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Hey y'all (that's how yo u say hello in Tennessee)! As a native Tennesseean I can say that without fear of being politically incorrect. Ever since I was a small girl following my Nanny around her farm and through the woods, I've loved being outdoors and have always been fascinated watching seeds germinate and grow. Her inspiration for my future career in horticulture wasn't the typical inspiration one would get though; I was constantly asking her "what plant is that?", and she didn't know! I vowed to myself to learn the names of plants in the world around me.
My personal gardening experiences began with raised beds and organic methods, and after all these years, they remain the same. When given a new piece of ground, the first thing I do is measure out 4 foot beds and 2 foot pathways, then proceed from there.
With the lifelong fascination of "what's that plant?", I attended many conferences, workshops, classes, field trips, etc., concerning native plants. While working my day job I was an ambassador for the virtues of utilizing native plants in home landscapes. A native plant nursery was a serious hobby of mine for around 13 years. After a voluntary early retirement from TVA, I attended UT Master Gardener classes and got plugged into the gardening community from yet a different angle.
After a couple of years of "playing in the woods" I took a position as Facility Manager at local resort community. 13 more years of going to the office every day, expecting other people to be as excited about doing their jobs as I was (yeah, right!), kids moving away from home, and suddenly ending up "alone", I gathered up all my courage and left my day job to pursue "the good life".
I "Bought the Farm"
The farm was purchased in 2005 from a friend. I had helped build two log houses during my previous marriage, so I wanted to build a house of my own. The farm is 26 acres, with an awesome cave, a year-round stream, evidence of Indian inhabitation years ago, woods, pasture, lots of neat wildlife, and just pure enjoyment!
The next couple of years were spent working on the house day-in and day-out and during that time I met a local man (now a "significant other") who had been gardening all his life and loves the outdoors as I do. He has helped me with the house, fence the farm, clear thickets, plowed fields, build the shop and greenhouse, and helped me get started gardening as a means for income (he's really an angel, he just won't admit it!). I began "market gardening" during that time. I say market gardening tongue-in-cheek though, because that means growing lots of great produce and then trying to find a market to sell it before it goes bad!
Learning about CSA
One day I was complaining to a colleague in Crossville about sweating in the hot sun with the back of my truck piled high with awesome, freshly picked sweet corn, and needing to sell it that day, and she told me about the CSA concept. My life changed----after dreaming for years of being my own boss, it was finally happening! The first year I recruited 28 members and they were patient and offered valuable feedback regarding packaging, quantities, varieties, and so forth, but they got a box full every week, and several of them rejoined for the second season.
The 2012 season will be the fifth year for the CSA. Lots of things happen on the farm, so be sure to check out the Farm Life and Recipes link to the farm blog. That's where you'll get to read the most up-to-date stories about what's happening around the farm.
Now, I'm the happy hoer!
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