Transitioning the Farm for Our Next Stage of Life

Putting up hay with our '54 Farmall Cub

When we first started Our Tiny Farm in 1999, we were finally living our dream of owning a small farm, raising a lot of our own food using organic methods, having farm animals, and homesteading on our own land. That was over 20 years ago. My husband and I were in our forties. our children were in elementary school, and the economy was good.

Our early vegetable gardens were diverse

We started out, as most gardeners do, growing vegetables. We grew a bit of everything including tomatoes, peppers, onions, peas, broccoli, potatoes, eggplants, beans, and summer squash. It was a new garden site so it took a lot of back breaking work to raise organic vegetables. We added so much organic matter and did so much weeding in those early years. It also didn't take us long to figure out that every other small farm in the region was growing exactly the same things that we were! Because of our small scale and doing everything by hand, we couldn't sell our vegetables at a price that would make us any money.

Our Japanese hulless popcorn was a big hit with our customers

So then we started experimenting with crops that we didn't see at the farmers' markets: heirloom popcorn, heirloom winter squash, kohlrabi, garlic, shallots, leeks, and herbs.

We started increasing the number of hives

Glen had been keeping bees as a hobby for several years but decided to expand the number of hives and do it as a small commercial operation. 

We had six heirloom breed chickens in a portable chicken tractor

Glen built the barn on the left, we fenced the property, and got a horse and donkey

Glen built a barn, workshop, equipment sheds, and other outbuildings. We got chickens, a donkey, and a horse. We were really living the farm life! It was a ton of work, but it was something my husband and I had always talked about doing together. But we still weren't making much money; certainly not enough to justify the amount of work we were putting into it.

Two young Black Angus steers. We just raised two at a time.

We shipped garlic all over the country for many years.

Boarding horses was lucrative and taught us a lot about contracts and horse owners.

So we started pasture raising a few Black Angus cattle, selling our garlic online, and boarding horses; and finally, our CPA informed us that we were making money! The winning combination for Our Tiny Farm was beef, honey, garlic, and horse boarding. 

Digging garlic was a family operation

And so that is what we did for a few years. We sold our farm products at the farmers' market, direct from the farm, and online. I held a fulltime job, but for most of that time my husband was fulltime on the farm and at home. 

Glen with the first two donkeys we boarded

And then the kids grew up. The old horse died. Digging garlic was really hard on Glen's back. And I was really tired of working 60+ hours a week at my regular job and then getting up at 5 am to go to market on Saturday morning. So we starting simplifying our farm. We now raise only donkeys. We've quit raising beef. We still raise bees and bottle honey.  

This past summer we took our grandson on his first camping trip

My husband and I are now in our 60s. We still love our little farm and I can't imagine life without the donkeys. But there are other things we would like to do, like travelling around this big, beautiful country, and now seems like the right time to start. We are fortunate to have our son living on the farm, great neighbors to help and watch over our place, and our daughter and her family nearby. So this coming year, the blog posts will be about what we can do on our small farm in our 60s, 70s, and 80s. How can we generate a little income but leave time and energy to travel and enjoy other activities. I hope you will follow along and share some of your experiences!

It has been very busy for the past six months on Our Tiny Farm!

I have certainly been lax at keeping up with the blog, but it is not from lack of activity on the farm! First and foremost, I want to dedicate this post to our dear, late Tennessee Walker horse, Little Man. He was a great friend and companion to us and our donkeys. He was an amazing listener. Always calm and very protective of his little donkey friends. But he was very old. We are not sure exactly, but the vet, farrier, and our neighbor who rode him when he was a boy himself, said he had to be 35 years old at least. The summer of 2016 was very, very hot and as the summer progressed, Little Man found it difficult to breathe. We had to soak him down several times a day and keep fans blowing on him. We trimmed his long, curly coat as often as we could, but it was clear to all of us that he was very uncomfortable. We finally made the decision to say goodbye and send him across the rainbow bridge on a beautiful, golden afternoon in late summer. It was a quiet passing and he is buried in his pasture near his little buddies and where we can be near him when we need to be. Love you, Little Man.

