Right now, everything about Pen and Pepper Farm has to do with getting started. This is our first year farming, so everything is new. The good news is that winter is slow, in terms of growing things, and we don’t have to worry about being at the market or having our veggies ready for the World PEAS CSA. Right now, all we need to do is get ready.
That means lots of to-do lists (with items like: start blog and web site). We’ve just put in our bulk order to NOFA (Northeast Organic Farming Association) for fertilizer, onion sets, and potatoes. We’ve got a big stack of seed catalogs. And there are lots and lots of spreadsheets–when to plant, how much to plant, seedlings, or seeds. There are materials to source–stakes, a tent, tables for the market, seeds, more seeds, twine, the list goes on.
Under it all is a great sense of anticipation. We’re really going to do this farming thing. In a year from now, our lives will be different. We will be different people. At this moment, I can’t say exactly how, but we’ll be transformed by this experience, one way or another.
This blog is a way for us to share and examine that transformation as it occurs. I’ll try to include as many details as I can, without getting too bogged down. I know that as a beginning farmer, I like reading blogs that give me some data.
Thanks for reading. I hope to see you at one of the markets.