Building the Farm, One Realistic Step at a Time
As I type this out for the second and third time, I realize I’m still very much in the “mom of little children” season of life, and whatever plans I make need to reflect that. Although I have a Honey-Do list for myself of things I want to accomplish this fall—growing, getting my hands in the soil, and moving the farm forward—I need to stay realistic. That list can easily grow longer than what I can actually finish, and I don’t want to set myself up for disappointment.
So this fall, since I still have my small backyard garden and I’ll also be clearing and working on the foundation of the farm garden, I’ve planned to keep longer-season and overwintering crops in the backyard and work slowly but steadily on the farm.
At home, the fall and overwintering items I’m thinking about planting right now are garlic, onions, snapdragons, chamomile, artichokes, and potatoes. I also have containers I can fill with my usual kitchen herbs and interplant them throughout the space. That will give me the feeling of a full garden and something growing here at home without the stress of managing a large space while I’m also building up the farm.
On the farm, the priorities are clearing any debris, starting the foundation for the greenhouse, finding a builder, and getting fencing and water in place. I haven’t heard back from the extension office about the soil results yet, but I’m itching to know. Plans so far are to start building in-ground garden beds slowly—clearing portions of growing space with silage tarps to kill back old weeds, then doing a shallow rough till to work in amendments. I know the first growing year is really focused on soil health for me. I’ll be growing beans, legumes, sunflowers, and pollinator-friendly herbs and flowers. It’s important that I pay attention to my land and how it grows. I already see life out there, and it’s such a beautiful split between cleared growing space and the woods. Little by little, foraging and going deeper into the woods will be wonderful, but that is still further down the road.
This is going to be a long and amazing project, and I am so happy to be on this journey. Honestly, taking a bit of a back seat on growing this year has been difficult, to say the least.
If you’re also in a season of balancing big dreams with little kids (or just trying to keep your garden goals manageable), I’d love to hear how you’re handling it. What’s on your realistic fall list this year? Drop a comment below or share this with another mom who’s building something beautiful one small step at a time. And if you want to follow along as the backyard and the farm both take shape, make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss the next update.
From the Beds at Wild Bloom — Seed to Plate, one season at a time.
Serena
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