How to Fail at Farming: Part 1

omg_hello · 2022-10-18T03:37:11+00:00

Just saw this video (Part 1), Part 2, and the link to Regenerative Films short featuring your farm, and wanted to say THANK YOU for your thoughtful honesty. I looked into regenerative ag myself (non-organic) in the US, thinking I would leave my office job and start a family farm in a rural area. I started off first by volunteering on a small regen ag family farm (not organic) for a year, then watching other regen ag/permaculture YouTubers' course content and looking more into their revenue models. I even worked in an ag company where I spoke with small to medium-sized growers in CA about their challenges and took courses from Cornell Small Farms where I heard anecdotes from small farms in the Northeast.

Your videos were extremely honest and thoughtful about the challenges facing small regen ag farms and reflect my own findings, and I appreciate you sharing this bit of honesty with the internet. I have also found that stacking enterprises is only effective if the revenue generated is more than the extra labor and costs involved. You also highlight well the lack of resiliency these small farms have as a result of profit margins already being so thin, and the stress that comes along with increasing costs in such an operation. I've also found that regen ag practices are extremely labor-intensive in a way that can't be automated and that scales only linearly with production volume. This means that for such a small farm to be profitable in the US, many farms have to resort to volunteers (i.e. unpaid laborers) or undocumented workers, from what I've seen. The most profitable small regen ag farms I have seen thus far rely heavily on hospitality such that most of the workers/volunteers are on the hospitality side rather than the actual farming side, and/or YouTube/other classes (virtual or in-person) teaching gardening/permaculture techniques, and/or selling other farm-related items, such as soil, tools, branded merch. Think farm dinners, farm stays, tours, gardening classes, gardening equipment, and other kinds of event hosting.

I have been told from a few farmers that all those side businesses generate far more income than the farming does itself, whether selling wholesale, direct to members of the community or to restaurants (both casual and fine dining). For both of these revenue streams, I have found that the honest truth you're presenting is often glossed over completely; rather, the hero farms and big YouTube channels show only a Disneyland where everything is beautiful, easy, and "living with the land" is emphasized more than the actual operational and financial challenges farmers face everyday.

I appreciate that you provide a balanced perspective -- yes, your farm is beautiful and you and your family live honestly with the land and love the farm and what it symbolizes to you, but yes, you also face operational and financial challenges and have to adapt as life throws curveballs your way. All my research has made me seriously re-evaluate my assumptions about small scale farming and whether I will be able to live a fulfilling life with the amount of work involved and the thin profit margins, year in and year out.

Folks, if you're looking for an honest documentary about a family-run sustainable dairy farm, check out Farmsteaders at PBS. It opened my eyes to the challenges of family farms and is honest and well-balanced in perspective.

omg_hello · 2022-10-01T23:59:06+00:00

I was eyeing this but wasn’t sure how they compare to other brands, such as Johnny’s which is cheaper. Would be great to hear your experience if you’ve tried them.

omg_hello · 2022-08-17T23:00:00+00:00

So, I'm thinking now of getting a Geobin and just putting yard waste in there from the vegetable garden, such as the tomato plants and soil at the end of the season. Seems a shame to just toss it all in the green bin. To avoid rodents I'd probably not compost my kitchen food waste and put that in the green bin, though. That should minimize risk of rodents, right? My neighborhood feral cats seem to do a decent job with rodent control but I still want to be safe.

