Peas, potatoes, and leeks... Oh my!

This week was a little different than most... Dad was in Daytona (working/goofing off. Haha! I'm still jealous he got to talk to Travis Pastrana...) so that left me to my own defenses for both farms. Next time he's gone, I really hope it's not when rain is quickly closing in and we need to plant potatoes and several thousand leeks. That's a little scary since we've never planted them before and I'm not familiar with planting them.

Luckily we got in 15 bundles for Dad on Thursday afternoon, thanks to Ducky since Mama had her Spanish class serving dinner to their parents. It was rough (I was attacked by ants) and an interesting learning experience.

Now, HG has planted in the ground some organic sugar snap peas and, what will be naturally-grown Yukon Gold potatoes. Dad is planting about 1,000 leeks for me today since I'm at Day 2 of the Georgia Organics Convention in Columbus. This convention has been very informative and another wonderful learning experience. My only dilemma is that it's 10:00 AM, my stomach is growling and I only have a tangerine in my bag i saved for Abigail. They're not my favorite. Oh well... My stomach has quieted a little now and I'm not as embarrassed.

Hope everyone has a great weekend and check back soon for next week's adventures.

Steph

Note: oranges don't make your stomach stop growling.

There's no turning back now...

Last week was BUSY! We worked hard on both farms and really accomplished a lot. Daddy and I met with a guy from UGA in Griffin and discussed some of the questions we had about naturally-grown products as well as organic products. We even drove out to Cummings and picked up a load of 30+ year old chicken manure to spread on one of the fields. (Thank you, thank you, thank you Mr. Walls!)

I even received a great phone call from a long-time family friend on Tuesday about possibly using some additional land for organic farming. He and his mother were both excited to hear what I was trying to get started and are interested in doing a CSA program (Community Supported Agriculture), and I really love the idea. [A CSA program allows families to receive a variety of vegetables, fruit, eggs and even meat weekly over a given period of time. Each family pays the farmer ahead of time so that he or she can purchase seed and cover the expenses of growing the crops. HG's CSA program will consist of produce and eggs.] It's old land that hasn't been farmed since his father (Mr. Frank) passed away over 10 years ago. Mr. Frank always used chicken manure from his own chicken houses and that is a great foundation to start on. The location offers great road-frontage for HG and I am really looking forward to meeting with the family to discuss more details on the adventure that awaits us all!

Friday was my point-of-no-return... After planting close to 1500 onions and 300 blackberries for Minter's Farm, Mama, Daddy and Duck helped me to spread 270 pounds of bone meal. Then, Mama jumped on the tractor (something she doesn't get to do too often, but loves) and plowed in the bone meal. Next we laid out rows of plastic with drip-tape, and Mama, Daddy and I planted about 600 onions (white bunching and red). Onions are pretty and fairly easy to plant if the ground is properly plowed and not wet. Unfortunately, the ground was still a little wet and it made the plastic laying and planting slightly difficult.

After the onions were in the ground, Daddy and I spread the truckload of chicken manure by hand. This is not the most fun project since the manure is mostly dust after 3 decades. Spreading manure by hand is difficult work and I can see how well the manure spreader from Uncle Bill will come in handy.
*Note to future naturally-grown and/or organic farmers: NEVER put on lip balm or chap stick before tackling this project.

Even on Saturday morning, Mama and Daddy planted two more bundles of onions (Vidalia-type) for me that Mr. Lester Bray had extra.

Several hours after starting the project, I have my first crop in the ground and Homegrown Girls has officially started! I am very excited and want to thank my parents, Ducky and all those who have helped and answered my crazy questions. And there's also a special thank you to my husband for supporting my effort to start something on my own.

On a side note... Valentine's Day produced a wonderful new addition to the Minter family. A calf was born (thanks to the efforts by Mama, Daddy and Ducky) and he's cute as a button. Kinda a big fella, but he loves the attention he's been receiving from us all. I've named him Valentine, but who knows if that will stick!

Sunday, I attended a baby shower for my cousin's new wife. I made her and Baby Cooper a few items I saw on Pinterest this past week. I made a fleece blanket with his name embroidered on the corner, two burpcloths made with flannel and cloth diapers, two bibs and a special set of linen bags that held all sorts of goodies for them to use in place of a big bulky diaper bag. One held items for changing diapers and the other held snacks and a bib for feeding time. I really enjoyed making these things and hope they enjoy them too!

