In Honor of Mother's Day GIVEAWAY Winner!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day! I know I sure did! We spent the day working in the garden and had lunch and dinner at my husband's grandparents. It was a beautiful day outside and was nice to get some things done and be with family!

With random.org I have a winner for the In Honor of Mother's Day Giveaway!

Kelly of Old Blue Silo commented with
"I absolutely LOVE my grandmother's tulips I recently transplanted. They are my pride and joy. I also love my weeping cherry tree. It was the first tree I planted on our property. I love watching it grow and bloom." 

Enjoy your fun gardening set!

Thank you all for entering! I loved your comments and also love the same plants you do.

So You Want To Start a Garden

So you have been thinking about starting a garden this year? You have a sunny location and are excited to grow your own vegetables this summer. Well now is the time to start organizing and planting seed and plants. Here are some things to think about for planning and planting your garden.

Garden Goals. What are your goals for your garden? Do you want to have enough to eat fresh plus can or freeze some produce for winter? Do you just want to eat a salad everyday this Spring? Or do you just want to feed your family and cut down grocery bills? Once you determine your gardening goals, you can go from there. 

Location and Space Needed. You need a sunny location. The space depends on how much you want to grow and your gardening goals. You can have a garden as small as a patio garden with some vegetable plants in pots to a large garden with several different varieties of tomatoes, peppers, and so much more.

Planting Time. What is the best time to plant seed for what you want to grow where you live? To help you determine the best time to plant seeds or plants, you might review a Plant Hardiness Zone Map. For example, Northern Indiana is in Zone 5. When looking on the back of seed packets, most say when the best time to plant those seeds by going off of the Plant Hardiness Zone Map. When soil is at a certain temperature, some seeds can be planted. For example, lettuce, spinach, peas, broccoli, and cabbage are all cool season vegetables and grow best in cooler temperatures. These are some of the first vegetables you can get planted. They are ready then before the hot summer temperatures start as they don't do as well.

Soil. It is important to know what kind of soil you have. You can do a soil test by purchasing a kit. This will help you determine if you need to amend your soil for what you want to grow.

For clay soil - add sand, compost, or peat moss

For sandy soil - add aged manure, compost, peat moss, or sawdust

For silty soil - add coarse sand, compost, or manure mixed with straw

Time. What kind of time do you have for your garden. Gardening takes time and we all have busy lives. Are you going to be able to take care of the garden? When mid-summer rolls around and the garden is in full swing this will require more weeding and watering in these warmer months. 

Have Fun. Gardening is fun, relaxing, and very rewarding. Have fun setting out garden trinkets like this sign. If it doesn't feel like a chore you will have no problem taking care of it. Enjoy planting and taking care of your garden and you will soon be relishing your garden's bounty!

Now head out to go stock up on garden seed and supplies you will need. 

In Honor Of Mother's Day! GIVEAWAY

Mother's Day is this weekend! A day where we make a special point to thank our mothers and mother figures in our lives. On this day, we honor those very special women who have made us into who we are today. We recognize and show appreciation for all the time and effort our moms put into the very important role of being a mom. On this day, we also may be one of the mothers who are pampered ourselves. Whether you're a mom or not, on this day, Mother's Day, we celebrate everything wonderful about motherhood and bringing new life to the world.

Being a mom is the hardest but yet most rewarding job there is. Moms wear many hats and deserve to be pampered.
Moms are chauffeurs.
Moms are chefs.
Moms are nurses and boo boo kissers.
Moms are maids.
Moms are negotiators.
Moms are teachers.
Moms are secretaries.
            - The list goes on and on!!

The special mothers in your life, or you yourself may even be a farm mom or a gardening mom! In honor of Mother's Day, I am taking this opportunity to host my very first giveaway here on The Backroad Life. This giveaway is open to anyone, you don't have to be a mom. Just a fun way to honor Mother's Day and welcome Spring/gardening season.

To Enter:
To enter my In Honor of Mother's Day Giveaway, simply comment on this post with your favorite plant/flower in your landscape or garden and why it's your favorite? Be sure to include your email address with your entry.

One winner will be randomly chosen and announced on Monday, May 12, 2014.
The winner will receive:
-Gardening gloves,
-Watering can,
-Pruners,
-Gardening tools,
-1 packet Green bean seed,
-Peony root (one of my favorite flowers, and a favorite in my garden!)



Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful moms out there!!!

FARMLAND is coming to theatres!

This week the documentary Farmland comes to theatres. You won't want to pass up the opportunity to see it this Thursday, May 1st. It will be showing in Indianapolis at the Landmark Keystone Theatre. Check here for show time and ticket information. Check here to find a theatre near you.



Photo courtesy Farmland on Facebook 

I had the opportunity to see the movie last month as a premier viewing and from a farmer's perspective I thought it was great! It is real life and honest. A true look into the day to day production of our nation's food. The farmers in this documentary represent a wide range of American agriculture. You will hear from ranchers, chicken and hog producers, commodity farmers, organic produce farmers and a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) produce farm. I really like that the film included several different aspects of agriculture. These farmers take you into their lives and share the passion they have for agriculture. You will see how they work as a family on a daily basis. They will share the challenges they face. You will also see the hard work these farmers put into their dream doing what they love. You will laugh and you will cry, as you have been there too. Through a lot of the film, you will nod your head in agreement for you have also witnessed what these farmers are talking about.

