Farmers Market in Charleston

We get the opportunity to go to a lot of Farmers Markets as we cross the country in our fifth while. We were lucky enough to be in Charleston when they were having a Farmers Market at Marion Square. The subtropical climate must provide great opportunities for growing because the variety and beauty of the produce in the various stalls was amazing.

There were tomatoes everywhere.

I thought that the white and green asparagus was probably the most beautiful thing at the market.

I wanted to buy all the herbs that I could see but it's hard to have a lot of herbs while living in a fifth wheel.

I know we weren't in Georgia but we were close so I wasn't surprised to see peaches as far as the eye could see.

It makes me so happy to go to Farmers Markets and see so many people that grow such beautiful produce, and seeing so many people that appreciate it. Farmers markets are one of my favorite places to be.

Follow our cross country adventure on our blog www.livingagoodstory.com
 

~Michael~

Now You Can Farm On Your Computer!

I know many of you like gardening, but would you be interested in playing a video game that has you driving a tractor and truck? Giants Software has a new game called Farming-Simulator 2013. I'm not sure that driving a tractor is something I want to do in a video game but the business simulation part of the game seems intriguing. IGN has a review of the game here and you can watch the trailer below.

What do you think about playing a farm simulator video game?

~Michael~

Truck Farm

You might recall a review I did last year of a great movie called King Corn that was made by Curt Ellis and Ian Cheney. Well, they are in the process of making another movie right now called Truck Farm. They prepare a bed of a truck with a garden and then travel around to educate people on growing food at home. Most of us can't grow food in a truck but it gives you some hope that whether you live in an apartment or in the middle of a vast wilderness, you can grow some of your own food. Check out the teaser trailer.



The movie is in the process of being edited and created. You can even donate to their cause by going to the project on Kickstarter. They are trying to raise $15,000 to get the movie made.A mere $35 will get you a cool trucker hat. I am excited to see the movie. They expect to have the movie done this summer if they can raise a little more money.

Share some comments with us about some of the movies that you have watched lately that have anything to do with the backyard farming genre. I would love to get some ideas of other movies to watch.

Mike

On The Farm Front

I have mentioned in previous articles that I grew up on a farm in Idaho. My father, grandfather, and uncle farmed mainly potatoes and wheat. We also raised pigs for our own use. In the news clipping above you can see me as a 7 year old boy with my grandfather Maurice Johnson in the tie and my uncle Dale in the middle who is also a contributor to this website. We won the biggest spud contest for that year. This picture is very poignant to me and brings back many good memories of what I remember to be a simpler life.

I have grown up and become a city boy but I believe if you grow up on a farm that a piece of it never leaves you. I still love the smell of fresh turned earth. I love being in the country and seeing all of the stars that aren’t visible in the city. I love animals and the place they have in our lives. I have a special feeling in the fall knowing that a summer of hard work produces it’s bounty.

I want my children to learn many of the things I learned growing up on the farm. I learned that honest, hard work can be satisfying and rewarding. I learned that a lot of the time we have to have faith that the work we are doing now will pay off in the future. I learned about the sacred relationship we have with nature and animals. I learned that you don’t need a lot of things to be happy, you just need food, shelter, and a loving family.

Right now we don’t live on a farm but I can still help my children learn many of the same values. My oldest son Reece is responsible for our chickens. He feeds them and makes sure that they are warm and comfortable every day. We give our children a plot in the garden and let them be responsible for weeding and watering it. Our children have pets that help them learn about the importance of our relationship with nature. Although it’s not a complete substitute to living on a farm I believe that many of these things will help keep my children linked to the farming heritage that I have.

What are some of the values that you have learned from your backyard farming experiences?

~Michael

Winter dreaming...

So this is the time of year when I dream about farming. It's the time of year when I can dream of next year's garden and harvest without the reality of work or time. It's the time of year when I pour over seed catalogs and farming books getting all dreamy and warm inside.

Today at church I was talking to a friend who grew up on a farm and I asked him if his grandfather had also been a farmer. He said, "No, he was actually a nuclear engineer. My dad just wanted to be a farmer so he bought some property and started farming." My eyes honestly got misty at this - my fear being that since I grew up in a suburb and didn't study agriculture in college means that I'm disqualified from this profession. I then asked if his dad ever made any money and he said, "Oh yeah! He's doing really well..." and told us about his dad's specialties on his polyculture farm in eastern Idaho. In fact, his parents were vacationing in Mexico this very week. I kept looking over to my husband with wide eyes during this whole conversation. He knew what I was saying with those looks. I was saying, "That's it - we are GOING TO BE farmers."

So this afternoon I visited my local libraries' website and entered in the word "farming" in the online catalog. I got pages of hits - mostly children's books on farms, a couple Hardy Boys adventures set on farms, and then some real gems. The first one I found was this:This is great because I don't want a 5,000 acre farm. And then I found this:


Ok, c'mon, this one is beautiful. I literally clapped my hands and squeeled when I found this. The title is lovely and the idea is right up my dream alley. I can't wait to get over and get them. Both are now on hold just in case someone else in my small town in Utah wanted to check them out and gets there before me tomorrow. I can't wait. Winter dreaming here we come!

The Farming Game

A little while ago when visiting my sister in law we had a little bit of a "girl's night in". We had put the kids to bed and both of our husbands we out of town so we invited another sister-in-law over and decided to play some games. My SIL Jodi then pulled out this game and immediately I put my vote in the play it.
It's called The Farming Game and was first issued the year I was born! She played it as a kid and still has the old game around. Here's what wikipedia had to say about it:

The Farming Game is a board game simulating the economics of a small farm. Published in 1979, it was designed by George Rohrbacher, a rancher in Washington State. The Farming Game painfully reflects the real life difficulties of running a farm. Also, the names and places in the game are the names of families farming for generations in Yakima Valley and other parts of Central Washington. When Rohrbacher invented the game, it was a desperate time for his failing farm and small family, this is reflected in the difficulty of the game, and the multitude of points taken into consideration in farming that are often left up to chance. It is considered a board game which has educational value.

It's actually REALLY addictive and fun.

Each turn around the board is considered a season with planting and harvest dates you try to land on. You are also able to purchase land/cattle/seed/etc. in the spring and put it on your farm. You can see mine above - I went for the cattle and the orchards. They are harder to land on but make you more money. During the game you have to draw cards called "Farmer's Fate" & "Operating Expenses" that talk about typical challenges like your tractor has broken or like in the card above that the IRS has garnered your wages because you files your taxes wrong. Ouch! Over and over again we kept saying, "Poor farmers! How do they ever make any money?" And it also made me realize how much farming is a gamble - depending on mother nature for their livelihood!


In the end, I LOVED this game and found that it is still for sale online. I can't wait to share it with my kids so we can all dream about our future farms with a little bit of perspective!