Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

market-farming - "The time has come,"

market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Market Farming

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: "Liz Pike" <liz AT laughingbrookfarm.com>
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: "The time has come,"
  • Date: Sun, 13 Oct 2002 22:35:21 -0400


the Walrus said, "to talk of many things: Of shoes and ships and sealing
wax - - of cabbages and kings."

Out of desperation for new topics, I'm throwing out what I've got going on
here at our farm at this time (sorry folks, no wolves or coyotes, but
depending on the day, time & moon cycle I can drum up a fierce feline,
canine or equine or two...)

Soil Tests: hopefully the rain will hold off long enough for me to get the
samples I need. god how I hate red clay, give me my black coastal soil
anytime please!! I should have demanded custody of my old farm dirt...no
visitation rights...

Clearing fields: Have gotten a 1 acre plot finally cleared, and prepped for
planting next spring between house & road for cut flowers. That location
gets full frontal view of traffic coming around curves, hope to not cause
too many accidents ; )) A nice mix of weeds grew this past summer. I
originally cleared it last fall, and let it go to see what weeds would grow,
and judging by the types and virility in spite of the drought, the plot
should do great. Need to teach the dogs to fetch rocks, big rocks, big
heavy back breaking rocks....

Bushhogged a 2 acre field last week of 4" pine tree volunteers (on a fairly
steep hill...I was half way off that tractor just in case she decided to go
on over!!) I'm thinking of pasturing a few porkers on it to help "plow" it
up; it's thick with stumps. Anyone with any advice in this regard--I need
it. It's above the highway on a ridge, with a sharp 12' drop to road (I can
just see it now, "But honey, I really did see pigs fly...") I want to use
electric fencing, and have read that I should use a double fence as the
little ones don't mind getting shocked and like nothing better than to get
out.

The last 2 plots to be cleared are a 1/4 acre plot behind the house for
intensive veggies, and a 4 acre hillside, for major row & vining crops like
pumpkins, sweet potatoes, sunflowers, etc. (The rest of our acreage is in
pasture for the horses, who should start producing farm income in the next 2
years--a very slow crop indeed ; )) The 4 acres is currently in
fescue/orchard grass. I plan to get it plowed in the next couple of weeks.

Our chickens have now dwindled to a whopping 3 (from 45!!) and the bad-ass
Doberman we were given for protection spends his nights in the house, what a
wuss... Must get another flock going. (The neighbors whose dogs devoured
most of our flock, sold eggs for half of what I'd planned to. It was all I
could do to smile, and beg her dogs to come back a visitin' "got a nice
sweet juicy bullet waitin fer yer lil doggie, maam" ; ))

I hated not having anything to grow or sell this year, but the year spent
observing the climate, watching the local farmers, studying traffic patterns
& markets has been worth the wait. Now I'm rarin' to go, just in time to
have to sit on my hands through the next few months of winter ; ))

Liz Pike
Laughing Brook Farm
Westfield NC






Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page