The reason for the seasons

One of the first thing that a new gardener, homesteader, or farmer learns is the value of seasons.  This is also a lesson being learned by people who have decided to eat local.  It comes as a big shock to a person who expects to go to the grocery store any time of year and buy a fresh tomato to learn that in a natural setting these delights are only available in the summer and fall.  Of course you can always have your greenhouse and ways of extending the season but in December there is just no natural way to grow a tomato.

So it is with the meat that we eat.  There is a reason why beef is so much better in the spring.  With the lush new growth of grass and ample water these animals finish out at fatter into a rather tasty treat.  IN the same way as summer drags on slowing the grass and therefore the ability to finish a cow on grass the season switches to the lighter chicken.  Chickens thrive in the summer and the lightness of their meat gives our body a sense of colling as well.  Pigs provide "the other white meat" that gives us sustanance in the fall and winter.

Learning to eat with the seasons is hard but rewarding.

Spring is almost here!

It is crazy to think about but the above headline is kinda true.  Even though Christmas is a week away the spring rush is closing in upon us.  That means that planning for next years crops is already in the works.  We just recieved our first shipment of seed from Gurney's.  We got enough to get us thru the spring and summe rplanting seasons.  Next thing on the list is to find a tiller that we can purchase or one to rent so We can plow up the fields.  We currently have the cows out on the plot where we will have the garden and they are doing some fertilizing for us but we will soon have to rope them out of the area to give it a little less hoof preasure.  Again as we stated earlier it is our goal to grow all of our own meat and veggies for 2011 and beyond so we have been working extra hard to prepare the ground in the right way.

As with our cows we will be practicing a sustainable approach to our garden meaning no pesticides for use.  We will do all of the weeding either with a tiller or by hand (both is more likely) and will plant in aoordance with the organic practices to take natural allies together (e.g. tomatoes and cucumbers).

Spring also means that we can hear the chirping of little chicks in our future.  We will be getting about 100 broilers in the mail to raise and use for chicken (yum!). Out on pasture of course in a salatin style pen.  If anyone of our friends in Tennessee would like to buy some feel free to drop us a line on the blog or at littlefeetfarm@yahoo.com.  Since we are not looking to get into too much federal regulation we will sell you the live bird and then dress it for free if you so desire.  Again, in order to do this you must pre order the birds otherwise we fall into all sorts of govt regulations.  As we all know the government is good for about nothing and food inspection is unfortunatly not any diffrent.  Note the egg salmanila breakout earlier this year.  Again this is why we have stuck out on this path and hope that we can grow a good customer base to support Logan's goal of staying at home with the kids.  If you like what we are doing than support a family like ours in your local area. You can find people who believe in sustanable agriculture at eatwild.com or do a goole search for grass fed.

In the beginning

I will be writing this blog as a journal to look back on and laugh as well as to give some incite to friends and future customers about the start of our farming venture. As with all great dreams this one starts at a young age. I have always been enthralled with the idea of farming. I can vividly remember spending summers on the farm with my uncle and meme (my grandmother but she would never accept that title). I remember begging my Mom to make the six hour tract down to central Tennessee or the three hour tract up to Tennessee (we move a couple of times). It was here that I was first introduced to the first love of my life farming. As I grew up, much to the chagrin of my mother, I never lost the appeal to become a farmer.

Before her passing Meme told me she just knew that one day I would live the dream and own a farm. Well that dream has become a mini reality. My wife and I recently (2 weeks ago) purchased 5 acres in the east Tennessee town of Midway and now are in the farming business. This venture will take us wherever we decide but for now it is just a learning tool and a fulfilment of a dream. We are currently raising 5 steers and 15 hens and doing it the all natural way with no pesticides or fertilizers just plain fresh air and bugs. This blog will be our outlet to the world of the joys and pains of trying to make a living off the land. Feel free to join the ride with us and hopefully taste the fruits of our labor this coming fall.


Editors note: Spelling and grammer have never been great areas for me so please forgive any errors here within these posts.