being chanted from nearly every lip that passed through the cattle gate that guards the frontage property.

Now it’s nearly Christmas, time to celebrate the season and the coming of the new year.  The farm is slowing down a little to compensate for the celebration that is to happen in a few days.  It’s also a time to gather my thoughts and prepare for the new planting season.  New potato seed, broccoli, purple cauliflower and other brassicas will be transplanted over the break.  Onions, carrots, beets and more leafy greens will have their turn for sowing.  The first crop of broccoli and cauliflower will be ready sometime during the month of January.  And more carrots, beets and sweet turnips will have their places on the tables too.  So don’t be afraid to indulge for the holidays for when its all over, there will be plenty of healthy all natural veggies ready for your resolutions and cravings.

Be thankful that my farm can produce delicious food.  I know I am blessed to have the farm.  I am blessed to have and know great people supporting my farm.  If it weren’t for you, my farm could not survive.  I will see you in January. Have a wonderful holiday season, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and tis’ the All Natural Season!

P.S.  Welcome aboard to all of the new Christmas CSA members!  I’ll see you in January.