THIS IS YOUR FARM: PART TWO.
Well, the first ballots are in and the overwhelming theme so far seems to be MORE FRUIT PLEASE. Specifically berries, but more fruit in general was consistent throughout. So, I went out and started looking at our land today, and at our plans for the orchard. And we've decided to change a few things around. I think, if we can get enough shareholders this fall, we will be able to afford around ten or so blueberry bushes, one pear and one apple tree. Then, in the spring, we'll shoot for planting some fig trees, some raspberries and some blackberries. As for strawberries? Those are already in. Barring some crazy winter and spring, strawberries are something we should definitely have next year.Obviously, perennials like these take several years to begin producing on any real level, but that's the point––we want to know what our shareholders want now, so that we can eventually start giving it to them. Because agriculture is slow, and in order to give berries at all, we have to work and we all have to wait. But everyone will get to know that that first taste of berry came from their input.Anyway, there are some more ballots to come in, so we'll see what replaces eggplant (if anything––we've had some shareholders defending it). Okra seems to be on the defensive at the moment as well. Yellow squash, too. Though I must say Hannah and I had a slammin' bowl of pasta with squash and okra last night that I wouldn't want to give up for the world. We'll see what happens, but this type of collaboration is exciting for us––you are helping us shape our farm, and your future in food. That's pretty neat, and it's a lot of fun to see.- Jesse.
LONG-TERM INVESTING.
It feels a bit silly to be writing about retirement when we just started our farm, but perpetually worrying about a retirement fund is something my father instilled in me at a young age (which I assure you was a rather mind-boggling concept to a fifteen year old). It would be nice now, though, to start setting a little money aside for when we finally do decide to "settle down". But we barely have money to spend at the moment, let alone save. What little extra money we get goes into the house and into the farm (and into a meager vacation fund––see you in November, somewhere really close!). At this point, a retirement fund seems a long way off.The other day, however, Hannah and I went into Lafayette, TN (locally pronounced: Le-FAY-it) to buy a peach tree. While at the nursery, we acquired two more blueberry bushes (totaling eight now) and a bunch of perennial herbs. It was a sixty dollar hit, but it felt like, at a time when we don't have money to stuff into the bank, we were still making an investment in our future.All of those plants have the potential to earn us hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in their lifetimes. And if managed, cultivated and propagated correctly, most perennial plants we invest in now will have the potential to stick around until our retirement and beyond, fathering (or mothering, respectfully) many more trees, plants or bushes. Sure, we'll have to do some maintenance to keep them going even when we retire, but isn't gardening something people do when they retire anyway?Perhaps this has been on my mind lately as we've been hearing on NPR about how inflation is causing savings accounts to shrink––savings accounts once being a place people were led to believe they could safely save his or her money. If we don't have money to save, we decidedly don't have money to lose to inflation. Investing in trees and herbs and plants––more or less immune to inflation––that we ourselves will manage, is a type of savings that obviously fits our lifestyle, but that we have supreme confidence in. If nothing else, nature has proved to be a reliable area for growth, and not a bad place to invest.- Jesse.
GROUND CHERRIES.
I'm not sure what NPR program we were listening to this spring––perhaps Splendid Table, a personal favorite––but they were focusing on heirloom seeds. They brought up a plant we'd never heard of as a fun, easy one to grow: ground cherries (also known as husk cherries). In the seed catalogs we found they were basically tomatillos only smaller and sweeter so we ordered a packet––with visions of wine or curious salsa's––and were really pleased with the results (though we sadly never made it to the wine idea... this year).You would need quite a few to really make a large batch of anything, but we've enjoyed throwing them in sautés and salads. The other day we even roasted a handful––á la salsa verde––with some jalapeño and garlic which indeed proved quite tasty. It's hard not to agree with the radio program's reason for promoting ground cherries, as well, that they would make an entertaining garden project for a family. Popping a fresh, sweet fruit out of a small paper-like sack could be a fun activity for children. Heck, it's fun for adults––we can attest!- Jesse.
MYSTERY FRUIT.
We've discovered this fascinating wild plum tree behind the garden only reachable from one of the more precarious spots on the farm––a giant pit of branches and mud. However, seeing some wine possibilities here, I decided to finagle a special harvesting tool (stick with quart container on the end), and see what I could glean. Not much so far, but we might couple this handful of fruit with some basil and make a little fruit mead soon. Or maybe I can talk Hannah into a pie once our oven is fully repaired!- Jesse.