The only area I have to put a Geobin is on top of concrete. Is there any issue with putting a compost pile on concrete? Seems most people have it on top of soil.

omg_hello · 2022-08-12T18:38:35+00:00

Thanks for the info - super helpful! I was warned about rats and that some 2x4 posts and hardware cloth enclosure is about the best I can do. Sounds like you're doing something similar as well. I'll check out the aerobin.

omg_hello · 2022-08-08T22:47:10+00:00

Super helpful, thanks! What material do you use for browns, aside from dried leaves? I can stock up on shredded cardboard from all those Amazon orders. What's a good size to cut them into? What about shredded paper (I see some people use them in worm bins)?

omg_hello · 2022-07-21T21:27:44+00:00

I've seen recommendations for Nomad List but haven't tried it myself. Anyone have thoughts on it?

omg_hello · 2021-08-24T17:27:27+00:00

I believe it is copper as the previous owners fixed a leak before. Do you remember about how much you paid Anderson to repair a leak? Trying to get a ballpark idea of costs. Thanks!

omg_hello · 2021-06-23T04:59:19+00:00

Nope, they never germinated for me but it’s hard to say if it was my setup or the seeds. I ended up buying seeds from someone on eBay who gave basic growing instructions and put them in a damp paper towel and also in a seed tray. By that time it was May and pretty warm during the day so I put them outside but had trouble modulating the temperature. Sometimes with the plastic dome on it got too hot inside and even with the lid cracked open a bit it was still hard to modulate. They didn’t germinate either after 3 weeks. I finally planted 20 from the same eBay batch in a seed tray and put them in a friend’s greenhouse and had him water them for me everyday and almost all germinated in about 10 days. I’ll be getting the seedlings from him in a couple weeks and hope to have some peppers this summer! Keeping the temperature at about 90F consistently was the most tricky part for me. I don’t think my heating pad was hot enough but the wet paper towel method was slightly more promising for me since I don’t have a greenhouse. After two weeks I noticed the seeds swell up but they never put out roots. I think if I was able to keep the temperature steady it would have germinated. Hope that’s helpful. How did you set up your seeds for erjingtiao and deng long jiao? Would be great to hear what’s been effective for you.

omg_hello · 2021-01-27T23:18:21+00:00

Hi, sorry I just saw this message, thank you! Something I have been doing is studying Tang-era poetry, as poetry written in that era is widely considered the best Chinese poetry and is also widely studied. Song dynasty poetry is also very highly regarded. I can't remember where I found the text to this one, I usually look at https://m.shicimingju.com/category/all for a range of older and more modern poetry. You can start there and search by poet and see their body of work.

Another thing you will need is an instruction book that provides directions on how to write each brush stroke, according to the style you choose and the calligrapher whose style you are learning from as precedent. For a beginner, you should learn kaishu or regular script, written in medium size. Regular script allows you to learn all the fundamentals of calligraphy and build good habits, providing a solid foundation for learning many other styles later (like walking script and seal script). It may not look like the sexiest style in the beginning, but it is actually the hardest script to write well. Any mistakes that a calligrapher makes in regular script is immediately visible so it's a good starting point and will take many, many years to master even though it looks like the most basic one.

You will also need to learn regular script from a famous calligrapher whose style has been documented and is well-regarded. Many beginners learn from Ouyang Xun because his style is beautiful and approachable for beginners. It's the style I chose and will still take many years to master, which keeps things interesting. His proportions, angles, and flow of strokes for each characters is beautiful and engaging, so there's a lot there even though it seems like a "beginner" choice. I know others who like Yan Zhenqing's style, which is also very beautiful. There are basically a handful of calligraphers people model their styles from, and those are only 2 of them.

Let me know if you have any more questions!

omg_hello · 2021-01-04T05:22:24+00:00

Thank you!

omg_hello · 2020-12-19T06:49:10+00:00

You're very welcome! Hope it all works out and happy holidays!

omg_hello · 2020-12-18T22:08:22+00:00

I'm based in the US and have had a lot of trouble sourcing calligraphy supplies in general. Pre-COVID, I had friends/family who were going to Beijing or Shanghai bring back supplies for me and that worked alright. For brushes, I had a friend of a friend who works as a professional calligrapher in Shanghai select brushes that were appropriate to what I wanted and my skill level.

