Through others' eyes

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,

Totally Disasterous Summer

This has been a totally terrible summer.  We have had one wave of storms after another.  While that in itself might not be such a problem, the fact that lightening struck the tree next to our house and set the house on fire was a HUGE problem for us.  The fire itself was in the walls so it was difficult to find.  The electricity from the lightening strike flew through the wiring in the house and took out almost all the things plugged into the outlets.  This could have been fun to replace some older stuff with newer stuff but we have been systematically doing that for the past year.  So we have had to replace everything with new.  (Remember we just finished the kitchen into a handicapped accesible kitchen for me)  Finally got all the estimates and were about ready to start the repairs on the roof, electrical and plumbing issues (we live in the country so we have an electric well pump) when the darn tree, yep the same one, fell on the house again.  Came right through the garage and attic.  Luckally only a couple big limbs fell because if the whole tree came down it could have smashed me and Robert sleeping in our bed.  Now we have more roof and electrical repair. 

As if it couldn't get any worse, I stuck my foot into my muck boots and quickly pulled out my right foot and I thought I had got stung by a bee.  Not my luck, it was a spider.  Bit me between the big and 2nd toe.  Swelling and pain have been a close friend of mine for a few weeks now.  I don't know if spiders can bite more than once but I am fixin to fill those boots up with water and wash the sucker out.  Let this be a lesson to all - don't leave your boots outside no matter how bad they are.

See ya on the farm
Charlotte

Update on farm

It is another rainy day here at Appleseed Farm.  Suppose to have thunderstorms here tonight.  After the last week or so of beautiful, almost hot weather, I am ready for a little down time. 

This week, my brother, Tater (that is his nickname - he is officially Cliff but no one outside the family knows this) and I have been working our backsides off doing the farm clean up and some early planting.  He is a godsend for me.  He just works and works.  For those of you who don't know him, he has had some issues in the past but is trying to put them behind him as he is a father now.  He is also turning 40 this year.  I give him no leeway for excuses - just expect his best and doggonnit - he gives it.

We have planted some early eggplant, peppers and tomatoes in our low tunnels.  This is a new experiment for us but it is working out great.  We have had a few frosts but the plants have been doing well under the plastic.  We used an  easy bender from Johnny's and made arches from conduit.  It is easy. 

The flower beds (all 20 of them)  are starting to look fabulous.  My hands on the other hand, not so much.  They are just raw at the moment from weeding.  I use a lot of mlulch but no black plastic on permanent beds.  It is one of my concessions to the green movement.  Therefore I weed.

The orchards are absolutely spectacular right now.  The blooms will just take  your breath away.  The bees will just make you run away.  I need them there for the polluniation but not for the stings.  They do not like the stripping of the peach blooms.  We have yet to form a healthy truce. 

The 5 turkeys that I ordered have arrived  but will be at the poultry nursery at Jennifer and Sam's for a while.  They have also found us 3 roosters.  I plan to put them in the little coop and let them do their business.  In about a month or less, I hope for baby chickies, the old fashioned way.  I can't wait.  Haven't had any luck on the pig department yet.  Farmers are asking way too much for them at the moment because of 4-H.  Once that avenue is closed for them, I will get 2 little rascals for the back 40.  I haven't raised a pig since I was a kid and then Mom did all the work, so this is another experiment on the farm.

Due to the bad weather, I am doing a little spring cleaning in the house. My pantry was a disgusting mess.  I now have the junk off the floor and it swept and mopped.  I am throwing away a lot of canned goods because of swollen cans.  There has to be order to that chaos.  I will NOT throw away any more money this way.  Wish me lots of luck, I am a slob at heart.

I have saved the best news for last, it is a girls night out here on the farm.  Sam and Lauren are spending the night with Nana tonight.  It will just be us girls all night and all day tomorrow.  This will be the first time they both have stayed together.  They are both 3.  It will be a pink and Barbie evening for Nana.  If I survive, I will tell you all about it.

