NOTE - PICKUP IS MOVING TO 572 STOKESWOOD AVE SE THIS WEEK. SAME TIME, JUST 1.5 MILES DOWN THE ROAD.
Molasses is a complex sugar with lots of mineral content, which makes it a great food for organisms able to break down complex compounds. Since there's lots of overlap between organisms able to break down complex compounds and beneficial soil organisms, we use a lot of molasses in our farming. It rarely goes directly on the soil or plants, but instead plays a starring role in the ferments and brews that become soil amendments and foliar sprays. Today we used 2.5 gallons of molasses (diluted in as much water) to set up our second generation of native microorganisms. 5 weeks ago we collected about 100 lbs of forest duff from several locations and mixed it with 200 lbs of rice bran, molasses and azomite (a mineral compound), tamped it down in a couple of barrels and left it to ferment. Today we came back and dug out 100 lbs of the fermented substrate, mixed it with 200 lbs of fresh rice bran and molasses, and packed it into another barrel.
We can (and will) use the remaining first generation of organisms to extract into liquids, add into seed starting mix, and pop into holes for transplanted seedlings. The second generation will ferment for another month, and then we'll start a third generation. By maintaining our microbe population, we don't have to go back to the forest, and after 5 generations we can start experimenting with mixing the microbes into human foods as a probiotic. Native forest probiotic chocolate, anyone?
As to where we'll be using these microbes, that's still up in the air. It looks like I've secured a space for our strawberries - I've yet to sign the contract, but negotiations are promising. I've stepped away from a couple of options for vegetables, and am now considering a space in Stockbridge. I'm also looking at moving our packing away from the Wrecking Barn farm, because I can't figure out how to run the window AC unit without tripping the circuit in the wash station, it's easily hitting 90 degrees in there while we pack orders, and it's affecting produce quality. If you got anything that was moldy last week, let me know on Sunday and I'll replace it for you.
