With Only One Day of Sun, Lots to Get Done

Seed Spreader

Lovely Sheep Manure

Farmer has to rest sometime....

Farmer Cris spreading the cover crop

Saturday was the only good day because it rained again Sunday. Cris and Alex headed out early and found a lumber company near the farm that has wood cheaper than Lowes and they deliver...which will come in handy. Cris picked up the posts for the barn but we were unable to install them due to the rain.

By the time I got to the farm, the guys had picked up another load of sheep manure from our friend's farm. There was a mama goat at Susan's farm that had just had baby goats right before they got there. Alex's baby sheep friend, Bubba, remembered him and came up running.

Saturday afternoon Cris seeded 6 acres with cover crop; rye grass, fetch and clover. We had to use our friend's tractor because our tractor needed a new gasket, which we didn't know until we tried to start it. The seeder attaches to the back of the tractor; it looks like a funnel and the bottom spins to distribute the seed on the ground. (I am learning a lot, can you tell)

While Cris was riding around on the tractor, I did some tilling to get the ground ready for the vegie plants. Then, halfway through tilling, the belt broke on it.... so that will have to be completed next weekend.

The mushroom logs have been placed in the woods, stacked like lincoln logs to sit for 9 mos.; then we will lean them up vertically so the shitakes will grow.

It isn't suppose to rain again until next weekend (of course) so hopefully Friday we will finish tilling and get the posts in the ground. Cris and I both are off work Friday.

Wildlife: we saw some turkeys and deer on the farm this weekend. It will be interesting to camp on the farm and see what happens at night. You can really see the stars out there since there's no electricity yet.

Who is sick of the rain....ME!

Our goal this weekend is to dig 15 holes to place the beams in concrete for the barn. We are able to rent a tow behind post hole digger which make me very happy. I just can't picture me (Sandy) helping Cris with the 2 man digger type....no probem getting the hole dug but not too sure about getting the thing out of the ground after it's dug. Anyway, we don't have to worry about that now thanks to the tow behind that will fit on the back of the truck.

But..... it rained ALOT Wednesday so I am guessing the ground is too wet. By the time it dries out, they are calling for more rain. I am seeing a pattern here.

So, not sure what this weekend will bring. The sheep shearing at our friend Susan's farm is post-poned for another weekend so we may get more sheep manure from her farm if we can't dig holes.

We will plant more seeds in trays this weekend I am sure and those that we planted earlier are finally sprouting, so that is exciting. I'm seeing Okra pop up and some peppers. The tomatoes are doing great too but they all could really used some nice sunny warm weather which seems to be avoiding us here in Memphis.

Cris and I got the shitake mushroom logs prepared...now they sit and wait for about 9 mos. It takes that long for the spores to meander through the log and sprout but once they do, we should have plenty of mushrooms and the logs should last for about 4 years before we have to use new logs.

Started pricing up the 500 foot gravel driveway. At about $20 a ton we are looking at $3000. Think the driveway will have to wait for a few months. Luckily we have friends with connections that can help us get the best deal on gravel and getting it spread. Hmm, dad's concrete plant would come in real handy about now...of course, it was in Maryland and we are in Tennessee...oh well.

I really hope we can get the posts in the ground this weekend because Easter weekend we plan to get alot of the barn built. My paying job is taking up too much of my farm time but I guess one pays for the other. :)

Pine Tree Area of the Farm

Tiller that hooks up behind the ATV/UTV

2 Rows of Sheep Manure on the field

Alex supervising his father's work.....

More Sheep Manure & Shitake Time

Friday and Saturday (March 19 & 20) were busy farm days which was good because Sunday was rained out.

We have been able to find so much on Craigslist for the farm. So far we have a farm truck (which also is Alex's vehicle for now), a tractor, bush hog, plow, cultivator, tiller, UTV, and free sheep manure. We are buying everything used to save money. The plow, cultivator, utility cart and bush hog all fit on the tractor; which is a Ford 8N. The tiller and utility cart fits behind the UTV.

Friday afternoon we drove around Tennessee and Mississippi picking up the plow, cultivator, utility cart and tiller. We started at 2:30pm and got home finally around 9:30pm.

Saturday Cris and Alex left the house around 7am and headed to the co-op to pick up cover crop seed and to order the culvert for our driveway. Then they headed to Susan's to pick up more manure. Alex helped feed the lambs again and one decided that Alex was his mamma. Bubba (Alex gave him this name) followed Alex everywhere. He would put Bubba in a pen and the lamb would find his way out and next thing you know, Bubba was at Alex's heels. Cris and Alex managed to get 2 large loads of manure and with my help, we got it spread on part of the farm.

While the guys were knee deep in sheep poo, the dogs and I went to the farm and started clearing in the pine tree area of the property. We have about 5 acres of pine trees. It makes such a nice place to walk and hopefully camp in this summer.

Shitake Mushrooms: Our shitake mushroom plugs came in the mail this week. We have 1000 plugs that will need to be hammered into oak trees; so we cut down a few trees on the farm and brought them home. The trees were cut into 3 foot sections and need to sit for a week before we start plugging them with the spores. It will take a year before we will have our first harvest.

