Archive for March, 2014

Corn Maze…part 2, Harvest is done, time to get a soil sample

Tuesday, March 25th, 2014

Farming is science, pure and simple. Agronomy is the term used; Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants for food, fuel, fiber, and land reclamation. Agronomy encompasses work in the areas of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and soil science.

The science of food

The science of food

My background includes a degree from “Thee (LoL) Ohio State University” in Agricultural education. I was set to teach vocational agriculture to high school students when my wife’s father in law offered us a job on the family farm. My wife and I decided being farmers was our best option. Over the years I’ve added various continuing education credits along those lines.

New and Old School

New and Old School

When in comes to raising crops you have got to know science, and you have got to know and understand the chemistry of what your soils have going on. After you know that you can apply the “art” part. We use a blend of Old School things for nutrients like cow manure, crop rotations, and lime. We also use some of the latest technology available to us. You need both.

Robotic soil sampler

Robotic soil sampler

The Rubber-tracked Autoprobe, Left, Pulls Soil Samples On-the-go At The Rate Of 20 Cores Per Minute And Is Aimed At Large Input Dealers.

Soil sample tools

Soil sample tools

For sake of this blog post on how we take soil samples in our corn maze we will keep it simple. The tools in the picture above are similar to what I use when pulling core samples. When you pull a sample you go out to a field and remove actual samples of soil from around the field.

Soil sample farm layout

Field Sampling. Sketch your fields before sampling to reflect known differences in soils. In our case the corn maze is in one specific field but the field does have two very distinct soil types and I sample those separately just like they are two different fields.

Soil sample grid pattern

Soil sample grid pattern

Usually, it is recommended that a single soil sample should be collected for any given field or management unit. However, a single soil sample should consist of at least 25 individual cores collected from representative areas of the field or management unit, which are then mixed together into a common “composite” soil sample.

It is best to pull soil samples in the fall when soil is dry

It is best to pull soil samples in the fall when soil is dry

How much of this sample to send into the soil testing lab will depend on the analyses to be performed and the specific lab, but usually about 20-30 ounces (volume) are required.

Soil sample report

Soil sample report

Therefore, of the 25 or more soil cores which are collected from a field, management unit or problem area, only the amount needed to fill an appropriate soil sample container is actually collected from the composite sample and sent into the lab.

Soil sample bags

Soil sample bags, after you pull the sample be sure to use a plastic bucket or other non-ferrous container. For instance if you use a metal bucket you can pick up Iron from it.

Depth of sampling is usually at least six inches, but may extend to 12 inches or more, depending on the situation.

Soil sample potassium levels

Soil sample potassium levels

Sampling technique (depth and placement) may also depend on whether the field is irrigated, bedded or flat, and also on what is needed from the analysis such as nitrate-nitrogen (NO3–N), sulfate-sulfur (SO42–S), phosphate-phosphorus (PO43–P), sodium (Na) or total salt concentration, etc.. In reference to sample frequency, depth, amounts of soil needed, and tests to run; this will all depend to some extent on the nature and intent of the sampling process as to whether it involves routine management or diagnosis of problem areas in a field.

Soil sample core depth

Soil sample core depth

At the core of creating a great corn maze……..Ok, a little agronomy humor….. is getting all of this done timely and correctly. You do not want to sample soil when it is wet for instance. Doing so can affect the results you get back reflecting inaccurate Potassium levels which are a huge part of the equation. We sampled our corn maze right after harvest and are waiting on the Lab report to make fertility recommendations and applications. Based upon crop removal data we know a bit of the story already and will apply liquid manure and then balance the rest of the needs at planting time if need be.

Technology tools in the form of handheld and tractor mounted GPS systems are commonplace today.

Technology tools in the form of handheld and tractor mounted GPS systems are commonplace today.

We
Tools like the GPS are used in the actual design of the corn maze and when we go into the field to cut the design paths which I will touch upon in a upcoming blog post.

Winery Open house and Anniversary!

Thursday, March 20th, 2014
Newest winery construction summer 2012

Newest winery construction summer 2012

Well nine years in the wine business has flown by oh so fast! Thank you to everyone who has visited with us in person or who has supported us by picking up our some of our wine at your local wine store. The winery may have just saved our family farm market, it sure has at least changed it a great deal.

Progress on the Winery....soon to be Brewery!

Progress on the Winery....soon to be Brewery!

