“CAN I HELP YOU, PAPA?”

Further on compost.

There is nothing I want more for my child than to grow up around food, in the garden, outside, alongside us. But when trying to run a farm business, that dream gets complicated.Like any business, though this is especially true of farming, the success and longevity of our operation hinges on efficiency. It hinges, for us, on being able to spend as little time on our knees, or bent over, or out in the sun as possible while still accomplishing what we need. But then, in the middle of the workday, your son wants to help you and you know two things: 1) this is exactly what you had dreamed of when you started farming, and 2) it’s going to make the workday that much longer, slower, harder.Do I hate having that second thought? Of course I do. But this is the bizarre reality of farm life—your family and business are always occupying the same space even when their needs conflict. Whatever you do for work, just imagine trying to do it with an ever-present 3.5 year old.However, I have decided as of late to ignore that second point about my workday and just say yes, “Of course, baby boy, you can help your papa.”And you know what? Not only has he been helpful, but I’ve realized how little he actually slows me down. For a minute, maybe, but then he does his little bit of work and goes back to playing by himself. Or he continues to help me—handing me soil blocks, or grabbing a tool I need from the shed—genuinely making what I do easier. Part of this is his age and maturity. He’s grown up a lot this year.The other part of it is my age and maturity. I, too, have grown.I have always been a very serious employee. I have always dedicated myself to work in a way that is myopic, even unhealthy. This is the kitchen culture in which I learned to work and it is only work culture I know. So it so no surprise then that I would copy/paste this approach onto my own business—that I would struggle to integrate someone I love into something I actively make impersonal, prosaic, and painfully serious.But when I really step back and think about what I got into this farming thing for in the first place, I realize something jarring and profound: I never started farming to start a business. I never wanted to be an entrepreneur. What I wanted was a family farm that fed a community, and a diverse, healthy life for my children. So when I don’t let them help me when they ask, all I have is what I never wanted.Luckily, I have come to find that all it takes to circumvent that fate is a few simple words.“Yeah, baby boy, let’s plant.” And together, we grow.

-Farmer Jesse

WORKING MORE TO WORK LESS (WITH VIDEO).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KRU80oeeC4We’ve been working really hard this year—the whole crew has. Okay, technically this is the story every year, but it’s different this year because the work we are putting in now to implement a no-till gardening program has a specific goal: to reduce the work for years to come.This, truthfully, should always be the case. The work you do this year should always help the future you. At least, it shouldn’t add to the work. You can add projects without adding more requisite time, or that’s what you should strive for.Anyway, that is just one of the many things I go on about in today’s VLOG. So check it out and don’t forget to subscribe!-Jesse  

SMALL SCALE ROTATIONAL GRAZING WITH SHEEP.

https://youtu.be/3eGVTkrnYVcOne of the first things we did when we got to our new property a year ago was to do what most farmers will tell you not to do: we got animals.Specifically, we got sheep.The reason a lot of vegetable farmers stay away from animals is the infrascture, the time required, the fact that you have a voracious vegetarian ruminant anywhere around your vegetable garden... lots of reasons!However, sheep are an animal we have found to be a perfect fit for our system. They require little work, are efficient in the pastures, and are also soon (relatively soon) going to be a part of our no till garden system... but not by grazing the garden.Watch the video to learn more and dont hesitate to post them if you have any questions or comments! -Jesse

SO WE DID IT.

Officially, we bought a BCS walk-behind tractor. Well, not us, exactly. Our buddies at Farm Credit bought it, we just get to use it until it's paid for. But yes, we now own our first piece of real machinery and if feels.... good actually. Really good.And I acknowledge how incredibly uninteresting farm machinery is to most people––I am one of those people––but I will at least say, even though it's a machine, and it runs on gas, we do feel this move put us one step closer to our goal of sustainability. Allow me to elaborate.We are going to be woking with semi-permanent raised beds. These beds will never get compacted, nor fully turned over, and will therefore promote good nutrient retention and healthier food.Farming this way will allow us to grow a lot more on a much smaller piece of land––so less land under tillage. And we definitely used more gas driving to and from the gardens this year than we will in an entire year of farming our new garden space with this machine. This idea cannot be emphasized enough. Driving was not only gas guzzling, but time guzzling as well. The BCS will save on both.Most importantly, the BCS will take much of the stress of hand-farming off of our shoulders. I don't have the best back and shoulders in the world. I want to be able to throw the ball with my son in my forties, sweep my wife off her feet in our sixties, shake my fist at youth in my seventies, cultivate our tomatoes till I die. And I need all the help I can get.So anyway, yes, we're those kind of farmers now. We're jumping on the bandwagon. But we're also not changing to do so. We are still building our food forest––more than ever really––and still living simply (or complexly, depending on how you look at it).And sure, we're eight thousand dollars in debt, but we're feeling completely okay with that. Ready for it. Excited. After a three weeks of work with the BCS, we can really get a sense of the possibility of owning a machine like this. A lot of food will come from this. A lot of food and even more health.- Jesse*NOTE - that picture is actually of our dear friends tractor we borrowed a while back. We have been too busy using our own BCS to take a picture of it, but trust me - it is already very dirty.