May 5th, 2009
Moving is never easy. Put aside all the hassle and stress and expense and you still have the most traumatic part - leaving behind beloved friends and family. When we arrived here in Indiana I desperately missed my friends that were left behind. I took solace in one of my favorite pastimes, planting.
I immediately went to work on the weed filled planters around the front porch. I chose plants that reminded me of all the loved ones I missed so much. I planted columbine, the state flower of our previous home. I put in stargazers to remind me of Michellyn and Doug. This lily grew abundantly in their front yard and was a reminder of their wedding. The peonies are for Kevin and Tracy, two dear friends who’s yard is a mass of peonies each May. The irises are for my grandfather. Many are actually saved from his garden. Sedum is for Kathy and all the hard work at the preschool. We planted sedum to welcome the children back each fall. Siberian irises remind me of my childhood church. They surrounded the olive trees where we used to play. I could go on and on.
Now is my favorite time of year. I can steal a few moments on the front porch swing and watch the bees feast on the nectar. I can see what is blooming and take time to remember loved ones and places. I know that no matter how much time and space is between us, that each spring this garden will bring me instantly back to those I hold dear.
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May 2nd, 2009
“May you live an interesting life” is said to be a translation of both a Chinese curse and blessing. I first heard it several years ago and it has stuck with me all this time. I looked it up today and wikipedia casts serious doubts about its authenticity. The fact that I first heard it on an episode of Magnum PI in the 80’s really doesn’t add to its validity as an actual Chinese proverb. Its doubtful origins however do not change the interesting questions that it raises. Is interesting good? Would it be better to live in peaceful predictability? Personally I must not mind trouble and excitement because I always seem to choose the interesting path.
This past year has been full of excitement. It has truly been a grand adventure. There has been a lot of joy and a lot of stress. These last few days as we try to finish everything necessary to open a produce store are like one big adrenalin rush. Every time I check something off the list I have two new things to add. Will we ever be done?
The planting is going well, but the rain has us behind schedule. That’s the thing about growing and really life in general. It’s never really your time or your schedule. It’s all in God’s time. You can plan all you want, but you can’t make the weather, or the phone company, or the city government work on your schedule. You just have to take things as they come and make the best of every situation.
We had one chaotic adventure to Chicago this week to pick up our produce display tables. We are trying to reuse and repurpose items whenever we can and we found a great place that promised to have all the equipment we need at great prices. DJ and I ended up digging through piles of junk in the pouring rain amid sharp protruding metal and broken glass. We were led up and down warehouse staircases in total darkness and we waded through puddles inches deep while indoors. We only found a few items that we needed that were in good condition. DJ was completely and thoroughly soaked by the time he was done loading in the rain and the six inches of standing water in the parking lot. We laughed a lot and we are happy with our new tables.
We will make a big push this week to get all the painting, cleaning and set up done at the store. We also will be planting 3000 melon plants and dozens of other veggies. The strawberries are coming along nicely and if we get some sun they will be ripe for the grand opening. The lettuce and onions look beautiful. The radishes are up and growing. The blackberries are getting ready to blossom. It is sunny and beautiful out today and I’m ready to get to work.
This Wednesday I will be speaking at the Sierra Club meeting at the Bartholomew County Public Library. If you want to know more about what we are doing and why be sure to stop by. Tim is working on a power point and it looks great.
Be sure to drop by next week. We open May 13th and we will have our Grand Opening celebration on May 15th-16th. It will be a grand start to the new phase of our Grand Adventure.
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April 26th, 2009
Mark your calendars, we have a date! The store will open on Wednesday, May 13th with grand opening specials scheduled for Friday and Saturday, May 15th and 16th.
By then we should have some produce ready and we will also have a selection of flowers, vegetable plants, hanging baskets and eggs.
The wet weather has put us behind on our planting schedule and we are scrambling to catch up. Rod and DJ were up late last night getting the first of the sweet corn planted and they spent today planting heirloom tomatoes and getting the beds ready for the watermelon and cantaloupe.
I spent today spreading mulch, tilling and preparing vegetable beds and planting carrots and radishes. I’ll transplant lettuce, bok choy, fennel, dill, kale, and swiss chard tomorrow.
I spent a wonderful but exhausting day yesterday down in Daviess County. I visited the Graber farm and enjoyed their hospitality for my noon meal. I was also able to pick up my daughters sweet pea plants from their green house. We will get those transplanted on Monday. I also saw Rod and DJ long enough to finalize some business documents.
Eventually we will get everything at the store ready to go. We are still painting and cleaning and it seems like it will never end. That along with a million other little details have us all running ragged.
