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A Farm of My Own:  Farms & Women in Ag  |
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ThymeForEweFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
705 Posts
Robin
An organic farm in the forest in
Maine
USA
705 Posts |
 Posted - Mar 06 2005 : 04:21:03 AM
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Originally posted by MeadowLark
I too am intersted in sustainable ag and trying my hand as a woman in agriculture. I live on 20 acres in Kansas and raise a little wheat, alfalfa, oats and have an organic vineyard. I also have Dexter cows! 2 heifers, 1 bull and 1 newborn bull calf. Don't you love the gentle Dexter breed? They are like pets and sooo adorable because of their small stature and sweet nature. My heifer just calved this past weekend...wish it had been another heifer. My other heifer "Coco" is due to calve in June. I would love to hear more about your Maine farm! Jenny from Kansas
Jenny, your farm sounds wonderful. I would like to have a vineyard. Some day. I need to clear more land to expand the garden and then clear more for fruit. Do you find the vineyard very time consuming? How large is it? Do you have a website? I'd love to see pictures.
My Dexter is a brat but it's because of mismanagement before we bought her. She's a neat cow and keeps us entertained. Aren't Dexter calves the cutest calves you've ever seen! They're so small yet sturdy.
The farm wasn't a farm when I moved here seven years ago. There was a small house sitting in an over grown field. We already had two horses and six pullets. My husband built a three sided shelter for the horses. I added to goats. The old privy on the back of the house was taken off and dragged to a spot under a huge ancient crab apple tree and turned into a hen house. This is all we had for out buildings the first winter. The following summer we rescued Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs. We were given a small cabin for their housing. It was a mile away. On a Saturday my husband and dad jacked it up and put it on skids. Very early Sunday morning while most of the people along the road were still sleeping my husband dragged it home behind the pickup. It served as the pigs' home for a year. It's now home to the flock of laying hens. The pigs now live in a small addition on the side of the hen house. The three sided shelter is part of the barn. The over grown field is now garden, lawn and a pond.
Making the change from city life to working in agriculture has been the best thing we've ever done. Is there a WAgN near you? WAgN is Women's Agricultural Network. There's a new chapter near me. I went to a hands-on experiential weekend in October and spent time with 21 other women who have the same interests as me. It was awesome. The newest newsletter came this week. There are a lot of things going on that look interesting. In October I'll be going to the national conference in Burlington, VT and am very eager to get there.
Robin
Thyme For Ewe Farm
www.thymeforewe.com |
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
Posted - Mar 06 2005 : 06:58:12 AM
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Robin, Your farm sounds beautiful! From what you described building a farm or a country "place" is truely a labor of love and the human spirit. I love what you said about reuse of old buildings for your livestock. I don't have a website up as yet... I tried posting some pics my cousin took last summer of my rose garden but had no luck... I am seriously computer challenged. My cousin is a computer expert and has her own company and we are working on getting a website going... It is one of my goals in a long list of many!
My vineyard is a joy but is very labor intensive! My husband travels a tremendous amount in his work and he finds it very relaxing to prune and tend our two acres of vines. He spent most of the day pruning yesterday. We have 4 different varieties of white wine grapes. They are a challenge to grow here in cental Kansas because of our climate. Drought has been extreme here... Temps of 100degrees plus are common in July and August scorching the fruit, as well as high south winds. To counteract this we have to prune carefully to form a leafy "canopy" of leaves to protect the fruit. We have to drip irrigate but always monitor water usage as we use our own private well. We use no chemicals on our vines. Insects are abundant and are beneficial. A cover of alfalpha adds natural nitrogen into the soil. As you can tell by my rambling my vineyard is a passion! Last summers crop was outstanding... Kansas is blessed by many sun filled days that the fruit need to develop sugars.
In exploring your great website I noticed your greenhouse. I loved it! My husband and I built a greenhouse much smaller but similar. We used heavy tedlar plastic over a wood frame. We built tables from scrap lumber and chicken wire for the base for the seed trays. The center aile is sand and flat field limestone we picked up and hauled ourselves. My dear sister in law built me a potting bench from scrap that has a place of honor there. I was busy all day Saturday cleaning it out and preparing to start my tomatoes and other seeds for spring planting. I have a wall mounted propane heater for the chilly nights. It is a joy to work in, and grow my own plants. Humble but servicable.
Thank you so much for the tip on WAgN! I have not heard of it! Is there a website? I will be sure to explore this...You would think a heavy ag state like Kansas would have one. But sometimes we are behind some of the more progresive ideas happening elsewhere, sadly. My town of Salina just got our first farmers market 3 years ago, go figure... we seem to be so hung up on aviation here I would love to go to the conference in Burlington...The East coast is so progressive! Loved chatting with you Robin! Chime in here anytime...there are so many kindred spirits. Jenny
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi, 13th century. |
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free bird
Farmgirl in Training
26 Posts
Laura
Victoria
Texas
USA
26 Posts |
Posted - Mar 07 2005 : 05:05:34 AM
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Thanks for the inspiration, ya'll! Reading your information makes me want to get out there and get to work finishing potting up seedlings as soon as I get home from my regular job today. I have a lot of things to do, and sometimes I feel spread too thin. But you help me take my garden work seriously.