In 2012 we built the biggest addition yet pictured above. To that point we had been “re-purposing” other old buildings or “farmer building” structures. We originally began producing wine in a renovated “potting shed”. That was the small poll barn we had attached to the greenhouse that we originally used to pot plants and baskets for the greenhouse business.

Original Potting shed

Original Potting shed

As we grew we built an addition off the East side of the Potting shed or “Head House”. We built this ourselves on a shoe string budget and it came out okay but didn’t last us too long.

Farmer pole barn addition

Farmer pole barn addition

A lot changed since we opened the winery in 2005. There were about 75 wineries in the state of Ohio that year. This year there are over 200 Ohio Wineries currently in operation. They range from growers/farmer style wineries that grow large quantities of grapes, to what are known as “kit wineries” that focus on just the wine making process separate from growing fruit. We are somewhere in the middle. We farm about 700-800 acres of cropland a year. We grow about 40-50 different types of crops from garlic to grapes, peppers to pumpkins.

Lettuce growing up in the "Hartville Swamps"

Lettuce growing up in the "Hartville Swamps"

We have a wide variety of soil types on the farm, and we are on the Southern edge of the Hartville Swamps a very special and unique growing area and soil.

Inside of new Winery/Brewery building

Inside of new Winery/Brewery building

The latest building will open. It will help us open the next chapter in Maize Valley’s history. It will house the new expansion of the brewery.

Newest outdoor patio seating area

Newest outdoor patio seating area

But don’t think we have just built a bunch of buildings. NEW this year we have expanded our outdoor seating area behind the “Gateway Pavilion” which is directly attached to the back of the winery/market building. The new area should seat between 40-60 people and we have also built some gentle walkways that take you up the hill to the Hill top party barn.

Walkways leading up the hill take the long and easy way up.

Walkways leading up the hill take the long and easy way up.

So soon the snow will stop falling and the sun will shine! This hill has a South face and we will put seating along the paths, a perfect place to relax with a nice glass of wine and enjoy the Ohio summer that is in store. Check out this link for details on our web page.

Ohio Wine and Fun! We make great wine….FUN!

Friday, March 14th, 2014

Quick note blog post! Did you know we have live entertainment every Friday and Saturday night all year round? A lot of people come and ask, “When do you start having music again?”……Word is we never stop unless an act backs out on us.

Mike Lenz and Peggy Coyle

Mike Lenz and Peggy Coyle

We have a rotation of performers that roll through each month and then we sprinkle in some special acts just to shake things up. So if you have a regular you like to see we try get them back about once a month. If you want something different be sure to follow our face book or G+ pages or visit our website and click on the entertainment link.

Bongo Joe and Little Steve-O

Bongo Joe and Little Steve-O

Bongo Joe and Little Steve-O play all around the greater Akron Canton Cleveland Ohio area. They play some pretty big events but we were one of the first places they played together and like us so they keep a place for us on their calendar and can be found here once a month.

Cranberry Pomegranet Chicken

Cranberry Pomegranet Chicken

We have some really tasty Weekend dinner specials too. We grow over fifty different crops and do a variety of special events and meals where we try and incorporate as many locally grown items as possible. Pictured above is our Cranberry Pomegranet Chicken.

Flatbread goat cheese

Flatbread goat cheese

Our menu varies by the season and by the fair. We do casual as well as five course wine paired full service dinners depending upon the need.

Mike and Peggy outside in the pavilion

Mike and Peggy outside in the pavilion

Soon summer will be here and we will be able to get back to doing what we do best…..that is have fun outside. We have lots of wide open spaces and places to roam around the farm. So come on out take a stroll this summer, have a bite to eat and if you like hang around and listen to some great local music. The Wagon rides to the pumpkin patch, corn maze and more will soon be back. But soon after that the snow flies and it is time to be done with that for a while!

Corn Maze, yea we do that!

Tuesday, March 11th, 2014

Ok, yea what does “Ohio Wine and More” have to do with an Ohio Corn Maze? We make great wine (and soon beer)….FUN! Agritourism, corn mazes, wagon rides, pumpkin picking and a whole bunch of other “Fall Harvest Activities” are a big part of what we do. We start planning and getting ready for a corn maze season soon after the last one is finished. We get a lot of questions that go something like how do you make a corn maze? This is a big subject to we will try and break it down into a few blog posts not to get too long.

