A few weeks ago, volunteers and a couple of employees, plus the Market Master from Down Town Terre Haute. It was a scheduled tour and a fun lunch of potluck. I couldn't wait.
I had such butterflies in my stomach for at least a week prior the tour. As I looked around the farm, all I could see was what needed to be done. The gardens were weedy, the barns needed cleaned, the blueberries needed watered, again, the pastures needed mowed again, the chicken coops needed cleaned. What was I thinking having people over when there were hours of work that needed done before we were "show ready". Well, they came anyway.
First words I heard, "Wow, this is beautiful". Breathe deep and relax. So let me walk you through the tour these kids got and we will look at it through their eyes. First up, the flower gardens as you come up the driveway are full of beautiful zinnias. I stand looking at the weeds, the girls took their pictures in front of the gardens because they were so "beautiful".
Next on the list, the barn. It is full of "crap" both figuratively and literally. The chicken coops need cleaned and the barn needs organized after the spring planting. (We grow our own plants from seeds, so there are pots and soil and everything else everywhere. Think of a toy room gone wild). They oohed and ahhed over the baby chickens that were in the nursery, learned a few things about growing your own plants from seeds so you know how the plants were grown.
Now, we walk out to the row crops. Here we have blueberries, Indian corn, okra and green beans. Did I mention the weeds? Lots and lots of weeds. In fact, I bet my husband (the planter who should not give up his day job) 5 bucks that the way he was planting would not be good. It would result in many weeds. I am now 5 bucks richer but hand pulling a LOT of weeds. The blueberries and green beans have been weeded and look good. We are providing water to these with drip hoses and overhead watering. The Indian corn is 70% loss but the okra, just keeps a comin.
Back up to the main production area for the market farm is my raised bed section. I have about thirty 50 square foot raised beds. Yes, these have some weeds in them but they are in high production. We raise eggplants, peppers, tomatoes in these beds this year. We also have had cabbages and bok choi for early gardens. Each year we add at least 5 beds to the area. We are hoping for a total of 75-100 beds. They are very easy to maintain.
The orchards are close by these beds. We have an old orchard with a mixture of apples, peaches, pears, cherries, apricots, and grapes. The new orchard is more of the same just younger in age. While they see a beautiful orchard that is producing great this year, I see the brown rust that has been the bane of my existance for the past 3 years on the peaches.
Moral to this story: If all you see if work at your farm, you have lost your passion for farming. Have a group of people who want to live just the way you are doing now and you will see it through different eyes. You will stil see the work but you will remember and realize that you are living the dream,
