Back to the Farm

There are days -- many, many days -- when I really want to pack it all in and move off somewhere to do something simpler: farm, make wine, make cheese, maybe run a B&B or a small grocery. I know that none of that would actually be simpler to do and would be a more difficult and much less reliable way to make a living, but the idyll of self-reliance and not having to deal with (at least some) petty annoyances is quite appealing.

Is this likely to happen anytime soon? No. Not unless Evelin's been buying lottery tickets and not telling me about it. But it's nice to daydream about.

Of course, some people do more than daydream. Yesterday, while perusing the Scottish Blogs webring, I ran across The Accidental Smallholder [ main | blog ]. Absolutely fantastic site and interesting blog that is getting me a bit geared up to think of what we'll be growing this summer.

Evelin bought seeds a little while ago, but I can’t remember what all she bought: sweet peppers, tomatoes, peas, and beans. Maybe okra. We've had such bad luck with squashes over the past two years that we aren't trying them this summer, but we talked about growing corn/maize in the side yard where it could be both ornamental and edible. And we have all the garlic we planted in autumn.

The GoldRush apple tree is years away from production, but hopefully the raspberries will be less stingy this year, and Evelin has been talking about wanting to try growing kiwi if we take out the fig tree. It's a fine little tree (Ficus carica lattarula, commonly know by a variety of names: Marseilles, Blanche, Italian Honey, Early White, Lemon, ...), and the birds and ants like it, but neither of us like its fruit, so we've been slowly pruning it away.

Another farm blog that's been interesting and insightful to read is Rock Farm [ main | blog ], a pick-your-own place in north Georgia.