Spring is Here!

It is that time of year again! The trees a budding, the flowers are blooming, and we are starting to get busy, busy! We began planting in early March. Just this past week we have planted quite a bit: broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, beets, carrots, spring onions, and our greenhouse tomatoes. We also started sowing our seeds in the greenhouse for the summer crops: tomatoes, peppers, and various herbs. We have to plant our potatoes again this week. We planted them the first of March, but the heavy rains and cool soil temperatures have not been to our favor! So we will try again. That is part of farming. As my Mom would say, "you have to be an eternal optimist!". This week will bring some warmer temperatures to help dry the soil out at the stand a little more. Hopefully, we can get our plastic mulch laid on our rows. That way, we will be ready for planting our summer crops as soon as it is time. How do we know when it is time? Well, we try to use the Farmer's Almanac when we can. We also rely on old gardener's rules, like we don't plant our summer transplants until after the "blackberry frost". This puts us into the second week of May. The final deciding factor, besides rain, is a baby sitter! The kids still rule here on the farm!

Like they are right now. They will play anywhere but the dining room table, until I open my Bible or my computer! It is a given! Then they will flock to my feet and be playing the "three little pigs/big bad wolf", under the table. Of course, when I get on the phone they command my full attention. That is what they do. That is why the role of "stay at home mom"/"small business owner" is so hard! Although it is the hardest job I have ever had, it is the only one that I have ever loved! I know that I am right where I am supposed to be!

Spring to me is a time of reflection. We started our business in the spring of 2008. So I always reflect back to that first garden. Pulling the rows with Lily on the tractor. Picking veggies with a nine month old! Now this spring I will have two little pickers! They will really be rough on the strawberry crop! They like to sample them pretty heavy. Then it will be tomatoes for Max and broccoli for Lily! If you ever have a problem getting your kids to eat veggies, let them try it raw! I made broccoli last year, with cheese all over it, to try to get the kids and Jason to eat it. The next day, Lily and I were cutting broccoli florets. She started eating them raw, because they were "tee tiny".

Oh, if the scenery in the pics does not look familiar, this is my father-in-laws farm. We plant it in some spring and summer crops.

New Life

Growing up on a farm, you come to appreciate new life at an early age. Whether it is a baby calf being born, tadpoles swimming along the banks of the pond, or baby birds in the spring. There is always something being born on a farm! We had a dairy farm when I was younger. The babies ranged from calves, to kittens, to baby rats, to moths! We had them all as pets at one time or another! I think that is why I appreciate life so much! That and the knowledge of my Creator God! Knowing that it takes an Almighty God to orchestrate all the things that take place for any form of new life to come about!
Today I saw God's grace at work and felt His hands around my family, holding us up and helping us along! Today Dad got his liver transplant! He was given a new life today! I am so thankful for the miracle that transpired today! But, I am also much more aware of the miracles that have taken place over the past year and a half to get him to this point! God opened windows, when it seemed the doors were shut! He is so good! I thank God for my Daddy's new life! I pray that it will be a long one, lived for HIM! May God bless you and your family!

Fun for all

Today we had a group of home schooled kids come out to the farm. The kids were going to pick some strawberries and we were going to talk about the plants. Then the rains came! So, I opted for Plan B. We have a greenhouse full of tomato plants that are planted in 5-gallon buckets. They are almost head high and have green tomatoes on them. I decided to talk to them about photosynthesis and pollination. So, I called the mom that was organizing the whole thing and asked her the age ranges of the group. She told me they ranged from 5 to 13. Well, when they showed up, they actually ranged from 2 to 13. I was a little nervous, since I am not a teacher or professional tour guide! We walked through the barnyard, as I pointed out objects to quiz them on. We looked at the strawberry plants, the plastic mulch and drip tape below the strawberries, and the blooms themselves. I think even the moms were impressed! Then we went onto the greenhouse. I think they were amazed as they walked in, because you cannot see from one end of the greenhouse to the other. I mean, Jason and I were tying up tomatoes yesterday and I couldn't see him. It is like a jungle in there! So I talked about photosynthesis and pollination. There was a set of cute little twin girls squatting down beside me in the gravel. One of them opened her had and showed me a prize, a rotten apple. I asked if that was here souvenir and she just grinned. Lily carries those things around all of the time! You know it is amazing how you think kids need all of this stuff, when all it might take is a rotten apple or a cardboard box. Well, I didn't send them home empty handed! Our grand tour ended with a planting session, where they got to transplant cantaloupe plants into 4" pots. All in all I think they had a good time! I really enjoyed the experience also. Sometimes farming is so difficult that you feel like you don't know anything. It is nice to feel like you do!

Lessons Learned

Things I have learned about farming and life lately:

1) Calculate spray rates at least twice (preferably without kids in the background!)

2) When in doubt, a little water and fertilizer goes a long way!

3) Even though you cannot see your mistakes right away, you will later on! Learn from them! Nobody learned how to farm overnight! Especially new crops (strawberries), or new environments (greenhouses).

4) Plan a few things for the day and let the miscellaneous events of the day fill in the gaps. That way, I am not so stressed when I don't get things done!

5) Take time to play with my kids! Whether it is while I am working, or if we are enjoying a morning at home! We won't have much more of those, once summer comes!

6) Work comes in many forms, especially when a husband/father is responsible enough to pick up jobs to help support his family!

7) Farming has high inputs and sometimes low outputs! The key is trying to find the niche that will work best for you!

8) Never trust a dirty rat! Human or other! They will eat the seeds that you have sown every time!

9) Ask the Rainmaker for the rain, not the weatherman! Only God knows what the weather will be! I have a farmer friend, whose father told him, "God will always bring the rain, before it is too late". I think that can cover any situation that you are in! Trust in Him!

10) Farming is a risky business, always keep a magic 8-ball around for humor!