Journal Entries for 4/12/2025-4/27/2025

During these two weeks I attended classes for John on farming and farming management. I seeded many vegetables and flowers that will hopefully be ready in a few weeks. I also started putting in a strawberry patch. Onions, cabbage, and cauliflower got planted in the field. A trellis was put up in one of the rows for the beans and peas. There have been at least 1000 plants seeded and/or planted so far.

The seeds that have been started and the raised beds that have been planted have been coming in well. We are still waiting on the greenhouse to be completed to move the seed trays to a more suitable location.

I have completed my personal goal by going to 3 Penguins ice hockey games while I have been here and I have completed my cognitive goal this week by learning about planting under plastic mulch in the fields. I planted cabbage this way. Another way I have contributed to my cognitive goal is by planting in raised beds. This has improved my  knowledge about non-traditional and small-scale farming methods that can be used in areas where the soil may be depleted or there is not much rain. I believe that the information learned by planting in raised beds and in different types of containers will help me reach my integrative goals. 

I hope to have pictures for the next field book update

Journal Entries

Every morning and evening I feed the chickens and tend to the plants. 

4/12

Barn cleaning, prepped for potting, researched buying garden wagons, met with John and Larry.

4/13 

Personal Goal: I went ice skating after feeding the animals. I then decided to go to a Penguins game. Bruins won 4-1.

4/14

Had a meeting with John and Larry. Fed the chickens, went and got chicken feed. Planted raised beds with onions, flowers, strawberries, lettuce, and heirloom carrots. 

I contacted the DOT about getting a sign for farm equipment entering and exiting the farm. I have not heard back yet. 

4/15

So far today I have planted 2 additional beds with broccoli, cauliflower, yellow, purple, and green pole beans, and heirloom carrots. 

Additionally, I planted 482 seeds. 254 various premium tomatoes, 36 tomatillo plants, and 192 peppers. 

I will be attending the webinar on Small Farm Dreams by Penn State. The second in a series.

4/16

Cleaned office and organized files into the filing cabinet. 

Brief conversation with you and Larry. 

Meeting with Grace about the website. 

Researched mums and selected the colors we wanted. 

Called Porta John companies. Average price is $3320 for the season, which Larry thinks is too expensive. 

Went out into the barn and planted seeds. 

4/17

Ran into problems, new farmhand misunderstood how to plant flowers into cells and put multiple seeds in one cell and we do not have enough flowers now for resale. 

I planted an herb garden today. I ended up twisting my ankle pretty badly, so I left early.

Personal Goal: I went to the finals Penguins hockey game of the season. The Penguins won 5-2.

4/18

I went to the casino to check it out and stick time, which is a time used for hockey skills practice.

4/19

I considered going to a baseball game, but it looked like it was going to rain. I went to the casino again to watch the hockey game. 

4/20 

I slept in until 4 pm and then went grocery shopping. 

4/21

Today I Fed the chickens and tended the plants. I also seeded Basil, Lemon Balm, Spearmint, and Sage. I also planted some strawberry plants. 

Larry started on planting the onions. He taught me how to plant underneath the plastic. We also sold some top soil, mulch, and compost. I wrote up invoices for that. 

Tomorrow I am planning on planting the strawberry patch that is going in. I'm going to try and get as many planted as I can. 

4/22

$290 is soil sales, $490 this week in sales so far. 

Fed chickens and tended plants, seedlings have sprouted for some plants. 

Washed last year's hanging baskets and planted strawberry plants in them for resale. 

Attended the Pricing Proteins webinar (Sent notes in email). 

Attended the Small Farm Dream webinar (Sent notes in email). 

4/23

Tended plants and Fed chickens. 

Checked emails and QuickBooks. 

Posted an ad on Indeed for a Farmhand. 

Started the strawberry patch. The 5 black raspberry plants were planted and about 50 strawberry plants were planted. 

Started installing the irrigation system. 

It has been a productive couple of days. 

We are still waiting on greenhouse plastic installation.

The first round of chicks are looking like chickens and the second round are growing well. 

Cognitive Goal: The raised beds have sprouted and many of the plants in the barn have started sprouting. 

4/24

Watched videos on greenhouse plastic installation and attended a webinar on Business plans. 

I have been back and forth with Esbenshade on mum's order. I am waiting on manager approval for a business account with them.

Working on the strawberry patch, a trellis for bean plants has been built. 

Some broccoli and cauliflower have been planted. More onions added to the row of onions, more corn has been planted, and some peas have been planted. 

More flowers have been seeded. 

4/25

It was a short day due to the rain. More holes have been dug for the strawberries. Cabbage has been planted. All of the onion plants have been planted and the bulbs will be next. 

