THAT GUY'S FAMILY FARM
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July 22nd, 2014

7/22/2014

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When I first decided to intern at Guy's Family Farm, most of my friends and family thought I was crazy. Why work in ridiculously hot and humid weather and get dirty just to learn to grow vegetables? Why not get a decent job that pays well in lets me work in air conditioning? To be honest, these were questions that I had asked myself a dozen times before (and still ask myself on particularly miserable days). I'm not even sure I completely knew why I wanted to be a farm intern when I applied, but I do know the three reasons why I've stayed and why I want to continue farming in the future. 

1. Connection to the Land
I love that farming allows me to be outside.  I used to hate the feeling of dirt on my skin, but now, nothing makes me happier than feeling of the warm earth beneath my feet. Nothing excites me more than knowing that every morning I get to wake up and spend my day breathing fresh air and playing in the dirt. Working on the farm has changed my perspective of comfort. I no longer want to spend my free time sitting in an air conditioned room watching Netflix. Instead, I'd rather be out weeding beets or chasing around a rogue chicken. There is nothing else that can compare to the feeling of being connected to the world around me.

2. Fresh, Healthy Food
For the longest time I thought eating healthy meant not eating a lot of sugar or carbs and staying away from fast food restaurants. Working on the farm has completely changed what healthy food means to me. I now have more knowledge of where the food that I've been eating for the last 23 years comes from, and I am appalled that that is what I have been putting in my body. My perspective of what is good food has changed entirely. The thought of consuming processed foods, conventionally grown crops, and meat from confinement systems makes me feel incredibly uncomfortable. I like knowing that the vegetables on my plate was grown naturally without any chemicals and that the meat I eat was raised humanely and not pumped full of steroids or antibiotics. The way I look at food will simply never be the same.

3. Camaraderie
Farm work isn't easy. In fact, sometimes it's some of the hardest work I've ever had to do. There are days where the sun is beating down on me and the thermometer reads 97 degrees. As I'm dripping in sweat, I look over at Guy, Sandy, and Becca and see they're feeling the same way I am; hot, sweaty, tired, and even a little grumpy. Knowing that I'm not the only one makes it easy enough to keep going. Having other people who are just as committed to growing healthy food and deviating from conventional farming in a more natural and sustainable way makes it that much easier. It's not always easy, but seeing other farmers fighting the good fight reminds me that I'm not alone in wanting to do this and that I'm not completely crazy.
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Full Swing!

7/8/2014

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     Sorry for not posting last week! It was a crazy, short week. Lauren and I came back from the long weekend and everything seems to have grown so much (especially the pullets and broilers!). 
     Every morning now we are harvesting almost through until lunch because everything is producing so much! We are currently picking green beans, peppers, lettuce, kale, swiss chard, radishes, cucumbers, zucchini, summer squash, and zephyr squash! The peas are coming to an end, spinach is done, yet we have new potatoes and TOMATOES to look forward to. 
       Unfortunately last night we got hit with a big storm that brought 8/10ths of an inch of rain, gusts of wind and worst of all, hail. The hail damage we arrived to find this morning was a little upsetting but we made light of it and glad it is not too bad. The chard and kale have been hit hard so we may not have that at market this week or next but we have an overabundance of just about everything else!
       We also moved the meat birds out of the brooder and they are now happily foraging out in the field in their fancy chicken tractors!
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This was one of our first pickings of squash and zucchini and we were pleasantly surprised by the pepper plants with a few early pickings.
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Experimenting with planting tomato suckers for a late crop. We shall see how it goes!
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When we say abundance, we really mean so many that we may just have to make zucchini bread!
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And of course, no blog is complete without Bodie. We were out moving the chicken tractors and he likes to come out of the truck to help scare the chicks to the front so we can pull the tractors forward. Things seemed quiet until we turned around and realized we forgot to let Bodie out of the truck. He didn't approve.
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The first tomato of the season! A sweet sungold cherry!
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It's a good thing we rinse the lettuce multiple times especially after rain. A lot of dirt bounces back up unto the leaves. On the plus side we can show our lettuce appreciation after it is all rinsed!
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While trying to move the broilers to their happy new home, they couldn't help but peck at our fingers through the crate. Eating is one of their best features!
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For the winter shares, we dug up all of the garlic to hang in the barn for curing. Almost 400 heads this year!
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Happy belated Independence Day! Here is a 4th of July bouquet that I made from Queen Annes Lace, Bachelor Buttons, and red Yarrow
So that wraps up this update! We hope you enjoy hearing about the farm's progress and as always we hope to see you at market. Please check back next week for an update on how things are going and let us now what you think in the contact form! Share us with your friends! Thanks all and have a great week.
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    Guy, Sandy, Nellie, and interns look forward to sharing farm stories with you!

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That Guys Family Farm
394 State Route 380
Clarksville,  OH  45113
937-289-3151
guy@thatguysfamilyfarm.com

  • Home
  • About The Farm
    • Meet the Farmers
    • That Girl's Flowers
    • Our Story
  • Organic Vegetables
    • Seasonal Farm Shares
    • Farm & Flower Shop
    • Farmers' Market
  • Contact
    • Contact Form
    • Mailing List