The above photo is what the farm looks like this time of year . Black . If you ’re hobby sodbuster like we are , this might be about all you see of your farm , too . When you wake up up in the morning , it ’s dark . You go to work , and then when you make out home , it ’s dark .
I ’d be lying if I did n’t say that I was n’t starve wintertime ’s ease . Considering that we moved in during peak increase , we ’ve been a bit behind on farm body of work since we arrived . It ’s nice to not have to rush house tomow or locoweed , and rather focalise on ready a good meal and reading a book . I have grown rather customary to evening sunset walks through our woodwind instrument , though , so I ’ll overlook that until the solar day start getting longer again . But now that the season of preparation has lead off , I ca n’t wait to get my spreadsheet begin .
One of the most frequent questions we ’ve been ask since act to the farm has been what we ’re design to do with our ground . Well , of course of action , I ’ve had mind and dreams , but give our ratherabrupt decisionto take on the rural life , I was n’t prepared to give a definitive solution . Now , Mr. B and I have meter to give it some serious persuasion . Here ’s what we have in judgement so far .
1. Grow Our Veggies
One of our boastful finish is to grow and preserve all of the vegetables we consume . My green thumb can be rather selective at times — choose easy - to - grow greens and herbs to the more particular pest- and disease - susceptible plants — so I have a go at it we ’re not go to fulfill this end our first class . Plus , while we have an awful 150 - by-50 - foot bed to get commence in , the plain size of it is overwhelming to me at this level . We ’ll have to try out to figure out what is feasible given our 9 - to-5 Job .
2. Start Some Perennials
I ’m entrance by healing herbaceous plant , and I ’ve been dabbling in my own medicament - devising for several years . It ’s been a dream of mine to commence growing the herb that play star roles in my ointment , lotions , tinctures and teas , and while I did that on a little shell in my urban garden , the possibility now seem endless . On the to - do leaning this winter is to reckon out which works I use most often and which ones I ’d rather arise than purchase , and then get a showtime on my apothecary stores .
3. Ducks & Pigs
Having come from a neighborhood where the HOA did n’t permit chickens , I ’ve been daydreaming of backyard bollock for age . However , I also care to hitch trend . While it would be with child to have some poulet for our morning eggs , I ’m really cutting on getting ducks instead — because even though I have plenty of sources for wimp eggs , duck eggs are a spot harder to find . ( Have you ever tried a voiceless - boiledduck egg ? Heaven ! )
We ’re also toy with the idea of pig . We have a ley full of an invasive legume call lespedeza , and so far , the only advice we ’ve gotten for nipping the problem in the bud is to Roundup the field . Sorry , that ai n’t happening ! Withbees to handle forand potential plant medicine in the body of work , I do n’t desire to take my opportunity . I have what is at this point a not - so - well - think - out plan of rotate a few pigs through the pasture , following them with a seeding of native grass and wildflowers , and hopefully getting some freezer meat in the cognitive process . I ’m still at betting odds at what to do with the garden , though , so we might be a few years out on this .
Figuring Out The Tools We Need
Part of this whole provision process will be weighing equipment option so we can get our planting on . We know we ’re working on a little scale , but we ’re also within time constraints , so we ’ll want tools that will help make our work efficient and productive . After we identify farming goals , we ’ll be assessing our local resources to forecast out what we can borrow ( either from neighbor or the local extension office ) , what we should lease and what we necessitate to enthrone in .
mighty now , we have a blank ticket in front of us , and as a dreamer , that stand for I ’m thinking about all the hypothesis — I meanallof them ! This wintertime will be all about prioritise and set up a design in position so that come bound , when the day shines a little longer , we can remove the earth run .
