Writers block is a real issue. You sit down to a computer with the goal of expressing a thought only to find the words are not there. As the writer of this blog, poetry and many short stories this is something I have often experienced. Frustrating, though it is, I have found yet another hindrance to writing – TOO MANY WORDS! There is an abundance of information to share, a plethora of anecdotes that have transpired over the last 59 days, a torrent of goals set and met, and yes, a copious measure of characters which create the words that establish the blog you are currently reading. Alas, it cannot all be shared. Narrowing it down feels like such an impossible mental task that I just don’t do it! Nike would be ashamed. All is not lost. Today I have found the mental strength to type this blog! As the power trickles from the brain to my fingers the alphabets become words, sentences, paragraphs – The Goings On. Enjoy.
PLANTING
January was a huge blur of planting. I planted so many seeds that I ran out of trays, cells and cups to do further planting in. I was big planting! With good reason. See, I knew last year what 2025 would mean for our farm. Getting back into the community! This means that for the bulk of the summer we would need to be harvesting enough produce to supplement our own grocery bill but also to have plenty to attempt to turn a profit with at the markets. Yes, big planting! Not only big planting early planting as well.
The expectations of your average Farmers Market attendee are not always realistic. At times there’s the search for the early tomato, the early okra, and the non-existent veggie that no one around here seems to grow. I have taken all these notes from previous years and compiled them into my fantasy farmers market table. Yes, I said fantasy. A girl can dream. According to my notes, we should have cucumbers, okra, tomatoes, squash and eggplant all by May 24th. This is our first farmers market date of 2025. Therefore, my planting reflected this fantasy goal, if you will.
All this planting needed a safe space to reside as there were copious amounts of trays! So to the drawing board I went. I’ve been in dired need of a green house for years and this year the need grew exponentially with my planting so it had to happen. I mentally mapped out a corner inside of our existing high tunnel that could potentially framed out. I tossed the idea around with my garden buddies,of course. Then bounced the mental draft up the chain to Mr. Bain Home Gardener. With his approval I then discussed the plans with our son and in just a few hours Teenie stepped out of mt dream an into reality. Teenie is the name I’ve come to call our greenhouse within our high tunnel. Why not a high tunnel within a high tunnel? Well, a greenhouse is climate controlled. That really is the primary difference between it and a high tunnel. We have used various means to keep Teenie heated on nights when the temperatures hovered around the 30s and days where it remained cloudy and in the 40s.
Teenie had been an absolute life saver & dreamer enabler! I was so set on making my fantasy table a reality that I even started watermelon and okra in December! It’s been a rather interesting trial. Here is a video on that fun. Needless to say, Teenie was filled to the brim within a week of completion!
Among the things planted was Moringa. I actually attempted this once before but lost focus and allowed the seeds to soak far too long. I do believe that is why they never germinated. This time, however, I’ve paid close attention in hopes for a better result.
COOP CLEAN UP & FLOCK MAINTENANCE
The new year brings around regular tasks that must be tackled with our rabbits as well as chickens. Since we began practicing the deep litter method, we use January to clean out the coops. This is the real pretty litter, as we like to call it. It has composted in place and is mostly rich dirt and chips from bedding by the time it is relocated to the compost.
Next its time to clip wings. The girls always protest this particular chore. It is necessary for our Dino escape artists to be safe. While clipping wings, we do a good inspection of each chicken. We check for wounds, mites, growth etc while we have hands on them. This helps us catch any potential issues ahead of time. Once we found that one of our girls was outgrowing her leg band. We were able to take the opportunity to cut it off and apply a looser one. Catastrophe averted.
WINTER SOWING
I finally jumped on the bandwagon and tried winter sowing. The was no real need to do a video on the technique but I wanted to share our reasons for trying it.
In 2023 our farm was gifted a large amount of seeds. Many of these were organic and medicinal. We were very thankful for the blessing and have passed many of those seeds on to friends, family and community. Some, however, I realized could be very beneficial for the sustainability of our farm. So I chose a few for winter sowing. Mullein and Ashwagandha are the two I am most excited about. The health benefits of these two are outstanding! For more details, see our video.
Speaking of winter… it snowed! Not to bury the lead or anything but I’ve already posted so much about it as it was highly unusual for our area. Here’s a video on that as well.
NEW GOALS
Goal is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as, “the object of a person’s ambition or effort; an aim or desired result”. In this particular context it is the object of this business’ ambition or effort that is, in fact, new. In previous years we have been very content to share our journey with the public as our journey is rather unique. A disabled wife, mother, caretaker, minister, nurse turned farmer – whew! I’m sure somewhere in the billions of people on earth there is a doppelganger family. Although, I have yet to meet them. The drive to share a farm dynamic that isn’t perfect, that’s flawed, that’s messy, as ours often is, is strong. This journey is also overflowing with joy, appreciation for the ability to learn about the earth we live on and how to steward it. It’s a life I am so proud to call ours. As we’ve added to our knowledge, our resolve to share has only intensified. From a Facebook page to an Instagram page to our YouTube channel we have reached out on all these platforms to help the public see every journey isn’t the same. The key is to grow how YOU grow! Not in comparison to any other farm or family but doing what works for your needs. As I’ve analyzed our needs and that of our growing farm, I realize we need to more sustainability. Not horticultural sustainability but financial sustainability.
There are a wealth of techniques that one could use to attain such a worthwhile goal. However it is as my mother used to say, “Work with what ya got.” What do we have? We have a farm! Complete with bunnies, chickens, a high tunnel and an orchard. Yes, this near acre is teeming with life and high hopes! Our potential for financial sustainability is well within reach. We simply have to strive towards it. Thus our new goals.
In January I took stock in what we have and explored ways to reach such a worthwhile goal. Our chickens and rabbits will definitely be an asset however, as they are currently requiring additional infrastructure, it may take more time for them to fully fund our mission. Well, what else do we “got” (in my mama’s sassiest tone)? Enter social media. Today it is a necessary hub for small business. Admittedly, we have not used our outlets to the full. We post regularly and seek engagement with our community and that has been enough. Until now. Going forward I will be working diligently to develop our social media outlets with the goal of reaching even more like minded folks, building business relationships and of course, reaching monetization. Exactly what that looks like, I’m not even sure. The uncertainty is a tad unnerving and exciting all at once. Please don’t get sick of us as they say. This is our opening. The next moves are crucial. We will most certainly need the support of our community, our friends and long time supporters – YOU. So … here we grow!