Barefoot Farmer

From tiny beginnings come great things, and the time has come to begin the tomato patch. We use a cold frame, not a hot house. The latter refers to a greenhouse, which is what many tomatoes are started in. Since we don’t have one, a cold frame will have to do. I think our method of starting transplants is a lot simpler than running a greenhouse anyway.

Spinach loves cool weather, so growing it in Tennessee can be tricky. It certainly tricked me, but eventually I caught on.

Spring fever is on the rise with bountiful buttercups blooming above the earth below begins to stir.

Every now and then I review the purpose of our farm, the underlying beliefs and values, the short and long-term goals, and the direction it is going.

Once again I find myself in a tropical rainforest, touring organic and biodynamic farms. With my brother Mark along, our first stay was up at 8000 feet above sea level, sitting on top of the world. Bill and Holly are still raising trout and marketing smoked and dried meats throughout central Costa Rica. Mark has a keen interest in rainbow trout; he managed a fish farm in North Carolina for many years, so there was a lot of trout talk.

It was May, and there were several people at my house. I suddenly realized I had not planted potatoes yet, or even turned the ground.