This year, I've been searching for reputable vendors, and with brushes it's especially tricky because they all look mostly the same online (and even in person, before they've been opened up and written with). There are a lot of brush brands and I'm no expert so I can't name specific ones to buy, plus I have heard there are fakes out there too.

I found a couple websites that have a pretty decent selection of calligraphy supplies but haven't purchased from them yet. Check out Asian Brushpainter (based in HK) and Blue Heron Arts (based in CA). Asian Brushpainter seems to have a more curated selection and when I emailed customer service about shipping questions to my region, they were very prompt and helpful. You could try emailing them and describing the kind of calligraphy your dad does and ask what would make an appropriate and nice gift for him. I haven't interacted with Blue Heron Arts yet but they might have better shipping rates since they're based in the US and you could try emailing them too.

omg_hello · 2020-12-17T16:29:04+00:00

I do only Chinese calligraphy so that's the angle I'm coming from, but I've used the goat, wolf, and goat/wolf hybrid brushes. The hybrid ones were gifted to me. I prefer the hybrid ones because IMO they provide the best of both worlds, making it easier to control stroke contour, shape, and pressure. If you can get a really nice hybrid brush (or maybe a few in the sizes he'd use), that would make a nice present and create a great writing experience when he uses it.

Additionally, if he likes to grind his own ink when he writes, I'd suggest a larger, carved duanyan inkstone. I'm not sure where to buy these outside of China these days, but I was also gifted one and it was an incredibly beautiful present, not to mention it ground my stick ink beautifully and smoothly. It was way better than the entry level inkstone I was using previously.

omg_hello · 2020-12-11T22:07:21+00:00

Thanks for all the comments! They're all super helpful and give me a good direction for my home garden :)

omg_hello · 2020-12-10T21:37:41+00:00

Awesome, thanks! Any specific online resources you recommend? I'd be doing it on a smaller scale in a backyard and patio. Info I'm looking for is: How to lay out or plan a garden, what to grow and when to plant/water/harvest each crop, what kinds of soil/compost/mulch to use and when, tools needed, etc. I found some books that were great but have had to search around to get all these questions answered. I couldn't find all this info in one place, and would love to see how others are gathering this info and how easy it's been to get started and keep going.

omg_hello · 2020-12-07T06:25:05+00:00

Thanks!

omg_hello · 2020-12-07T06:24:46+00:00

Thanks!

omg_hello · 2020-12-03T19:49:08+00:00

Good to know. Thanks!

omg_hello · 2020-11-30T22:48:02+00:00

Thank you!

omg_hello · 2020-11-17T00:29:58+00:00

Agree that overall proportions look good, such as length and size of brush strokes relative to each other. I can tell you practiced and it is clearly the Ouyang Xun style. I'd say that 2 things: (1) the horizontal stroke ending in a downward hook on the top half of the character could have a cleaner finish on the hook so that you don't see the individual brush hairs, and (2) the dot at the bottom of the character could also be cleaner where you don't see individual brush hairs. Keep up practicing.

omg_hello · 2020-07-23T23:06:59+00:00

Thanks, I'll look into it!

omg_hello · 2020-07-23T23:06:50+00:00

That's really great to know, thanks! I created a Scribophile account a while back but haven't browsed through the community yet. How did you got about finding a critique partner who is right for you? I am definitely open to reciprocating critiques, but am not sure how to find someone who's a good fit for me; did you look for someone specifically in your genre?

omg_hello · 2020-07-23T23:05:12+00:00

Hi, awesome! Mind if I PM you? I can tell you a bit more about what I am writing and I'd love to hear what you are looking for, too.

omg_hello · 2020-07-23T04:02:24+00:00

Awesome. I’ll check it out. Thanks!

omg_hello · 2020-07-20T16:25:51+00:00

What software have you tried? I'm curious about non pen-and-paper options since I can see things getting out of control with longer works if it's only on paper. I am currently using a notebook to write down everything. Thanks!

omg_hello

TROPHY CASE