I also seeded eggplant today as well as more tomatoes and peppers. 

4/26

I fed the animals this morning and then went and stopped at the hockey card shop where I spent a significant amount of money on hockey cards. 

4/27

Finished planting a row of strawberries and seeded trays of flowers.

Webinar Notes

Periodically John asks me to attend webinars through Penn State Extension,

Notes from webinar “Exploring the Small Farm Dream” Week 1

It was the introductory week and there were many topics covered. Some of the most important were 

1.  The Land Transfer Tax Credit, the New Farmer Tax Credit

2. The PA Clean and Green program

3. The Penn state soil testing

4. The NRCS Websoil survey website

5.  Risk mitigation strategies

6. Current trends in farming:

     1. Organic, Grass Fed, Natural

     2. Keto, Gluten free

     3. Local Buying

     4. Supporting Community and Neighbors

Notes from webinar “Exploring the Small Farm Dream” Week 2

I lost the notes

Notes from webinar “Exploring the Small Farm Dream” Week 3

This webinar was primarily based around risk. One of the biggest takeaways was the idea of purchasing crop insurance. 

Other types of insurance discussed included: 

Business interruption - Loss of income

Automobile insurance

Disability insurance

Key-Person insurance - The loss of a person whom the business cannot function without

Fidelity Bonds - Employee dishonesty

Risk Management Checklist - USDA Checklist

- Production

- Marketing

- Financial

- Legal

- Human

- General

- Food Safety

- Electronic

Always consider opportunity costs when planting fruits and vegetables. 

Always be sure to make SMART goals rather than goals

Example: 

Goal: By December 2025. save $18,000 to pay cash for a tractor

SMART Objective: By December 2025 the farm will grow two additional acres of a product and sell 12,000 lbs of product through direct-retail at farmers markets earning additional income. This income will go towards a new tractor. 

Notes from the webinar “Pricing Your Proteins”

Add in the real cost for processing. Check the price sheet at butchering. Penn State has a calculator. The link is included in the attachment. Cornell also has a meat price calculator by cut. 

If you Sell retail or wholesale you need a limited food establishment license to warehouse or store meats.

Insurance, energy cost, packaging, ingredients, and storage into cost. 

Grocers mark up 20-40%. Consider what you or your customers would want to pay. Your price is 20-40% less. Wholesale prices to restaurants are similar, about 35% of the price. 

Lower price on ground to make up for higher price of specialty cuts. 

Most consumers look at price per lb, but the final price is more important. Try to avoid "Sticker Shock". 

Notes from webinar “Exploring the Small Farm Dream: Marketing” Week 3

This week's webinar was a basic marketing webinar which talked about marketing channels such as Facebook and Instagram. 

One of the steps mentioned is identifying what your target market is going to be. Is it local families looking for affordable, local options, are you going to sell produce at an auction, or will you be travelling to farmers markets?

Does the business want to offer e-commerce? E-commerce requires an online presence because you want clicks to your website. If you just want to be a local stand, sell at farmers markets, or visit auctions, the direct marketing channel would be a better option as it offers more flexibility. 

One speaker was a woman who owns a horse farm that offers lessons. She got into horse farming in 2002. She also has lambs, grass fed cows, and pigs that she raises to sell. 

She went over how she markets her business, she mostly uses an online presence on Facebook, but also has a website. She pointed out that using other small businesses in the community for marketing is a great way to save money. 

Some ideas that I took away include adding a blog to the website that could be shared to the Facebook page, bags and other items for customers to be able to take with them that have your logo, and leaving business cards and flyers on local bulletin boards. 

I think that her business structure is different because she does not just farm to sell a product, she also has another business embedded in it, the horseback riding lessons.

Another option would be offering a CSA. I have not seen many places in the area that offer a CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture. I have been a member of a CSA before and think it would be a great idea. People pay $10-$30 a week on average for 5-7 lbs of vegetables, or about 8-12 items. They pay $400-$700, for a family of 2-4, up front for the season or on a payment plan. Some places do by the week. 

If  you are willing to consider the CSA route as the farm's main direction, I can get you more information on that. It is a great way to have steady income as it is more of a subscription type of business venture. 

Another consideration for the future would be considering accepting EBT payments. EBT customers are also eligible for CSA's. 

Notes on webinar “Building Your Best Business Plan”

This webinar goes over building a business plan. 

They did give a list of websites as templates for a business plan, but I deleted the screenshot by accident. I will have to ask for the list again on Tuesday. One was through Cornell, which I am going to check out. 

It includes basic information on a business plan. It talked about the 5 key parts including a SWOT Analysis. 

If you have learned about business plans before, the class is probably not worth the time. The information on templates was informative. 

