You know what say, go big, or go home! Well, we've decided to go big!
Last year we just grow a variety of vegetables for our consumption, human and animal. Trying out what worked well and what didn't. What we liked best and what was 'nah'. But Julie's vision has always been to turn the majority of grassland on the front of the property into food production. Apart from being less grass to mow, people want and need food.
We won't use harmful pesticides and fertilizers. Not only because the poultry free-range, a conscious decision for their physical and mental well-being, but especially because they do. There are a variety of natural ways to encourage the helpful bugs and deter the not so helpful ones, but it's not an exact science and easier with some vegetables than others. And then there's the weather. A drought one-month, torrential rain the next and a long winter, all can significantly affect growing in the wide open.
So, we have ordered a 14' x 100' (complete with ends, so fully enclosed when needed) hoop house from Farmers Friend.
This will allow us to grow vegetables outside for the majority of the year and protect them from our own predators (poultry) and others (rabbits, deer, and bugs).
I honestly don't remember the last time I was this excited about a new purchase! OK, well probably when I got my first poultry chicks and kid goats.