The excitement of the store opening, the CSA starting and farmers market season keeps us going. We can’t wait to visit with you all this summer.
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April 3rd, 2009
Our Garlic
Our poor blog has been suffering from serious neglect, but the gardens have not. Spring is finally here and there is plenty of work to go around.
The first round of weeding has been done as well as final pruning and trellising. The garden has been plowed and tilled. Many thanks are due to our neighbor, Bob, for helping out with the tractor. Early plants are in the ground including a nice bed of onions.
Thanks, Bob!
I was able to visit my tomatoes and peppers in Norma Jean’s greenhouse. They look very nice. The pictures are from two weeks ago. I’ve also started several cool weather veggies out on the patio. They can come in at night if it gets too cold. The first batch of lettuce, swiss chard, fennel and bok choy are all off to a good start and I’l be planting more today. The little garden by the barn is thriving. Our garlic, planted last fall, is off to a great start.
We got word from the zoning department. We can now legally occupy our
Inside the Greenhouse
building. I’ve been working hard on the details: utilities, equiptment, employees, etc. If only I could get the various city and county departments that still have to approve various things to call me back or answer an email. I would make life much simpler.
Today we are going to mulch the fruit trees, blackberries, blueberries and if there is time, the perennial beds.
Our Tomatoes
Add to all this the day to day items of taking care of a family and house and you can see that our plates are certainly full. We are looking forward to this summer when those plates will be full of good things to eat straight from our garden.
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March 20th, 2009
"E" and "E" Till the Garden
Our kids have been anxious for a chance to contribute to the blog. Here is the first of what I am sure will be many posts.
I forgot to pack the cord for my camera. I’ll have to add pictures after I get home.
Lori M
Happy spring everyone! I find it strange that on the first day of spring it is colder then it has been all week. I guess mother nature does not look at the calendar! All around us you can see spring popping up. The deer are out. Of course this not the best of news for garden growers.
We have had a very very fun week with the Moses family here and a lot of the talk has been about the prouduce stand this summer.I think we all get more excited with each passing day at least I know I do!
Tonight we go to Dinky’s, an Amish auction, where you can find everything except the people you came with. I know some of us kids will be looking for quail and rabbits, but other then that its just fun being there.
Other then that we have been waiting for seeds all week and I hope they arrive soon so we can plant!
Happy planting!
E Healy
Tags: deer, mother nature, seeds, spring
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March 17th, 2009
It has been a busy week as we prepare to welcome the official start of Spring. We are spending Spring break at the Healy’s farm and we are having a great time.
During the past two days we have spent time riding the ATV and we have had lessons in marksmanship and crocheting. The girls are working on washcloths to sell at the store. We have all taken turns on the tractor preparing the gardens for planting. Later today we will be visiting some Amish friends and shopping at our favorite Amish stores. I predict homemade cinnamon rolls in the near future.
I can’t wait to see my new tomatoe and pepper plants in the Graber’s greenhouse. I’ll be taking pictures and posting them soon. And as much fun as I’m having here, I can’t wait to get home and do more planting. I’ll try to write another update later this week, or maybe I’ll give that job to some of the kids. They are anxious to contribute to the blog.
Enjoy your Spring!
Lori M
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March 8th, 2009
The warm weather is finally here. A week ago we still had lows in the teens, so this 70 degree weather is a real treat. It feels downright hot. And with all the spring work that needs to be done, the blog has suffered from lack of attention.
This past week brought a chorus of love songs from the spring peepers. It is a magical night every spring when they first start singing. I could have listened to them all night. This week also brought the asian lady bugs out of hibernation. Every fall our house and barn are overrun with hundreds of these biting ladybugs as they look for a place to spend the winter. We vacuum them up by the hundreds. Every spring the few that escaped emerge and fly around the house like mad, trying to find a way out. They also seem to be thirsty as we often find them in drinks and sinks and the tea pot. I go through more cups on tea in a day than I care to count starting with a good Irish Breakfast and moving on to herbal teas in the afternoon. Nothing ruins a cup a tea more than a couple of boiled ladybugs. And if you don’t actually see them, you can’t miss the terrible taste. So a new spring ritual is to rinse out the tea pot before each cup.
Tim Tills the Early Garden
Yesterday Tim tilled my small garden by the barn. It always warms up first and stays warm in the micro-climate created by the barn. Today I planted some early spring crops: spinach, lettuce, turnips, swiss chard and beets. I’m waiting to plant radishes since they are ready so quickly. It was such a pleasure to smell the warm earth as we dug the beds. Planting seeds is an act of pure hope. Burying these hard little pebbles in the ground and expecting a vibrant nourishing plant to emerge. There is something miraculous about the process that brings me pure joy. It was also a pleasure to have the help of Tim and our daughter. It made the work lighter and happier.
