This year we decided to drastically scale down our garden after 4 years of growing between a quarter and half an acre. In the end there was little debate that it was necessary. Years of pandemic disruptions have left us exhausted and other areas of the farm needed attention, including our barn infrastructure and home improvements.

We’re still growing, just not at the scale we did in the recent past. For spring we grew in a few large raised beds as we cleaned up the garden. Then we started what we were missing most: okra, beans, corn, pumpkins, and fuss-free flowers like zinnias and sunflowers. A groundhog living inside the garden fence means no okra or beans (RIP), but everything else seems to be doing well. We’ve also embraced more gardening near our house in containers, which the kids are more engaged with.

We hope to scale back up to at least a quarter acre next year. But it’ll likely look different than it has in the past. We plan to focus the big garden larger-scale plantings like herbs for our business. Our kitchen staples will stay by the house for daily tending.

More regular updates to come. Thanks for following!