A few weeks later we also had to say goodbye to our dear old cat, Maple. That was just too much death and we had two few animal companions around, so we headed out to the local animal shelter and brought home these two adorable kittens. They are not related. They sure are fun!

We are in the midst of doing some pretty major remodeling on our old farmhouse, and in the process of clearing some things out, we came across a box with the first 18 issues of Mother Earth News magazine! I thought that was so cool. We live in the same community where Mother Earth News started and we always thought of our place as a little Mother Earth News type farm.

And then the forest fires came. I don't want anyone to forget how much of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee burned in November 2016. It was terrifying. We were miles from the fires but they still had a big impact on our lives.

But then every now and then, the direction of the wind would change and we would experience the most beautiful, sunny late November afternoons.

The Sustainable Agriculture Conference took place in November in Durham, NC. There I got to spend time at a book signing with my good friend and fellow author, Ira Wallace, of Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.

A lot went on in our personal lives, too. There was a wedding with the dinner on the farm (I now have a grandson!). The house was full of good smells with all the baking for Thanksgiving and Christmas. And the New Year was rung in with a fun movie and several bottles of champagne.

2017 started out with a beautiful blanket of snow. I took that as a good omen of the year ahead. This year will be one of change on Our Tiny Farm. We don't know what that all means yet, but with the young adult children making their own lives and our desire to try new things, we are spending the winter rethinking what we will do on the farm. We will continue to raise bees and bottle honey, and a good crop of garlic and shallots has been planted. But we don't know what livestock we are going to raise and I would love to have a bunch more little donkeys! But, that will all be decided this winter as we sit in front of the woodstove sipping hot chocolate and planning it all out.

In the meantime, we still have honey and it is about time for sales on my book on growing ginseng, goldenseal and other woodland medicinals to pick up. If you are serious about growing woodland medicinal herbs, whether for a business or your own personal enjoyment, this is the book to have. Written by two well-know authorities, the book is chock full of information and hundreds of pictures on how to grow ginseng, goldenseal, ramps, black cohosh, and many other native herbs.

How to Get a Copy of the Book: We suggest you order the book through the publisher, New Society Publishers, or your favorite local book store; that way the authors can receive their full royalties. It is available in bookstores where native plant gardening is popular. You can order the book through all the big on-line discount book sellers. Many sellers offer the book on Ebay. The book is also available as an ebook through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, New Society Publishers, and elsewhere.

Happy New Year from the Davis family at Our Tiny Farm.

End of February on Our Tiny Farm

February has been a wintery month for us and one where I have been immensely grateful for large amount of high-quality hay that we put up for the season. I am also thankful for heated water tanks, frost-free faucets, and waterlines buried deep in the soil. Even with multiple days below 10 degrees, we had water flowing at all the outside faucets.

Our animals have all come through the high winds, single digit temperatures, and snowy days without issue. They all have thick, fluffy winter coats and good shelters to get out of the wind. With the windward side doors closed, the barn is a cozy place. When we check on the animals late at night, we often find the horse and both donkeys curled up in the barn together. Sweet. The donkeys don't care for snow very much, but after awhile they did wander out in it.

The snow is pretty This was a very early morning shot from earlier this week. We were expecting a dusting overnight and woke up to about five inches. We have been fortunate to have power and water throughout these storms and all family members manuvered their cars and trucks safely across the roads. We did have two trees fall on fences in the cattle pastures. Just discovered one today. But that is a minor inconvenience (says the person who does not have to repair the fencing!).

Inside we are all cozy and warm. The woodstove has been a blessing with the very cold temperatures. I still don't want to see the oil bill, but I know that without the woodstove it would be worse. Sitting in front of a roaring fire, we are planning for the spring planting season and trying to decide which crops to concentrate on for the 2015 growing season. The garlic looks like it came through the very cold temperatures just fine. Potatoes, a variety of winter squash, popcorn, and kohlrabi are on my list as commercial crops. Of course we will grow all the standard vegetables for the family including tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, snow peas, beans, summer squash, green onions, and broccoli.