I sold vegetables at a local farmers market a couple years ago, and got a lot of compliments--only thing is, I always sold all my tomatoes within the first half-hour (?!) and then spent all day after that trying to explain why I had no tomatoes. I could have made a fortune if I'd brought a big truckload of my tomatoes, not just a couple boxes! And last summer I went to the local "market days" and sold some of my plants and garden-related crafts. I got distracted from it (you know, the normal distracting stuff that happens, working more hours at a regular day job, paying bills, etc) and gas prices were too high to justify the long out-of-town trips to the markets, and I just got a little frustrated and worn down. Now I'm back in the garden, enjoying it and hatching a lot of new plans to sell my plants and vegetables this Spring and Summer. My goal this year (by this Fall) is to buy myself a small lot of land on a busy road on the outskirts of town on which to build my own weekend roadside stand. Eventually I will set up house there and set up a permanent farm and craft-making business.
Anyway, thanks for the inspiration--you help me see there are others doing things like this.
I love my chickens |
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
Posted - Mar 07 2005 : 07:48:53 AM
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Laura, Keep the faith and the dream! We all endure bumps in that road...you sound like a very strong and determined and savvy gal! Sometimes just the sheer fatigue of making a living and keeping those fires burning inside us can be too much...One of my favorite sayings I have called upon my Dad passed on to me is by Winston Churchill,when he addressed the British people at the height of WWII:and I quote: "Never give up, never give up, never give up..." Hang in there Laura!! Jenny
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi, 13th century. |
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ThymeForEweFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
705 Posts
Robin
An organic farm in the forest in
Maine
USA
705 Posts |
Posted - Mar 07 2005 : 12:00:22 PM
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Laura, I can just see you working in the vineyard. Two acres! I'm jealous!
This is Maine's WAgN website. We have quite a bit going on right now. http://www.umaine.edu/umext/wagn/. I don't find a chapter in Kansas. If you'd like me to I can contact our director and find out what's involved in starting one. The ones I know of are run out of a land grant university.
Laura, your dream sounds great! Tomatoes are one of my biggest sellers and people are looking for them before the blossoms have set on the plant. Your plan for land on a busy road should turn into a fast-paced business. Good for you!
Robin
Thyme For Ewe Farm
www.thymeforewe.com |
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free bird
Farmgirl in Training
26 Posts
Laura
Victoria
Texas
USA
26 Posts |
Posted - Mar 07 2005 : 3:25:35 PM
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Thanks. When you have a garden/farm, it helps that the weather, the plants and the animals set their own definite deadlines for you, doesn't it! It seems like they always need certain very specific things done "right now" and they just won't wait. No ifs, ands, buts, just do this thing now. "I have two new leaves, so please transplant me to the bigger container and give me the fertilizer right now. No, not next week!" They create their own daily momentum. I can only spend 2 hours on my garden after my job some days, but I can usually manuever to do whatever urgent thing HAS to be done that day, and save the rest for the weekend. And here's one nice thing about having to work a regular job during part of the day: The plants and animals go right on working and growing during every hour you're not there. It's interesting to come home and see how they've changed since you were there last. That's very encouraging, and makes the whole idea of farming addictive to me.
I love my chickens |
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ThymeForEweFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
705 Posts
Robin
An organic farm in the forest in
Maine
USA
705 Posts |
Posted - Mar 09 2005 : 10:14:06 AM
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I'm always amused when someone tells me I'm so lucky for not having a boss who tells me what to do all the time. My bosses (except for my new boss but that's another post) have either four legs, feathers or stems and they can be very demanding.
Robin
Thyme For Ewe Farm
www.thymeforewe.com |
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Eileen
True Blue Farmgirl
1199 Posts
Eileen
USA
1199 Posts |
Posted - Mar 09 2005 : 12:55:59 PM
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Very truthfully spoken!! here here!! It seems everything demands attention and loudly too!
Eileen
songbird; singing joy to the earth |
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
Posted - Mar 11 2005 : 7:23:22 PM
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Hi Robin, Thanks for the link to the WAgN in Maine! I did a search briefly and found no hits for Kansas I am an alum of Kansas State Univ. our land grant college , and will contact the Ag department about what it takes to start a chapter here... We are enjoying such warm weather here my vines are getting ahead of me by budding early this year! I have blisters on my hands from pruning! But will be rewarded this summer by a good crop of fruit if the weather cooperates, and my hands and back hold out!
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi, 13th century. |
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A Farm of My Own: Farms & Women in Ag |
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Farms & Women in Ag