Although this documentary is fantastic from a farmer's standpoint, its not really "for" farmers, but for consumers. To have an insight of how their food is produced. The farmers in the film all come from different backgrounds how they became involved in agriculture, whether starting up on their own or
 who are responsible for running the farm that has been passed down through generations. I encourage everyone to see this documentary. These young farmers will touch base on the current topics in agriculture. They may not agree on everything but it is obvious they all share their goal to produce a great product for the consumers.

Again, the movie comes out May 1st. If you haven't seen the trailer for the film, check out the Facebook page or the Farmland website. I encourage anyone who is skeptical about farming practices to go see it if you can. I also suggest farmers to take a break from the field and also see it. (There is rain in the forecast for Thursday in Indiana).



Scott and I

Crystal from Kellner Farms at the preview.

The Potatoes Are In The Ground!

Have you heard the old rule of thumb for planting potatoes is around Good Friday? This gardening folklore dates back to the Irish potato famine and revolves around the moon phases.

With the Old Farmer's Almanac suggestion, we try to plant around Good Friday every year depending on the temperatures and the weather we are having. Fortunately it was later this year with the long cold winter we had. Glad Spring finally rolled around! We welcomed it with wide open arms as we were tired of seeing the white fluffy stuff and having cold temps. While the old wives' tale may work for some years, it is important to keep in mind that it may not be the right time every year. Depending on when Good Friday falls each year, the ground may be too cold to plant. Potatoes can tolerate cooler temps, but the soil temperature should not be too cold. You can definitely still plant them later in the season also.



Photo courtesy of eBay

This year we purchased an old but "new to us" Champion potato planter. My husband made a few modifications to it. Last weekend we gave it a shot and he said "it works pretty slick." We planted 1,000 pounds of potatoes including, Yukon Gold, Russet, and Red. This weekend we finished up with another 500 pounds of Red and Katahdin. This summer it will get a new paint job.

 

Freshly dug potatoes taste amazing! They store great also. Try growing some yourself or seek out a local farmer or the farmers market for some when they are ready as early as mid June most years. You won't regret it!

What you do get done IS what matters most!

 

Sunday Share - Yesterday's sunrise taken on The Backroad (4/26/14)

 

 

Often times we get too caught up in trying to get so much done in one day. I know I am guilty of that for sure. I am a task setter, a list maker. It feels great to cross things off my to do list whatever it may be, things on the farm, kids activities, errands to run, craft orders to fill, etc.

But I always don't get everything done.

This quote is a great reminder that it isn't important if you don't get everything done. It's the things you do get done that matter most. Feel proud of the things you did get accomplished in the day. What you do get done IS what matters.

 The others can wait for the next day.

Growing Veggies on Our Farm and You Can Too

My husband and I have always been around growing vegetables. Growing up, my mom always had a good size garden that we ate off of all summer long and even enjoyed homegrown produce after gardening season with stuff she had canned. My husband grandparents and uncle also did the same. There is a long history of growing vegetables in both of our families.

Being on the farm has always been a way of life for us, as we are both come from farm families. In our dating years, we had a small garden that we tended too. After college I was working at a local floral shop and the owner was interested in some straw, and corn shocks for her Fall display. We were able to provide those to her. This was the beginning of Walker Farms where we thought the next year we would grow pumpkins to supply garden shops and retail places with pumpkins to sell. With this we also decided to grow some produce. I don't remember what we started out growing for our first season of produce but this was when we also started selling at the local farmers market.
This was in 2006.

2013 Farmers Market Season

We started with just a small section of land and are now up to 15 acres. We seem to add a little more every year. We grow 8 acres of pumpkins and 7 of produce. We are not a large farm by any means but at a good size right now that we can handle. We sell at the local farmers market and some that are about an hour away. It is so rewarding to hear how people enjoyed the produce they purchased from you and interacting with the public with their questions. It is neat to see people comment "Oh I didn't know on onion grew that way with green stuff coming out the top" or "I didn't know pak choi could be grown around here."

2013 Green Beans

Having a CSA is a large part of our business. We enjoy providing our members with produce they are familiar with and some that they may have not tried before. The following week, I love to hear what they did with their eggplant or kohlrabi, etc. It is nice to share recipes!

2013 Kale

Don't be afraid to grow your own produce if you have space that allows. If not you can even try growing a patio tomato! There's nothing like a fresh tomato right off the vine! I love them!! If you have more than you will eat before they start going bad, can or freeze them. It is a lot of work for some of the vegetables, but you wont regret that you did it when you are enjoying sweet corn, green beans, homemade salsa, and beets in the winter time. The list goes on as to what you can freeze and can. The planting season is just starting or hasn't even in a lot of places, why not give gardening a shot?!

Canning pickles 2013

This is part 3 of a 3 part blog series. Read part 1 here and part 2 here.