I remember the month we moved in… it was quite literally in the middle of winter. Ryan would tell me to put something warm on so we could go outside and walk the property. So I of course did. We would walk side by side and Ryan would tell me his plan on how we are going to make this into something. This happened almost daily and we still do this today even in the middle of winter. This ongoing vision continues to push us even on our hardest of days. I will share the plan in this blog. Today I get the honor to share with you the vision behind our market garden.
We need to build an income for the farm. Yes we have full time careers but the plan is to have the farm be sustainable. For us that meant a farm that takes care of itself. So we carved out space on the southeast side of the property which is constricted a bit by concrete slabs. We found a company to come in and get the well fixed which we knew had likely issues even though the prior owner said they were not sure due to not using in a while. We expected worse case scenario.
Once we carved out that area and spent countless days and nights and endless unofficial marriage counseling sessions along with screaming matches on how to make the best of the best we were able to come out of it in our eyes shining brighter than we have ever shined before. This market garden has become so much more than a way to build an income for the property or bring people to the farm.. it has become a testament of our ability to combine forces and grow into something so much greater than we ever thought we could be.
We ended up finding a greenhouse on Craigslist in MN, so we bought it the following season and added a small greenhouse to one of the plots last year and started to figure out how to grow in it. While we were figuring this out we had also thrown our name in the hat for a grant to obtain a much larger greenhouse. During this time of figuring out our small greenhouse we were awarded the grant to obtain the much bigger one. This would give us the ability to extend our growing season.. Now we needed to figure out how to grow in it and of course how to get this thing put together.
Here we have two people who have very minimal DIY skills with multiple DIY projects going on the property.. Not sure if you can relate but for me being a person that needs efficiency and process now in a world of DIY chaos I was stressed to say the very least. We searched for people to pay to help us and what I have found is when people pull up they see the house and assume we will shell out money.. Remember not rich, not comfortable just focused. We would continue to get extreme bids or we would have contractors tell us the job isn’t worth their time and not show up. We are two people who have always made it on our own not needing much from anyone until now… you can only imagine how unbelievably hard it is to ask for assistance. What we didn’t realize was we didn’t have to, being in the community we are in people naturally want to help. This is something we just were not use to… Our neighbors stop by at the right times and help us, it’s like they just know. Our friends from the community reach out to lend a hand at exactly the right time! We are truly blessed with the people in our lives.
The plan hasn’t changed for the market garden it has just continued to grow. We try to add additional markets to join each year but becomes increasingly difficult to juggle the market, getting ready for the market and our day time jobs. During growing season we typically get 4-5 hrs of sleep and hit the garden very early in the morning to water, harvest and tend to along with late night similar routines. It has gotten a little easier and continues to create mental and physical toughness.
One day very soon the plan is to have a self-serve farm stand on the property that we stock daily with our fresh produce and other goods produced here on the farm and other local vendors. I can’t wait for the day where I am able to greet people coming to the farm and share with them how the plan all started with a cold winter walk.
Moral of the story… It all starts with a vision… it is up to you to finish how your story ends and the main characters in it.
-Jamie
Moral Of The Story 