I knew nothing about farming or I would never have bought the 10.2 acres I bought. There was nowhere on the place that had more then a few inches of soil. There were cedar trees all over and cedar trees are the mark of poor soil. There was one acre clear for the house and 1.2 acres for the garden that were clear. 7 acres were filled with chest-high weeds and thorn trees, either black locust to Osage orange. 1 acre (divided into 2 half acres at the north and south ends of the place) had mature trees that were wonderful. The barn was filled with junk and a lot of old wooden planks. There were rocks everywhere.
The first year we had a small garden, while Joyce and I worked all summer to clear an 8 foot wide lane to the back fence by hand. We used an old piece of field wire fence like a sled to drag the cuttings back to near the barn. That winter we were out in the snow burning all the piles we had drug up near the barn the previous summer. It was cold outside, but the fires kept us warm. It took some gasolene to get the piles to light up, but the fire kept it warm enough to make it perfect to drink some beer. That gave us a lot of time to talk and enjoy ourselves while we planned for the next summer. All of the work on the farm was done while we both had jobs in Springfield.
We realized we could never get the rest of the area clear by ourselves, so we looked for someone to finish the job. The first 2 men that came out to bid the job looked around, shook their heads and left. We kept asking around an finally heard about an old man who had access to a 35 ton bulldozer that could clear the place. The cost was $350 per machine hour but he could do it in less than a day. He did a great job on the 7 acres we needed cleared and we were ready for the next step.
Spring began and some grass started growing but it was patchy so I bought several 50 pound sacks of Fescue grass seed and a lot of bales of straw to keep the seed in place and provide a little cover for the grass seedlings. That worked out well. So what does one do with pasture grass? We grew some calves. We never made any money on them and it was a lot of work, so we were back to square one.
One year I started spending the winter going to the Springfield yard waste recycling center and getting compost every Saturday and Sunday, filling my truck and hauling it back to the farm. I don't know how many tons I loaded and hauled, but the place began to look like the giant anthills found in jungles. That spring I tilled compost into the garden where I wanted to plant and had a lot left over so I used all the old wood planks and built raised beds on the south side of the barn. I had just part of them under the eave so they got all the water that ran off the barn roof. One bed had 16 inch sides and I planted carrots in there and we harvested long-straight carrots that were terrific. I made other beds for tomatoes further out. I used cattle panels over the top so the plants could just ramble and that too worked out well. I also got some 8-9 foot tall sunflowers that year. We also had some good corn that summer. That was the best year for our gardens.
The picture below was taken early in that year. You can see the road and the first few rows were the first fruit trees I planted. the center rows were vegetables. the raised beds were beside the barn. The white spot at the far end of the barn is me in a tee shirt having a beer.
We had some good times and bad times on the farm. We learned a lot and we learned enough to wonder how today's small farmers make enough money to get by? I think most of them have jobs in town in addition to all the farm work. I have to wonder how many of their children will want to do all that much work just to enjoy living in the country?
Copyright Bill Weber 2006-2019 and beyond.
The first year we had a small garden, while Joyce and I worked all summer to clear an 8 foot wide lane to the back fence by hand. We used an old piece of field wire fence like a sled to drag the cuttings back to near the barn. That winter we were out in the snow burning all the piles we had drug up near the barn the previous summer. It was cold outside, but the fires kept us warm. It took some gasolene to get the piles to light up, but the fire kept it warm enough to make it perfect to drink some beer. That gave us a lot of time to talk and enjoy ourselves while we planned for the next summer. All of the work on the farm was done while we both had jobs in Springfield.
We realized we could never get the rest of the area clear by ourselves, so we looked for someone to finish the job. The first 2 men that came out to bid the job looked around, shook their heads and left. We kept asking around an finally heard about an old man who had access to a 35 ton bulldozer that could clear the place. The cost was $350 per machine hour but he could do it in less than a day. He did a great job on the 7 acres we needed cleared and we were ready for the next step.
Spring began and some grass started growing but it was patchy so I bought several 50 pound sacks of Fescue grass seed and a lot of bales of straw to keep the seed in place and provide a little cover for the grass seedlings. That worked out well. So what does one do with pasture grass? We grew some calves. We never made any money on them and it was a lot of work, so we were back to square one.
One year I started spending the winter going to the Springfield yard waste recycling center and getting compost every Saturday and Sunday, filling my truck and hauling it back to the farm. I don't know how many tons I loaded and hauled, but the place began to look like the giant anthills found in jungles. That spring I tilled compost into the garden where I wanted to plant and had a lot left over so I used all the old wood planks and built raised beds on the south side of the barn. I had just part of them under the eave so they got all the water that ran off the barn roof. One bed had 16 inch sides and I planted carrots in there and we harvested long-straight carrots that were terrific. I made other beds for tomatoes further out. I used cattle panels over the top so the plants could just ramble and that too worked out well. I also got some 8-9 foot tall sunflowers that year. We also had some good corn that summer. That was the best year for our gardens.
The picture below was taken early in that year. You can see the road and the first few rows were the first fruit trees I planted. the center rows were vegetables. the raised beds were beside the barn. The white spot at the far end of the barn is me in a tee shirt having a beer.
We had some good times and bad times on the farm. We learned a lot and we learned enough to wonder how today's small farmers make enough money to get by? I think most of them have jobs in town in addition to all the farm work. I have to wonder how many of their children will want to do all that much work just to enjoy living in the country?
Copyright Bill Weber 2006-2019 and beyond.
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