FORWARD MARCH.

It's around the fall when farming is at its most unforgiving. This is the time of year when it's too late to plant more corn. Or more tomatoes. Or more sweet potatoes. Whatever is done is pretty much done and if you made mistakes that year, you have to wait until next year to correct them. This, to me, is one of the hardest times to be farming.But March. Now March is a good month to be a farmer. March is that time of year when you haven't screwed anything up yet. You haven't had that drought yet. You haven't lost that crop to that weed or pest yet. All you have is possibility. March is a clean slate, a fresh palate.I imagine this is what it's like to be a professional athlete (though notably less lucrative). If you have a bad season, you have to wait until next year to improve on it. But like a good athlete, farmer's don't sit around while we wait. We think about what we did wrong. We work on the things we need to improve. We plan, we plot, we prepare ourselves––physically and mentally––for the next year when we will get another shot, another chance to do better than the year before. 2015: 0 wins, 0 loses.For us, this year is about being prepared for dry weather. It's about not raising turkeys. It's about not having goats––well, milk goats, at least. This year we're going to concentrate on our strengths. And our strengths are in the garden. We are good vegetable growers and we love to garden. We will still raise pigs, and maybe ruminants for a few months, but Further will be our primary livestock this year.With that said, we're feeling really good about this season. I mean, I say that every March, but with one more year of experience under our belts I feel more confident than ever. I'm excited about this growing season. I'm excited about the people we're going to feed. It's going to be a good year. I can almost taste it. Well, almost––tasting it starts next month.- Jesse.

MESSY MONDAY.

It was around November when we finally conceded the goats were not the best fit for us. Their proclivity for being on the same side of the fence as we were was, to say the least, a liability for us vegetable farmers. They ate several crops. They broke lots of things––cold frame windows included. They tore up the insulation under the house. And with Further on the way, it was just too much to think about having to chase the goats around everyday with an infant child in the house. So, regretfully, reluctantly, we found them new homes.However, the reason we wanted to put this as a Messy Monday was because for the past few months we have actively avoided talking about the goats on the blog. We tried with them, but we failed, and that failure was a little embarrassing. We could have kept at it, sure, and that embarrassed us a little. We could have built better fencing and infrastructure to keep them from escaping to the gardens, but we didn't and that embarrassed us. But you know what, we've decided we're fine with that. It simply didn't work for us at this moment, and that's okay. We want our readers, or anyone who is thinking about this lifestyle, or already trying it for themselves, to realize what we realized this month: it's alright if everything you try doesn't work out––not everything is going to.That said, we do still want goats––need them even––we just want the right kind of goats. We're thinking about meat or fiber breeds––smaller animals with less desire to jump 42" high electric fences and chase us around. Plus, we share a milk cow with our neighbors, so milk goats don't make the most sense anyway. We're in no hurry, though. The pigs we'll be getting this week, and our loyal flock of chickens, will be plenty enough for right now––plenty enough to get another crazy season started on the farm.- Jesse.

SOLUTIONS.

I have always enjoyed puzzles and riddles, so naturally farming was a good choice. There is never not a problem that needs solving around the farm. However, these problems aren't always small. I'm good for tying hay string around a stick to hold something in place, but when it comes to bigger problems like, say, how to get the area around our house to be less muddy, it's a little harder. And I'll break down why.Every big problem goes something like this: The first action we need to take is usually relatively simple. Most of the time we can––with enough work––do it ourselves. The mud for instance. I need to dig a few trenches and lay drainage tile. Okay, I can to that. Then we need to pay somebody a bunch of money to come spread one inch gravel all over our driveway. And voila––no more mud.You see what happened there? The "bunch of money" part of the equation stops the project flat. But that doesn't happen when you're trying to solve the NPR Weekend Edition Puzzle with Will Shortz. It doesn't happen when you're just trying to figure out how to fix the handle on your splitting maul. It happens when you're trying to do something big, and unfortunately, most of what need right now is big.But what I'm trying to keep in mind is that "big" doesn't mean it can't still be solved in a small way. We just have to be more creative. Perhaps scaling up the solutions, and thinking long term, is the next step to becoming a good problem solver. I suppose, with the mud to continue with that example, we could buy a couple buckets full of gravel every time we go into town and start making a pile. This would spread the cost out and eliminate the transportation fee. We go into town some forty times a year anyway, which means that by next winter, with enough diligence, we could have roughly a ton of gravel to work with and spread over the driveway. Now is that realistic? Not really. It assumes that we're going to a) remember the buckets, b) have the time, c) have the car space, or d) remember to pick up the gravel. But I will say that coming up with solutions like this, even in the hypothetical, makes all problems seem slightly less daunting. What we'll likely do to solve the mud is, well, nothing for a few more years anyway, so why not pick up a few buckets when we remember? At very worst, even if we're able to one day afford to pay someone to haul it, we'll just have an extra gravel pile around the house––not the worst thing in the world. To me, the worst thing is not trying to solve the problem at all.- Jesse.

MUSHROOM PARTY.

Okay, so according to Field and Forest ––our beloved spawn purveyor––our mushroom spawn will be arriving next week. And this means we will be inoculating logs on the following Sunday. Anyone who wants to join us is welcome––we could use the extra hands! The details are below:SPECIAL NOTE: IF YOU WANT TO INOCULATE SOME LOGS OF YOUR OWN WHILE YOU ARE HERE, EMAIL US ASAP, tell us how many you want to do––in multiples of 12––and what kind of oyster or shiitake (regard the Field and Forest site). We might be able to add onto our order. You can bring your own logs, or we can cut the logs for you ($5/log + price of wax and spawn). We can also just cut you the logs and you can inoculate them yourself at a later date. There is a limit to how many we can do, so first come first serve.When: Sunday, March 15th, from 10 a.m. to whenever we're done (with a lunch break, provided by us).Where: Our farm in Monroe County, Kentucky––will respond with directions.What: Inoculating shiitake logs and Oyster TotemsWear: Boots and appropriate clothing. It could be muddy. Scratch that, it will be muddy.What if: If the weather is bad––that is, too wet or too cold––well, we'll probably still inoculate but you are not obliged to join. I will shoot out an email confirming or rescheduling that morning. If we have to reschedule, it will be for the following Sunday.How to sign up: Email us and let us know you're coming so we know how much food to microwave (just kidding, we don't have electricity). Also, let us know if you have dietary restrictions.Email: Roughdraftfarmstead at gmail.com