Some Operating Changes in 2013

I want to slow down,

spend more time with my family,

play more,

visit with friends,

finish projects,

drink more wine, 

enjoy life. 

I'm making a shift this year in my gardening and Farmer's Market strategy and I hope that will help create less work, allow me to finish projects I've begun, and give me more free time.  

Source

I've been the ant; I want to be a little more of the grasshopper!

Weeding became my number one time stealer last year.  I just couldn't keep up!  To counteract this, the garden will shrink this year and the plan is for lots and lots of mulch.  I plan to have not an inch of ground uncovered.  I used black plastic in the high tunnel last year and it worked like a charm.  This year I plan to do some lasagna-type gardening in the outside garden and use compost, cardboard, and straw to keep the ground weed free.  The outside-the-high tunnel garden will have only corn, potatoes, and winter squashes/pumpkins.  

I'm growing the vegetable garden for the family only this year.  For the Farmer's Market we're moving away from selling vegetables and going to concentrate on maple syrup, honey, and canned preserves and jellies.  I hope that keeping track of inventory will be so much easier.  

I decided that the time and energy spent planting, weeding, picking, and hauling to Market just wasn't worth it to me.  If I find I have a surplus of vegetables, I'll bring them to the Market.  But I want to avoid the vegetable time commitment and then the frustration of bringing my beautiful vegetables back home and have them go bad because we can't eat them fast enough and we're too busy working on other things to get them preserved or give them away.     

I plan not to start any new projects and to finish up the old/ongoing projects.  That's a tough one for me because I love learning and doing new things!

There's a saying, "We make plans, and God laughs."  Although I have lots of lofty plans, I'm very much aware the the little utopia I've built in my head may or may not go the way I wish!

Happy New Year!

Taking time out each day to relax and renew is essential to living well. 

~Judith Hanson Lasater