Signature Assignment: Small Space Gardening

My capstone project is titled World Hunger and the Global Food Supply. I am interested in researching ways in which we as a society can build a more viable food system with a focus on supply. I want to research alternative farming methods and their effectiveness and feasibility of being applied on larger scales. Some of my focus will be on aquaponics, hydroponics, agroecology, and compact farming techniques for individuals that only have small spaces to garden in. 

I had two goals for this term that fit with this assignment. The first was an integrative goal "to be able to use what I have learned here to gain a better understanding of small scale farming techniques for my final project" and a cognitive goal, "One goal is to learn more about these techniques that can be used in urban farming." Below are takeaways and information that show that I have gained information that has allowed me to reach these goals.

This co-op was a good fit because I had opportunities to learn about new farming techniques and some farming techniques I have never heard of before. One of the projects I got to work on was a raised bed garden and I wanted to include some of the things I learned. One of my biggest takeaways from this project is that raised bed gardening may still require weeding which takes up a significant amount of time. In the fields we used plastic to help  control the weeds, which may be an option for a raised bed garden. 

Another takeway is that many plants can be planted in a small space if you do it in a smart way. For example, you can plant onions and broccoli in the same bed. The onions will keep the soil aerated for the broccoli. Finally, I learned that plants can be come rootbound and need to be transplanted many time in order to trim the roots and keep the plants growing. I also learned that if a plant outgrows its pot, you have to be sure to add fertilizer otherwise the plant will not be able to grow due to lack of nutrients. You also have to be sure to water consistently if growing a plant in a pot that may be too small.  Photos from this project are included in the photobook. 

Information about what can be grown in containers and in a compact way: 

Container gardening is great for compact and urban spaces. You can grow vegetables in your garage, in your driveway, on your porch, or line them up in your back yard. I also came across cucumber and tomato plants in hanging baskets which you can keep indoors. They should be fertilized and watered, but the cucumbers came out great and there were 5-10 full sized cucumbers that came off of each plant. Another option that is great for small spaces is raised bed gardening. The options for raised bed and container gardening have increased significantly over the last few years due to people living in apartments or those with small yards wanting to get into gardening. 

According to Harvest to Table: 

Suggested pot sizes for vegetable crops (Well Drained Containers).

The pot sizes listed here are for standard clay or black plastic nursery pots.

• Asian Leaves—Mustard and Mizuna: Grow in at least 8-inch (20 cm) pots.

• Arugula: Grow in at least 8-inch (20 cm) pots. A good choice for growing in window boxes.

• Asparagus: Grow two plants in a 2-gallon (7.5L) container; grow up to five plants in a 10-gallon (38L) container.

• Beans: Allow at least 8 to 12 inches (20-30 cm) of soil depth for all beans. Plant bush beans at least 9 inches (23 cm) apart and pole beans 4 inches (10 cm) apart. Grow two plants in a 10-gallon (38L) container.

• Beets: Grow seven plants in a 2- or 3-gallon (7.5-11L) container and up to two dozen in a 10-gallon (38L) container; thin plant to 2-inches (5 cm) apart.

• Bok Choy: Grow one plant in an 8-inch (20 cm) pot.

• Broccoli: Grow one plant per 5- to 10-gallon (19-38L) container Start with young plants.

• Brussels sprouts: Grow one plant per 3-gallon (11-L) container; two in a 5-gallon or 10-gallon (19-38L) container. Start from seedlings.

• Cabbage: Grow one large head in a 2-gallon (7.5L) container; plant two per 3- to 5-gallon (11-19L) container then thin out weakest in a few weeks; grow three plants in a 10-gallon (38L) container.

• Carrots: Grow varieties that mature at 2-4 inches (5-10 cm) in 1- to 2-gallon containers (4-7.5L); varieties that mature 5-6 inches (13-15 cm) long use 5-gallon (19L) containers; varieties that mature 7-12 inches (18-30 cm) long use 10-gallon (38L) containers. Keep thinning until 2 inches (5 cm) apart. If the root tip touches the bottom of the pot, the carrot will not develop to maturity.

• Cauliflower: Grow one plant in a 3- to 5-gallon (11-19L) container; grow three in a 10-gallon (38L) container.

• Celery: Grow one plant in a 2-gallon (7.5L) bucket; grow five plants in a 10-gallon (38L) bucket.

• Chard: Grow one plant in a 2-gallon (7.5L) container; grow five plants in a 10-gallon (38L) container.

• Chicory: Grow three plants in an 18-inch (45 cm) pot.

• Chives: Start seed in a 3-inch (7.5 cm) pot; pot up the plant to an 8-inch (20 cm) pot.

• Collards: Grow two plants in a 2-gallon (7.5L) container and four in a 5-gallon (19L) container.

