Thanksgiving 2011 final thoughts

As the thanksgiving holiday comes to a close here at Little Sprouts Farm, there are a few thoughts left to share.

First of all a word of thanks. A heartfelt thank you goes to each and every one of our customers who purchased from the farm this year. This was our first year in "business" and we dearly appreciate everyone that participated in it. You trust, friendship, and patronage is dearly  appreciated. We realize that there are plenty of options out there and we are grateful that you chose to spend your hard earned food dollars here. We view each of you as a friend and your families as our own. It is a pleasure to serve you.

Also an ever important thank you to our creator, our heavenly Father who has guided us along this incredible path to becoming a sustainable farm. we are approaching our four year mark of leaving the high society city life of southern california. None of this would have been possible without His constant guidance, inspiration and help along the way. We are deeply grateful that he counted us worthy to take on this mission of rediscovering how to feed our friends and neighbors with good wholesome nutritious foods. What greater calling in life could there be than that?

So thank you, thank you for everything.

This is also a great time to reflect on the past season. As we head into the relatively calm winter months, we look back on a summer of  constant activity, ups and downs, and work sun-up to sun-down. We loved every minute of it, dont get me wrong, I am NOT complaining. I will take a day on the farm over a day in an office anytime. Even so, there are plenty of new lessons we can learn from last summer to make our work more productive. I am not looking to eliminate the work, that is what we are here for, but I do desire for the work to be as efficient and productive as possible. This is a time to correct he mistake of the past so that next season things run a little smoother.

One such are is in automation of water. Water is the blood of a farm. It must run through every corner where there is life to keep that life going. Delivery and management of that water  is a key focus going forward. Carrying buckets of water here and there is just not efficient.  A renewed focus on water systems is in order over the winter.

Another point needing improvement is the hog feeders.. again. I am still unhappy with the current setup and in fact it needs repair anyway. The hogs have managed to  break two of the feeders loose already. I may end up purchasing one of those big round field feeders and rigging up a way to dump a tote of feed in at a time. Perhaps this could be mounted in the center of the current pallet based platform.

Both the three point tiller and disc are broken beyond useability.  Welding and bending back into shape is required before next spring. The lesson learned here is that it is NOT possible to till or disc this land unless it is at just the right moisture content and has been ripped deeply. Tilling without ripping broke welds and tore strong thick metal.

 The greenhouse is being rethought. Instead of just growing produce, we are considering installing a high production bug farm in it. We can raise enough mealworms and crickets to keep healthy eggs going all winter. The greenhouse seems a perfect spot to do this while utilizing the sun's heat to warm them.

I do wish I had invested more time in roadway management. The recent rains have turned some unmanaged ares into huge mud puddles which will soon be impassable with the tractor.

Fencing.. as usual... needs to be done. this is a winter project as the ground is too hard to work with in summer. I need to install a ay to enter both pastures with equipment without the residents escaping easily.

So, lots to think about, and some to do. Winter is a great time to regroup and reconsider.. reflecting on the past with the time available to make changes before next season.  Stay tuned! there should be lots of new things going on as time goes by.