The tomato plants (in the poo pots) have sprouted, as well as the broccoli. Spring is still come and go here (30 degrees tonight) so planting in the ground will have to wait a little longer.

Cris plans to plant some cover crop next weekend. It will be a mix of fetch, rye grass and clover. This will help improve the soil. We are able to borrow our friend's seeder so that is one piece of equipment we don't have to buy.

Easter weekend will be the barn weekend...... hopefully the weather will cooperate and Cris and I can get alot of the barn finished. The concrete footings will go in next week for the barn.

Love Sheep Manure

Cris and Alex worked very hard today cleaning at our new friend Susan's barn. We have access to all the sheep manure we will ever need. Susan runs a farm in Bolivar TN. She has cows, horses, sheep, goats, chickens and a great dog named Bear. Alex and I fell in love with the lambs...some not more than 24 hours old. We plan to return next weekend to pick up more manure and will work out a schedule to make monthly trips to her farm for a manure pick up. We need to naturally fertilize the soil on our land to grow good vegies and pasture grass. Manure and hay make great compost.

Susan also invited us to sheep shearing day on her farm which is in 2 weeks. We are looking forward to learning how to shear sheep. It will also give us a chance to network with other farmers in the area. Susan was excited to hear that we will be growing organic vegies.

We started the organic certification process with the county extension in Hardeman County. If all goes well, the USDA will be able to assist us with grants for fencing, hoop house, cover crop seeds and even have a well dug for the farm. I am really hoping they help with the well because we may have to dig a little deep to get good water flow.

Within the next 2 weeks we plan to spread cover crop over 6 acres and after Easter we will till the vegetable garden plot and plant seedlings.

Yesterday we started clearing trees around the pond. The goal is to clear enough for a nice view of the pond from where the house will be and by doing this, it will also let the sunshine in around the pond and grass will grow. We saw a turtle in the pond but no fish. We will stock the pond eventually. By the time we finish clearing the trees, we will have a good supply of mulch for the compost pile.

It was a busy weekend and we got alot done despite the rain and cold. I am so ready for Spring. So much to do and not enough hours in the day. Having a great time in this new adventure!

Our Bees Have A Home

Our first bee hive. I love the copper top. We need to give it a coat of polyurethane, set it up on the farm and then order our bees. If this works out, we plan to have a few more hives.

Certified Organic = Lots of Paperwork

We meet with the Extension Agency Friday morning at 9am to register our farm to become Certified Organic. This is a 3 year process that involves alot of paperwork to make sure we follow the rules. Good thing I am detailed oriented and Cris is the mechanical/chemical guy. I'll keep the books and he will keep the plants healthy. We found a place that is giving away manure/hay compost that has been sitting for a while....woo-hoo! Luckily it is close to the farm so we won't have far to go with the truckload of poo. :) This will go on our pasture area and not the vegies. Funny how our 5 year plan has turned into a 1-2 year plan. If all goes well, we'll be living on the farm in a little over a year....depending on if I ever decide on a house plan.

Our Farm Hands - Kitty (pest control), Nuggett & Teddy (animal control)

tomato seeds planted in Poo Pots (pots made from cow manure)


The inside of our compost container.




The composter at our house. Full of kitchen scraps, leaves and other good stuff.



Our first organic product.... blackberry plant.

Some photos from the Organic Farms Tour

Chicken Coops, Logs with Shitake Mushrooms growing on them, Bee Hive, Hoop House at the Delvin Farm.

We Are Land Owners!

Well, we bought the farm. We closed on 50 acres of agricultural land today. Next comes paperwork to start the Organic Certification process. We meet with the county extension agency Friday to start the paperwork and to find out what gov't grants are available for new farmers. We hope to sign up for the "hoop house" grant, the "cover crops" grants and hopefully the "fencing" grant.

Cris and I attended the TOGA Conference....no not people running around in togas, it is the Tennessee Organic Growers Association Conference. It was very informative and we connected with many other organic growers in our state; all ready and willing to assist new growers. The highlight of the event was meeting Joel Salatin, the Polyface Farm guy. He signed his chicken book for me. :) I also attended the program on composting and met the Barefoot Farmer, who was indeed barefoot during his talk. This man knows his compost!

We toured 2 organic farms last Friday...one that serviced 800 families and the other served only 45. Both were vegie growers though the smaller farm did have a few chickens.

Cris won an exciting door prize at the conference...an organic blackberry plant from the Delvin Farm (Franklin, TN). We planted it in a pot for now (with organic potting soil of course) and also planted 10 heirloom tomato seeds that we plan to transfer to the farm eventually. The tomato plants were planted in "Poo Pots"...made out of...you guess it.... cow manure!

Looks like we will be adding mushroom growing to our list of items on the farm. Did you know that you can grow straw mushrooms in a jar of coffee grinds! I will let you know how it goes because the mushroom spores should arrive soon.

A few weeks ago, we attended a Bee Seminar put on by the Memphis Area Beekeepers. This has now prompted Cris to order a bee kit which should arrive this week. The bees come later though.

So for now, our to-do list is growing but things are coming along nicely. This blog is more for me to keep a diary of our adventure, but I welcome you to come along for the ride through our blogging, photos and also, by visiting our farm.

-Sandy & Cris