Market Farming

["Hartwig" <hartwig AT pioneer.net>]

Dear Sue and others,

Your situation sounds a lot like ours. My husband would like to be 
able to spend more time gardening, but has to make a living so we can 
finish paying for our land.  He is the fix-it man around here and 
does what needs to be done, but his time is limited.

Our children are 9, 6, 6, 2 and 2!  (No twins, all our children are  
adopted).  When we first started our family, both of us decided we 
wanted to move from non-farmable acreage (fir trees and red clay soil 
on a hill side) to  "real" farm land, so that our children would have 
the privilege of learning the same responsibilities and lessons that 
we did growing up on farms.  We left a beautiful house to buy
 undeveloped land and moved a very used mobile home onto it while
 we built our house.

We are now in the house and have been for the past 3 years, but it is 
still unfinished.  The building inspector was very helpful and 
allowed us to move in with it unfinished.

 After milking and chores are done, mornings are spent homeschooling. 
I tried to homeschool year around last year, but the summer was
just too busy with planting...trying to stay on top of the weeds, 
harvesting, preparing  produce boxes, and canning and freezing for our 
own use.  Our oldest daughter had her annual standardized achievement 
test the week after we spent planting and dealing with our favorite 
milk cow, Blossom, that had just calved and came down with a bad case 
of milk fever.  All her academic learning went out side and her score
 plummeted.

The children are learning and retaining the lessons we want them
 to learn, however, and we thank God that He has allowed us the 
privilege of living and being stewards of this beautiful place we call
 home.

Most summer days I have no set plans, I just do the next thing....I 
was very thankful for the slower pace of winter, but am now ready to 
get back with my fingers in the dirt. 

Linda Hartwig
Meadow Spring Farms
Blodgett, OR