See ya on the farm,
Charlotte

Raining Basketballs in here our neck of the Woods

It has been raining cats and dogs here on the farm since late last night.  Or maybe I should say raining basketballs as Butler is in the NCAA championship game. I will surely be watching tonight for the Bulldogs to bring the championship home to Indiana.

Our nursery business has grown about 1000% this year.  We have added a wholesale account that keeps me transplanting 6-8 hours a day for the past month.  I love it.  It is so quiet in the seedling room that I can hear the chickens and the geese talking back and forth.  They don't get along very well. 

I have most of the raised beds ready to plant.  I had hoped to get some out on the 1st of April but it is forcasted to be below 32 degrees tonight..so I wait until Wed to get eggplants, tomatoes, cabbages and cauliflower in the ground.  I know that I am rushing the season somewhat, but the Farmers Markets start mid May to early June and I want to be ready.  I have the plastic to cover the plants at night to keep them toasty and healthy.

The fruit trees are just beginning to bloom.  It is beautiful but them I have a job that I really detest.  I have to knock off as many of the peach blooms as I can.  Peach trees put on way too many blooms and can't support that much fruit.  So you have to thin the tree or you either get quarter size peaches or the branches break.  I have to watch closely this year to see if the brown fungus from last year returns.  I"ll be on that like flies on poop.

I have finally hired someone to help me on the farm.  My husband has an off farm job and does what he can but he is only one man afterall.  (even though I think he is superman)  My youngest brother is helping out a couple days a week.  The farm is sure shaping up under his careful work.  To date we have:  mulched all the blueberries (all 2000 of them)  with sawdust, mulched all the orchards (3 of them with countless trees), cleaned several neglected flower beds and mulched them, cleaned 2 chicken coops (nasty and disgusting job), and have done a consideral amount of just general clean up on the farm while trying to keep up with the starting and transplanting of the plants.  We've had 2 weddings here on the farm, it looks so pretty right now, I think we are about ready for another if we had another child to marry off.

I have ordered 5 bronze turkeys from the local grain store.  They will be here on the 15th.  I can't wait.  Going to try and raise them for food for Thanksgiving.  Notice I said try.  I also have 2 baby pigs coming sometime soon.  Robert is not too happy about this but just shakes his head.  These will definitely be for eating.  This farm will become self supporting some day.  I hope.

Even though it is raining, I have to get back to work.  The rain has caused me to take a break and clean a dirty house.  So bye for now. 

See ya on the farm
Charlotte

greetings

Well its been a good start to spring on the farm!!! All of the blueberries are mulched and so are the flower beds!!! Yeah go mom.....today we made our 2nd plant delivery took me two trips...they were very pleased..... ...were transplanting more plants! Locked mom in the seedling room while I'm transplanting strawberries...well I'm gonna get back to work before mom shoots me see ya all ...Jennifer

farm talk

A lot has happened since the last blog. We have seedlings ready for transplant and starting new ones.(Our seedling room is getting so full). We survived the ice storm,sam is growing like a weed,wyatt went to his first rabbit show and came home with 3 trophys. Pour a pie is now in angels in sullivan and will be in linton by this spring. Our new baby chicks will be in soon but our old girls are pumping out 3-4 dozen of eggs a day. Our first show will be next month at the master gardeners forum and the the herb fair the saturday before mothers day and then robinson herb fair and then the downtown farmers market (which we may start in may but its still in discussion)

Time to Reflect and Smile

We, here at Appleseed Farm have been mourning the passing of yet another family  member.  Chad, a fellow firefighter (Robert was a career firefighter for 19 years before he got hurt and had to be disables) and dear friend, really one of the family died earlier this month.  He was 33.  He left behind a wife and 2 small children.
His passing sure leaves a hole in our family that will never heal over.

You're are probably wondering why I labeled this reflect and SMILE.  When I remember Chad, all I can do is smile.  His hearty laugh, his huge smile, his sunny nature... very rare in today's world.

Newsy farm post tomorrow, I promise
Charlotte