This years farm update...Hello again!

[April Manier]

I have missed all of you. Thanks to Marshal who sent me a little note saying I was missed!

This year's farming was miserable. I have an update on our pitfalls and minor successes on my blog if you are interested.
http://heronsnestfarm.blogspot.com/2012/09/farming-2012.html

I have talked to my husband about the farm and we are strategizing for next year. My hubby is a farmer turned lawyer and I am grateful that we have that and not just the farm!

I am busy canning right now as many of you are. I have put up apple sauce and pie filling, salsa verde, pickles, still fermenting pickles, green beens, and tomatoes. I am halfway to my goal on tomatoes.

I discovered a pear tree that I wish I had known about earlier. The fruits are small and skins look terrible, but they are pure heavan. This is a really consolation as my fruit has really been attacked by deer.

I hope to have more time to contribute to TEG and work on my blog a bit more.

Pray for me everyone. My first child moved out and she has gone a bit wild; moved a bf in, got a tattoo...you know the type of stuff that keeps you up at night as a parent!!!!!

I am working on articles on OG pest control, planting tpis and more really great recipes that I will be sharing.

I'm grateful we are coming to a close this season as it was such a miserable failure......
I did learn a lot though.

Love you all and I'm glad to be back!

 

[MuranoFarms]

Hi there! I read your blog earlier today.....I really enjoyed it!

 

[April Manier]

Murano
Are those Polish crested in your photo?

 

[897tgigvib]

Welcome back April!
Sorry about the kid going wild. Hopefully it'll be alright.
Some years are rough in the gardens. It happens, but you got some harvest!

 

[lesa]

Glad to see you back... sorry your garden wasn't all you hoped it would be. I know you had high hopes. Your canning looks like it was very successful, though!

 

[ninnymary]

Welcome back April. I always enjoy hearing/reading about your farm both the good and the bad. Glad the season is behind you and you can look forward to a better season next year. Lessons learned are always valuable even if we don't like them.

Mary

 

[catjac1975]

I read your blog and feel bad for your hard work and bag luck. I have a suggestion.
Onions are very inexpensive in the grocery store. They are also difficult to keep weeded. I would select an easier crop, one that you may not have to hire help for. Corn and tomatoes are a big roadside crop in my area. I have seen it $3 a piece for corn-not organic. Many people just put things out on the honor system.
Another good around here is cut-your-own Christmas trees. The beauty of that is there's no waste. What you don't sell can be sold the next year.
I just started selling daylilies this year. I did not do a huge business but anything not sold will be twice as big next year. With more advertising I should soon be able to break even.
I have many avenues to explore if I want to work a bit harder. For me it is about the joy of hybridizing. I don't want it to get so big my joy becomes my work.
Of course you must control the deer. We have lots in our area but they do not bother our gardens . We have horses and a dog. I don't know if that is what keeps them away.

 

[journey11]

Hi April, glad to see you back!

I'd been subscribed to your blog for a long time, but where I've been offline for a year I'd forgotten about it. I really enjoyed all your quotes! I pinned a couple.

Sorry to hear you have had a frustrating year in the garden. I commiserate with you, as I have too. For what little I did get to put out, the deer have foiled my plans. It makes me irrate when they just go around and take one little bite out of everything. Why can't they just eat the whole melon and be full?

I'm praying all goes well with your child and comfort for you. I was one of those youngin's that gave my parents premature gray hairs and caused many sleepless nights. One time I packed up my dog and everything I owned into my car and moved to TX on a whim, no job, no place even to stay. It somehow turned out alright, lived there almost 2 years, but I came to my senses eventually and came back home. You love them and do your best raising them, odds are good they'll eventually straighten up.

Good job on all the canning you've gotten done!

 

[thistlebloom]

Good to see you back April! I was talking to a gal from your neck of the woods last week who was visiting her MIL ( a customer of mine ). She was one of the parties responsible for starting the local farmers market. She knows of your farm! Isn't it a small world?

Nobody can break your heart like a child.