Moving Right Along

I have more photos for you to look as the demolition progressed and finished.

This is the view from in front of where the market is going to be. As you can see to the right in the photo is the strawberry field. The grassy area between the strawberry field and the trees is where I am going to have the herb beds. We are going to leave about a 4-5 ft wide path next to the fence and then start the beds going up the hill. On top of the hill we are eventually wanting to put greenhouses. We have one small greenhouse here on the farm at home and it is not going to be quite big enough for our needs but we will make it work this year. Also at the back of the photo where the tree line is at the top of the hill is where we are going to put the beehives. We are going to start to with one this year so that Robin can get the hang of handling it and add more next year. Hopefully being that far away will lessen the chance someone getting stung. I have to check with my doctor to see what I need to do to have epi pens on hand just in case. You will also notice on the left side of the photo about 1/2 way up a piece of wood with a bush in front of it. This our temporary spot for the timer for the fence. Jeff has promised me that he would fix a more permanent better looking housing unit for this. The bush in front of the wood is a type of cedar that was planted for decoration at the porch of the old house. We moved it to this location to try to hide the wood and/or whatever Jeff builds in the future. Kids are nosy and we really want to disguise/hide it as much as possible.

This is another view of being in front of the market off to the right of the driveway. This is the area that I mentioned in a previous blog about setting up picnic tables and various shade loving flower/bushes mini beds. Today Jeff's uncle, Ronnie, stopped by while we were there and they got to talking about blueberries. And Jeff said he thought this area would make a good blueberry field(small scale field). We would have enough in this spot for people to do a pick your own type of situtation. The rest would be here at the farm to pick for commercial sales. I am not sure how many years it would be before we would be able to see a return on that investment. I have got to sit down with Jeff this week and figure all of these things out. As you can see from the photo, the driveway is on a higher grade than the land on either side of it. We are not going to leave it that way. Jeff is going to grade it and bring the lower levels up to meet the driveway. I personally do not understand how to do all of that. So it's a good thing that he does.

 This photo is of the old barn on the property. It doesn't look very sturdy but is actually quite safe and perfect for storage. There's is also a small root cellar underneath in the back. That is going to be perfect for storing potatoes and onions. We just have to get in there and clean it out of the things that have been left in there over the years. On the right side of the photo there is a grassy area that has some beds outlined there already. We are going to add about 4 more and this will be where the cut flowers will be. It will be close to the market and within reach of watering without having to add any irrigation. So tonight I am planning on laying a chart of what cut flowers will be in each bed. I am really hoping that this area of our sales takes off. I love growing flowers. A lady at our CSA meeting last week said that she planted 3/4 of acre of cut flowers and sold $14,000 last year. So I am going to experiment with it this year. As with everything else this first year will be a big learning year.

 I will try to explain everything going on in this photo. In the back at the tree line to the right you will see the old barn I just wrote about. To the left of the barn is the dump truck where they are digging up clay to level out the area where the market is going. We were so fortunate that we had clay on the property and didn't have to purchase it. Between the dump truck and where the orange clay begins you will 3 trees sitting together. These are persimmon trees. We have these trees all over the property. When we get the chance we are going to cut down the smaller less productive ones. I am not sure whether to leave these or not. They produce quite a few persimmons but they also stand in the area where we are going to have parking. No one wants to get out and step on a smashed persimmon not to mention the bees that are going to be around them. I have to research how the root system of the trees are and maybe we can move them. I really hate lose them.

 In this photo Jeffrey is in the bobcat moving the clay to where it needs to be when Jon Dowd brings it over in the dump truck. This is the right side of the market and the post sticking out the ground is the outside corner of where the porch will be. In the bottom of the photo there's a concrete slab that was used for the handicap parking for the old house. We are going to keep that where it is  (I think). I am not sure if I like a parking space THAT close to the porch. Jeff may be able to dig it up with the bobcat. It's a pretty big slab and may have to come up in pieces but we have other sections pulled from what used to be the walkway that we may be able to piece together and place in a better location. Really, how many times have you seen where someone has ran into a building with their car because they had the car in the wrong gear? I would like to eliminate the possibility of that happening as much as possible. Other parking will be available on the left side of the building along with in the area where the persimmon trees are.

 This photo is pretty self expanatory. This is Jon Dowd in the dump truck hauling and dumping clay out for Jeff to spread with the bobcat.



Today (Sunday) Jeffrey and I went up to the farm to outline and measure off where the corners of the market are going to be. In the middle of all of this orange is where the market is going to be. I think Jeff shifted it a little bit from what I was thinking. The black walnut tree in a previous blog photo is now directly in front of the market and the driveway leading to the market from the highway is now just a little to the right of the market. I had pictured it turned just a tad to the right. But it works out perfect this way. When you step out the door of the market your will have a picturesque view in front of you.

As soon as we get the all clear on the septic tank re-certification we can begin applying for a building permit and get started. The first step in the actual building process is to get the footers dug. They have to be 24 inches down and 20 inches wide. This will NOT be done by hand. It could be but it's not (haha). We will borrow the equipment from his uncle Ronnie to dig it out and then he and I will lay the footer and blocks. I am learning so much-it's exciting. We are trying to save as much money as possible by doing everything that we can ourselves.

Jeff discussed giving the lean-to behind the market more height by digging out some of the dirt and building a wall next to the market to hold the dirt back. If we get a refrigerator truck for cooling storage we will need more height for that. Plus, it just makes sense to go ahead and give it more head room for future needs.

He is also going to level up the area where the cut flower beds will be. It slopes just a little where 2 of the beds are going to be. Cross ties were pulled up from another part of the farm and we are going to use those to outline the beds. So there's another place where we saved money.

I am trying to figure out where I want the bat houses to go. The old barn is a natural option but I saw a show the other day where they were hanging them in trees. I would like to have them spread out across the property. I would also like to have them for sale. It is amazing the amount of mosquitos that one bat can eat in one night. Deet in the bug sprays now burns me in a way. I just have this burning sensation wherever I spray it. It's not very comfortable so all the help the bats can provide the better.

Tomorrow I will go to the permit dept to try to get Purvis out to the farm to inspect the septic tank so we can get started. After that I am going up to the farm to get back to work on the strawberry plants. Most of the other stuff that needs to be done requires more muscle mass than I have right now. Next year at this time that might be a different story. But this is the only job I have and I need to get back at it pretty hard. The row covers will be here the 18th of this month and I need to get all the clipping and weed pulling done that I can before then. Plus, there is another cold snap coming this weekend and if it's below 35 degrees during the day I just can not make myself get out there and do it. While I am there tomorrow I will take some more pictures to give you a better idea of the lay out. Maybe I can get some close ups of things I have been writing about.