The Barefoot Farmer (Jeff Poppen) uses his farm (Long Hungry Creek Farm) as an example in demonstrating good farming principles. The landscape and atmosphere of the 21st century is leaning away from a small farm economy, bucolic scenery, sustainable agriculture and homegrown meals. The health of ourselves and our environment can only be enhanced by a reliance on local small farms for our needs. To learn more about these principle join Jeff Poppen with his weekly column - Barefoot Farmer.To e-Mail Jeff - Click Here

The Sierra Club called and asked if they could come out for a visit, and of course I said yes. Folks routinely drop in to see the pretty gardens that have been on TV over the years.

A garden needs farm, so last week I shifted focus a bit and cut hay. We make hay while the sun shines, but it gets rained on sometimes. It’s an important crop for a variety of reasons.

This year’s spring has been abnormally normal, like the old springs of yesteryear. It didn’t turn hot in March, or dry in April, freeze hard or late, or do anything except be a nice long spring. Maybe we’re making up for the last few lost springs.

The question of freedom comes up when we wonder how an impulse to action arises in us. What compels us can be regarded as necessitated by nature, or as a free decision on our part. To further complicate matters, sometimes we know why we act, and other times our actions surprise us. On the farm…

Plowing and planting, we put in overtime last week to get 30 more bunches of onions planted, along with 30 bunches of leeks. More carrots, beets and lettuce get sowed while the peas and celery get hoed. An endless cycle of vegetables in, vegetables out during the course of the year keeps us busy, and…

When the ground dries out we’re going to be really busy. Until then we’ll patiently await the appearance of peas. With hoes in hands, the young seedlings will get their due care. The heavy rain beat upon the freshly planted garden last week, and there is always the gardener’s anxiousness about whether those seeds will…

It’s time to plant the tomato patch. The plan has been to set them out in the late afternoon, and water them well. This lessens transplant shock. Ours are bare-root from the cold frame, and will need a bit of tender loving care.

I love to make compost piles. Compost enriches the earth far better then anything else because of the microorganisms involved. By piling up layers of organic materials, manure and soil, we are essentially growing beneficial bacteria, fungi and protozoa. When spread onto the fields, these helpers form soil humus and make sure the plants are…

Both are farming methods which contrast drastically with the conventional, chemical agriculture so common today.

Onion planting was just a warm up. We snuggled in a few thousand plants and dropped 36 pounds of sets one afternoon, yet my mind was on bigger things. They say onions make the meal, with which I concur, but onions aren’t the meal. On the other hand, potatoes are.