Check back Friday to see what else I have posted. I'm attending the Georgia Organic's Convention in Columbus Friday and Saturday and know I'll have plenty of valuable information to share.

- Steph

Operation: Going Organic ... Week 2

Almost 11 years ago, to the month, my grandparents deeded over a small tract of land to me. Nothing, I mean nothing, but hunting has taken place on this property and I figured it was the perfect opportunity for me to do something different and hopefully make a living out of it.

I made my decision to start up a small organic farm the other day while plowing one of the new Christmas tree field. For those of you who don't know, you will solve the world's problems and your own (several times over) while driving a tractor. I couldn't shake the idea from my head and I mentioned it to my father. He loved the idea (and was probably secretly glad to see that I am interested in doing this on my own) and I went about doing some research.

I've already ordered some of the seeds for this year's crop and am anxiously awaiting the many trials and tribulations I will encounter with this new venture. I will sell my "naturally grown" produce at local farmers' markets (depending on how much is harvested). I say "naturally grown" because I am not certified organic yet (a timely and costly process).

For those of you who are near the Fayette County area, look for me this spring, summer and fall (and possibly some winter markets too). I'd like to get some product in some of the local restaurants as well... Who knows?! But I am really excited about this new adventure.

Last week, we brought to the family farm an antique John Deere manure spreader my cousin Uncle Bill gave me. It's a wonderful find and will be another fun project for my father and me! It was covered in briars and there were a couple trees about 6" wide growing through parts... but it's a necessity and a great find too!

Keep checking back to see how Homegrown Girl is doing and the farming adventures I will encounter. I'm sure there will be many!

Take care,
Stephanie

On a side note, my father and I were closing in a part of one of the barns on his property for my office (I also work on their farm too) and we saw sandhill cranes already flying north! How CRAZY is that??? My prediction is that winter will happen sometime in March, so we farmers need to be prepared!

My first wood project

About 2 weeks ago, a friend of mine asked me of I could come up with something for her soon-to-be niece's birthday. I'd already made her a sign and her mama was requesting either something to hang coats on or a toy box. Well, you know how much I love Pinterest... And I happened to have just pinned a toy box on one of my boards so I said WHY NOT?? Haha! I'm not much of a woodworker but I gave it my best effort.

So I had a local hardware store cut the MDF board to the measurements on the plan (I ended up having to recut the wood myself!) and went to putting it together.

It was fun and interesting since it has been fairly cold here lately. So working in a cold barn was pretty tough. But it was still fun learning how to do it.

The finished product is actually different than the picture below... I took the purple flowers off and replaced them with single hot pink flowers. The finished toy box was much better looking! I hope they were all pleased with it... I really enjoyed doing it and would really do more soon. I need to think of different designs and paint themes.

2012 already?!?

I have majorly neglected this blog... My sincerest apologies. We have been sick since a few days after Christmas and we are finally getting better! Hallelujah!

I hope everyone's holidays were wonderful and I promise many interesting blogs for the next year to come. I am working on a project that will be finished soon... A wooden toy box for my friend's niece. I made her a cute sign with her name on it last year.

Keep checking back and see what many things we will be doing this year. My New Year's resolutions are interesting and include a new craft every month (in bulk to sell at the tree farm and tractor and truck shows too). I will blog about anything and everything involving them... So I hope you won't get too bored!

Have a great Monday night and I will talk with y'all soon!

Just another day at the farm...

We've had a busy day today at the Christmas tree farm. It's been fun seeing old faces and meeting new ones too. I always love this time of year!

I've been making wreaths upon order and they are turning out great! Here's a picture of two I'm about to deliver now...

Happy Monday and we'll talk to you soon.
Steph

Day 1 first post from Tammy

Well i have finally decided i had time to post a comment, this is new to me, so bear with me. I have been working hard trying to come up with some goodies to bake for the Christmas season. We have decided to bake quick breads,cookies, candy and of course the all time favorite Marshmellow sticks. I have also been working hard on Orange Marmalade and Apple Butter. My goal for the upcoming weekend is to make more jelly and some cranberry sauce so wish me luck and be looking forward to my next post.

Tammy