2013 LoCo Motion Corn Maze

2013 LoCo Motion Corn Maze

Harvesting last years crop. As one season winds down we start looking to the next. While one maze is up and running we watch to see how it performs, how the design actually works for people. Are there paths that didn’t get used, if so why? Were there things that made this maze particularly good? Once we close the season we roll the combine as soon as possible.

John Deere Harvester or "Combine"

John Deere Harvester or "Combine"

Why is it called a “Combine” people ask. Because it does a combination of things. First of all it is self propelled. That may not seem like a big deal but did you know that self propelled harvesters were part of the War Effort in the 1940’s? There were self propelled machines before that but it took a war to get them mass produced.

Pull type combine

Pull type combine

Tractor and pull type combine

Tractor and pull type combine

Not to take the “way back machine” too far but pictured above is a combine that was pulled by a tractor. The real early ones had a separate gas engine on the combine itself and you had one on the tractor as well. During World War Two this was a big deal because if you could get that down to one engine you saved both raw materials and fuel. Learn more about the History Here.

Battle for bread

Battle for bread

It was about 1942 when they came up with the idea to mass produce self propelled combines. Steel was rationed and you had to get approval from the government to build things like this. The 1952 Massey pictured below is one we have on our farm. A neighbor sold it to us in the summer of 2013, it’s engine finally gave out he was heading to the field to combine some oats.

1952 Massey Harris

1952 Massey Harris

Ok, so these machine combine the tasks of cutting the crop with a cutter bar. Then elevate it up a feeder house into the machine where a rotor (modern machines) separator or a concave and screen (older machines) begin to remove the grain from the seed hull or cob. The material passes back through the machine where further separation and final cleaning takes place with the “trash” or chaff being expelled out the back and the grain moved up into a storage tank. This used to all be done by hand or animal back in the day and was very labor intensive as well as slow.

Corn head or cutter bar in this case.

Corn head or cutter bar in this case.

Corn head or cutter bar in this case. There are things called “snapper rolls” underneath that “snap” the ear off the stalk.

Tractor pulling a grain cart runs along side

Tractor pulling a grain cart runs along side

Tractor pulling a grain cart runs along side. This allows the combine to keep rolling and not have to take the time to stop to unload the grain tank on the combine. This saves time and weight the machine needs to carry. When a single machine can cost between $300,000.00 to $500,000.00 you need to keep them rolling every second you can.

Semi trucks on the fields edge waiting to take away the harvest.

Semi trucks on the fields edge waiting to take away the harvest.

Semi trucks on the fields edge waiting to take away the harvest. You try and never drive on a field more than necessary or when the field is too wet. You stay off not to compact the soil. And this field is done for the 2013 harvest season! Look for our next blog post about the steps we take in making a corn maze. Thanks for stopping by!

What is the “More” in Ohio Wine and more….it is a lot of things, this time a brewery!

Tuesday, March 4th, 2014

When I started this blog we already knew what we did as a business, family farm, farm market, winery, pumpkin patch, corn maze etc. etc. was different. Wine gave so much talk about it took center stage for the title, the more was about the other things. It was about the parts when added up we hoped made us greater than their sum.

We are not greedy, if we were we would have left agriculture a long time ago. It is just when we see an opportunity that fits into our area of possibilities we take it. The state of Ohio recently created a new permit that allows us to manufacture and sell beer! Yea pretty cool. It will fill a gap we have in our product offerings. We hear from our lady guests often how they would come out more often or come at all but do not because their significant other like beer.

Todd and Michelle practicing with some recipes

Todd and Michelle practicing with some recipes

Today my wife Michelle and her brother Todd are working in our kitchen experimenting with a recipe for an American Pale Ale. A great deal of the the beer making process relates to making wine. That is not saying they are the same at all but rather it is sort of like getting familiar with a set of ideas and tools. When you learn to solve one set of problems a lot of that information transfers, or at least the process does.

The diffuser we rigged for the "boil" into the mash

The diffuser we rigged for the "boil" into the mash

So we are starting off very small and humble. In the next month or two we will install a one half barrel unit to get us started brewing beer for sale. We will see how to run it well and make what we plan on being “craft beers”.

Old original trailer

Old original trailer we started selling sweet corn out of in about 1997-ish


But after all we started selling sweet corn out of the back of a two wheel trailer I originally built to feed heifers with when we used to milk cows. So who knows how far this may take us?