• Corn: Grow corn in containers with a soil depth of 8 inches (20 cm) or more. Grow three standard-size plants in a 15-gallon (57L) and six in a 30-gallon (114L) container. Six bantam types can be grown in a 15-gallon (57L) container. Space plants 4 inches (10cm) apart.

• Cucumbers: One compact type in a 5-gallon (19L) container and two to three standard variety plants in a 7- to 10-gallon (26-38L) container.

• Eggplant: Grow one plant per 5-gallon (19L) container. Grow two or three plants in a 10-gallon container.

• Endive: Grow plants in an 18-inch (45 cm) container; thin plants to 8 inches (20 cm) apart.

• Garlic: Plant cloves 3 inches apart in a 5-gallon (19L) container.

• Horseradish: Grow one plant in a 5-gallon (19L) container or larger—this is a deep-rooted plant.

• Jicama: Grow one plant in a 3- to 5-gallon (11-19L) container.

• Kale: Grow one plant in a 1-gallon (4L) container; grow two plants in a 5-gallon (19L) container. In larger containers, thin plants to 16 inches (41 cm) apart.

• Kohlrabi: Grow one plant in an 8-inch (20 cm) pot.

• Leeks: Grow 18 plants in a 5-gallon (19L) container; 24 plants in a 10-gallon (38L) container. It’s best to grow leeks in a container at least 14 inches (35 cm) deep.

• Lettuce: Grow head lettuce in containers large enough to thin plants to 10 inches (25 cm) apart; grow crisp head, romaine, and butterhead lettuce in a container large enough to thin to 10 inches (25 cm) apart.

• Mustard Greens: Grow in at least 8-inch (20 cm) pots; thin plants to 4 inches (10 cm) apart.

• Melons: Grow one plant in a 5-gallon (19L) container or larger and two in a 10- to 15-gallon (38-57L) container.

• Okra: Grow one plant in a 10-gallon (38L) container or larger.

• Onions: Grow bulbing onions in a 24-inch (60 cm); don’t crowd your sets or seeds. The container should be at least 10 inches (24 cm) deep. Green onions can be grown in a shallower container.

• Orach: Grow one plant in a 12-inch (30 cm) pot.

• Peas, including Snow peas and Sugar snaps: Grow bush and climbing types in a 10-gallon (38L) container, a window, or planter box; space plants 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Put a construction wire trellis in place for them to grow up.

• Peppers: Grow one large bell pepper in a 3-gallon (11L) container or larger. Smaller chili plants will grow in less space. Space plants 12 inches (30 cm) apart.

• Potatoes: Grow potatoes in a container at least 12 inches (30 cm) wide and 12 inches (30 cm) deep. Plant four or five seed pieces in a 5-gallon (19L) container; plant 10 seed potatoes in a 15- to 20-gallon (57-76L) container or half whisky barrel.

• Pumpkins: Grow one vine in a 5-gallon (19L) or larger container.

• Radishes: Grow plants in soil 8-inch (20 cm) deep pot; thin plants from 1- to 2-inches (2.5-5 cm) apart.

• Rhubarb: Grow one plant in a 10-gallon (38L) container or larger.

• Rutabaga: Grow 15 or 16 plants in a 15- or 20-gallon (57-74L) container.

• Scallions: Grow plants in an 18-inch (45 cm) pot; thin plants to 2 inches (5 cm) apart.

• Sorrel: Grow in a 12-inch (30 cm) pot.

• Spinach: Grow three plants in a 2-gallon (7.5L) container; grow ten plants in a 10-gallon (38L) container; thin plants to about 5 inches (13 cm) apart.

• Squash: Grow one plant in a 5-gallon (19L) container, larger is better. Plant two vining plants in a 10-gallon (38L) container.

• Sweet Potatoes: Use a 20-gallon (76L) container or half whiskey barrel.

• Swiss Chard: Grow plants in 12-inch (30 cm) or larger pots; thin plants to 8 inches apart.

• Tomatoes: Grow one large variety in a 10-gallon (38L) container–a 15- to 20-gallon (57-76L) container is better. Miniature tomatoes can be grown in a 5-gallon (19L) container. Start tomato seed in a 3-inch (7.5 cm) pot then pot up to a 5-inch (12.5 cm) pot, and continue potting up until you set the plant outside

• Turnips: Grow 15 or 16 plants in a 15- or 20-gallon (57-76L) container.

• Zucchini: Grow one plant in a 12- to 18-inch (30-45 cm) pot.

Raised bed gardening is great for intensive planting. This means planting many different types of plants in a compact way, for example, I did a bed with broccoli and carrots and another bed with onions and microgreens. The photos are in the photobook section. Included below are some example of raised beds and diagrams of intensive planting.