FARMING WITH A BABY.

Several farmers this year have asked us how the baby has affected our farming––as if to ask, "is it possible?"––and generally we say it's like having another piece of livestock to take care of. And to some extent, that's definitely true. At times, it has felt strangely similar. But I don't want those farmers to get the wrong impression. Further has decidedly changed a few things about our lives as farmers.Most obviously, the baby has limited the amount of work that Hannah has been able to do in the fields. We have been creative in opening up ways for her to help––harvesting, washing or cultivating while Further is either asleep, in my arms or in the carrier––but most of her physical labor has been limited. Many days have been too hot for Hannah to be out in the field with Further in a sling or backpack carrier. Other times, the work is just too low to the ground, too heavy, too awkward to do with a baby in tow. So the first thing I would say to anyone wanting to have a baby on the farm? Count mama out a little for the first year (we'll get back to you on how year two goes).Also, count out break times. In order for one of us to do something we may want to do, the other watches Further, typically bouncing him up and down. If he is awake, one of us has to be watching him––even if one of us is hurt, sick or tired. The slings and carriers help, absolutely, but he doesn't always love them. He's a bit of a mover and shaker––a literal one. So this baby thing ends up not just being full time, but all the time. In other words, there is not much in the way of breaks. There is one person doing something, and the other tending the baby.That being said, it feels to us like farming prepared us well for these challenges. We are fit enough to handle long days of work, then long evenings of baby play. We are efficient enough to make sure everything––the farm, the animals, the baby––still gets the attention it needs. We are patient enough to treat all our time with Further––however restrictive to what we need or want to do––as beneficial to his growth. Because if we've learned anything about raising animals over the years it's that patience is vitally important, as impatience compromises the quality of what you're doing––in this case, raising a happy, healthy baby––and you're own sanity.Breastfeeding helps––genuinely helps. Breastfeeding allows Hannah to quickly and efficiently satisfy or sooth Further when he's upset or hungry. Say what you will, but cosleeping has also been an irreplaceable blessing, as there is no getting out of bed to tend the baby in the middle of the night. Hannah just rolls over, lets him nurse (though sometimes I slip and call it "feed" which is a funny, and somewhat accurate description), then goes back to sleep. She can also adroitly (and covertly) nurse him in restaurants, in coffee shops, at market with no problems. Most of the time, it goes completely unnoticed by people around us. And most of the time, nursing solves everything.However, not to get all cliche on you, but what they say is true––parenthood is the greatest joy. It fulfills some deep-seeded biological imperative that is not only satisfying but, indeed, joyful. If you are in a good place to handle having a child––and who better than farmers?––you will be rewarded for this work tenfold. It definitely adds more challenges, but like with any farm animal, it's worth it.- Jesse.

ANNOUNCING THE FALL SHARE 2015.

The weathers is cooling off (okay, slightly cooling off), the gardens are loaded with food, so you know what that means—it's time to announce the fall CSA share!Here's the rundown:WHEN:The share will run 8 weeks, from the beginning of October until the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.WHAT:There will be kale, mustard greens, radishes, cabbage and a wild variety of other tasty fall crops. Sweet potatoes will defintely make their appearance, as will many sweet winter squashes. There should be mushrooms (fingers crossed), hopefully nuts, maybe even more honey! There should also be tomatoes and peppers until our first frosts! There is no bounty like the fall bounty!WHERE:Community Farmer's Market in Bowling Green, from 2-6 p.m. on Tuesdays.PRICE:Single Share: $168 (which breaks down to $21/week)Double Share: $320 ($40/week)PAYMENT:Our market does take EBT, so we are proud to say we can accept SNAP for our fall share. We can also take cash, card or check. Otherwise, please contact us if you have any questions at all! ( roughdraftfarmstead@gmail.com ) And space is somewhat limited, so if you are interested, let us know as soon as you can.- Hannah and 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.

MANAGING INSPIRATION.

I recently had a rare, unmitigated evening to spend with Netflix. And it was outstanding––for lack of a more accurate word. This is probably old news to normal humans, but I discovered that Netflix had done an original series called "Chef's Table" which was, to put it mildly, the most inspiring thing.For those of you who don't know, I used to cook professionally. You can read about this in my smash hit series of memoirs Bringing Wine Home (Book Three out next year... maybe), but I actually moved to New York to cook professionally. After a while, though, I realized what I'd truly moved to NYC to do was drink, so I did that professionally for a few years instead to, ahem, staggering success.That being said, I still have a deep affection for, and a personal interest in, cooking. In chefs. In kitchens. As a farmer, I'm always looking to better understand the modern chef. As an ex-cook, I enjoy seeing how the world of cooking is changing. And few things have more throughly updated me than this series.Indeed, all of the featured chefs and restaurants in this series left me feeling profoundly inspired about food, about farming, about cooking and how these world's can collide. And it has also left me with this giant douse of inspiration with which I have no idea what in the world to do.One thing is for certain, Chef's Table definitely italicized, underlined and put in bold my desire to grow the most flavorful, most nutritious food I can. There is moment in one episode where chef Dan Barber asks a plant breeder if he can breed a smaller, more flavorful butternut squash for him. The breeder looks back at Barber, wipes his glasses––his own glasses, not Barber's––and says something to the effect of, "In all my years of plant breeding, no one has ever asked me to breed for flavor." And suddenly, a million loose chords in my brain connected themselves and the resulting light will not turn off.We really don't think enough about flavor as consumers, nor as farmers. We think about yields. We think about symmetry, gloss and appeal. We grow in greenhouses and under lights to better control the environment and push for food out of season––flavorful or not, perfect looking food. And although Hannah and I completely understand the need for this kind of farming, and have nothing against anyone who grows this way, we have no real interest in it for ourselves. We want to grow healthy food, outdoors. Even if it's harder. Even if it's less profitable. Even if it's uglier. As Masanobu Fukuoka put it in One Straw Revolution, "...proper nourishment is inseparable from good flavor." Great flavor, that's what we're after––that's where the health is.Anyway, from time to time I run into something as inspiring as this series and my whole view of the world changes. It happened when I first read Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential, and decided to be a chef. It happened again when I read Kermit Lynch's Adventures on the Wine Route, and my entire perspective on what wine could be––nay, should be––shifted. Then of course, The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan, planted the seed that ultimately grew into farming. What the seed from this documentary will turn into is hard to say. But it's germinating. I can feel it. And I'm curious––if I may lightly abuse the analogy––to see what fruit it will bear. I'll bet it will be tasty.- Jesse