I spent a good deal of time cleaning up the berry beds. I’m afraid we probably lost all the strawberries to the chickens. We let them free range every afternoon and they really enjoyed the mulch on the strawberries. There won’t be many left so we’ll have to decide wether to replant of not. Many of our Amish growers will have strawberries so we may wait until next year.
Tonight I noticed the bats are out and looking for insects. We aren’t supposed to have a night below freezing for at least 10 days so I expect to see more signs of spring each day. The problem will come when we do get a freeze. This warm weather will coax all the plants into blossom and a freeze will be devastating to the fruit harvest. But I won’t worry too much, I’m going to enjoy the warmth while it lasts.
Tags: barn, blossom, plant, seeds, spring
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February 26th, 2009
Amish Milk Cow
Our weekend trip was a flurry of activity and a big success. We had a lovely time visiting our friends. Friday night we met the Healy’s for dinner and worked on some more details for our growing season. Saturday morning brought seed catalogs and discussions of which flowers to grow. Before lunch we squeezed in a trip to the CPA. We needed to tie up the loose ends in the formation of our LLC. Who ever thought we’d be a corporation? As much as I dislike all the “business” details, they are necessary to running a thriving farm “business”. We spent the early afternoon meeting with a couple of Amish families who want to grow with us. I am happy to report that they are working on organic certification and care very much about preserving the soil on their farm for future generations.
Winter Raspberry Patch at Twilight
After some quick farewells to the Healy’s we headed over to the Grabers’ for supper. We had a haystack supper followed by the most incredible selection of desserts. I must say that the Amish are definitely talented when it comes to dessert. I think there were six to choose from and each was more delicious than the next. My favorite was the homemade ice cream with preserved strawberries.
Before supper we had a chance to see the now completed greenhouse. It is quite a set up and I must admit I was a bit jealous. They have several flats of tomatoes and peppers already started and I will have them start all of my seeds this week. It’s time to start the tomatoes, peppers and eggplants. I plan to have plenty of extra plants to sell at the shop in May.
In the Greenhouse
I did not get many pictures. It was snowing and wet most of Saturday. I did get a few pictures in the greenhouse. I love to see all those little plants getting their start on life. It reminds me that spring is just a few weeks away.
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February 20th, 2009
Our New Store!
So much has happened in one short day! We finally have a location for our store. I signed the lease today. We have a lot of work to do to get it ready to open in May, but it is a great location and a great building. It used to be a service station and it has great big glass bay doors that will open to provide an open air market during the day. At night we can close it up to secure the store. It is light and airy and will be a wonderful market. It’s located in downtown Columbus at the corner of 8th and Washington. We plan to open in May as soon as we have produce to sell. Hopefully this cold weather will be over soon and we won’t have any late freezes.
The second part of this exciting day is that we are going to be featured in the local paper “The Republic”. The story will come out in March. It is a real blessing to have the news coverage and the advertising will be priceless.
Double Oak Farm Market
I was going to update the website tonight with the new store information, but the web host site is unavailable. I won’t get a chance to make the changes until next week so this has caused a little frustration. But, I guess it will wait.
Tomorrow we will visit the Healy families. We have to finalize a few partnership legalities. We also get to visit our Amish friends. The Graber’s greenhouse should be up by now and I plan to take plenty of pictures to post on the website so check back soon!
Lori M
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February 13th, 2009
Spring is on it's Way!
So what does Spring smell like? Maybe not what you would expect. Around here long before the spring peepers make their first chirp, before the robins return, before the outdoors begins to smell of thawing earth there are two sure signs that spring is on it’s way.
Sign number one: the first flies have appeared. There are just one or two in the warmer buildings, but they are back and probably here to stay.
Sign number two: the smell of skunk. I thought I smelled it yesterday, but thought maybe it was just wishful thinking. Today it could not be mistaken. The skunks have come out of hibernation.
Such a distinct and pungent smell, but one that is welcome because the robins and the spring peepers will not be far off now.
It’s a bright sunny day and I’m going out to the gardens and orchard to see how things look now that the snow is gone. I don’t think the deer have done much damage this year and I haven’t seen many rabbits either. I’ll let you know what I find.
Hope your day is a glorious as mine!
Lori
Tags: deer, flowers, garden, orchard, robin, spring
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