So here is to the coming of spring. The early signs are there. The daffodils are poking through the snow and the dog is shedding like crazy! I hope my next farm post will have pictures of green grass, crocus blooms, and sunshine.

Quick update on Our Tiny Farm

I have been focused on promoting my new book the past few months and have neglected providing photos and words about the farm. So here is a quick update. First, someone asked for a better picture of the horse we are boarding right now. So here is a picture of Teddy. He is a real sweetheart and gets along beautifully with all our animals. I hope he is here to stay for awhile!

 

I always feel an immense sense of relief when we get the hay put up for the winter. Last year the hay was awful; we had to do a lot of supplemental feeding to keep the weight on the animals, and we didn't do that well for the older horse. So it is wonderful to have good quality hay stacked up and ready to go.

The little donkeys definitely approve of the hay we purchased for the winter. Within an hour there wasn't a scrap to be found. Even with a pasture full of green grass, the donkeys prefer hay.

 

One of you asked for a close-up of Chester, so here you go. He is an adorable chocolate mini-donkey with a kinked little tail, a pot belly, and the biggest most expressive brown eyes I have ever seen. You can't help but to give this little guy a hug...which he likes very much.

Another one of you asked for a picture of the portable shelter we have for our steers. So here it is. As you can see, it is on skids. On the other end, there is a strap that we hook right up to the tractor and tow the shelter wherever we want it. The steers use it all the time all year long.

This was just a pretty day on the farm this summer so I took a shot of the barn with the mountains in the background. We are so blessed to live in this beautiful area.

Poppy settled into this giant mixing bowl on the computer hutch (it has been there for years, she just discovered it). It is now one of her favorite places to sleep. Cute.

These are beautiful sirloin roasts from our pasture raised Black Angus cattle. After a long slow roast in the oven, they made for a number of delicious meals.

One of the great delights of living on a small farm is all the fresh food on hand to create tasty meals, like this one.

Springtime on Our Tiny Farm, plus "the Book" and "See me at the Fair!"

2013 was a trying year on Our Tiny Farm. The rain wouldn't stop, so we had few vegetables for sale; we lost most of our hives, and a family member was dealing with serious health issues. But, 2014 has started out well and we are optimistic that this will be a great year! We are happy to report that with much love and attention, our bee hives are rebounding nicely and we expect to have honey for sale this year. The garlic and shallots look fantastic, so plan to try both this year. We will sell some fresh and some dried. Leeks and potatoes are being planted now. All our beef quarters are sold. Sorry if you missed out on them; the meat is excellent! But our two young Black Angus steers came through the winter looking great. They are enjoying the new spring grass very much.

You can see that our mini-donkeys are all grown up now. We are starting to train them so they can eventually pull a small cart. I have a dream for them to be therapy donkeys, too, but that might have to wait until I have more time. We have a new pony coming to board with us this month; we are excited for that. This spring we will fence in the new pasture area. Haven't decided just what will go in there yet. Could be more cattle, more boarders, a chicken coop, goats...the family needs to make that decision.

My new book, written with coauthor Scott Persons, is scheduled for publication in May! Technically it is a major revision and expansion of our first book, Growing and Marketing Ginseng, Goldenseal, and Other Woodland Medicinals. But with a new publisher, many new chapters--including ones for home gardeners, and a beautiful new layout, photos, and cover--I consider it a new book. You can preorder it now through various on-line booksellers.

I welcome you to hear my presentation on Growing Woodland Botanicals at the Mother Earth News Fair at the WNC Agricultural Center in Asheville (across the street from the airport) this weekend. I will give that presentation on Saturday at 5:30. On Sunday I will speak on hops production at 2:30. And other times you can visit with me at the All About Herbs booths (7010-7015) near the Mother Earth News Stage. Hope to see you there. It will be a beautiful spring weekend.