Homestead mailing list

["Lynn Wigglesworth" <lynnw AT chilitech.net>]

From: "Gene GeRue" <genegerue AT ruralize.com>
> I, too, have attempted the farmer's market enterprise. Today I would
> far sooner compost my excess garden products.

I'm starting to feel that way, too. I drove to the next town yesterday for
a Farmers' Market that the owner keeps begging vendors to come to (I got
an email from her as recently as mid-June), and found that it isn't there
anymore, or at least not at the day/time she said. Discouraging.

I keep doing it because I'm now a single mother, and I don't know what I'd
do with the kids if I had to get a 'real' job. I can leave them for a few
hours, or drag them to the farmers' market with me; I couldn't leave them
alone for an 8+ hour work day every day. If I had to pay for child care,
I'd end up bringing home less than I do now. It's a problem in an area
where most of the jobs are minimum wage.

I enjoy farming  It's a job where I can be home for the kids and mostly
make my own hours doing what I love. I like the idea of providing fresh,
wholesome food to the community, but I also like the idea of paying my
bills. There's got to be a better way, so we all benefit from it.

Lynn Wigglesworth
Cowbridge Farm