The farm has been on a slow thaw over the last several days. It has even been so bright that we had to pull out the wide brim hats and put some sunscreen on our faces. We are trying to be better at applying it more regularly. Yes- both of us. Perriee has a horrible reaction (hives, itching, swelling) with too much sun exposure in the springtime and summer so we try to use something with at least 50 SPF to help. We rebuilt the duck run entry door in a day (because you have no choice once you start but to finish it), painted more in the Flower Studio, met with one of our Organic Association of Kentucky mentors and learned how soap is made for the first time at Sunflower Sundries!

The biggest project this week was getting started on our new 30 foot garden beds. We managed to get 8 going by using some old newspaper as a bottom layer, topped with some loose straw from the duck run, finally covered with some compost from our pile we had delivered in the fall. Shout out to our friend from the bank who hooked us up with the old newspaper. It is getting put to use.

We won’t be planting too much into the brand-new spots this season EXCEPT that I believe row #1 might be dedicated to evening primrose since there are already so many volunteers coming up in that spot. We also sprinkled some crimson clover and winter wheat seeds on top to see if any of that happens to germinate for the spring since it is going to be warm the next week or so. Oh yeah..we also split some pieces off of our comfrey plant and tucked them in along the outside of the first row, intermittently, in hopes of creating a weed barrier perimeter. We learned that the comfrey keeps weeds from getting in, plus you can chop the leaves and sprinkle them in your grow beds for fertilizer throughout the year.

Evening primrose is a beautiful native plant that grows great at our farm. It either came from our first wildflower mix we planted back in 2020 or drifted across the railroad tracks via a bird or the breeze from our neighbors house. Since then they just come back on their own each year. I thought it was an annual but just read it could be biennial or perennial also. If you have ever opened a seed pod of primrose you will understand why it can be so prolific. There are hundreds of seeds in each pod and many pods per plant. We may try to harvest and dry some this season to sell, if the row works out, but at minimum the flower acts as an amazing trap plant for Japanese beetles. Being concentrated mostly in the first row will keep the beetles off of other neighboring plants further down the field (and maybe off of the Nanking cherries for once). Since we don’t use any chemicals on our plants, we just knock them into a bucket of water to get them off and feed them directly to the ducks. They love em!

Loving Farm Long Term Infrastructure Goals:

One practice I have believed in for most of my life is goal setting. Not the kind at the 9-5 where you are asked to come up with ideas of how you can make the company better in the next fiscal year. Those “goals” would wear me out trying to come up with something except for maybe, “stay here another year”, which I did use at my last job a year or two before I quit. See!?!? It works! Seriously though, I am talking about the kind of goals where you go big and write down some things you want to accomplish in the next few years, regardless of the cost or project size. There are no scary lifetime contracts when you document things for your own life. If you change your mind and decide it was not for you, no loss and probably some gain whether or not you reached your finish line.

This could come in a quick list, a vision board, an essay…whatever. The power seems to lie in the act of documenting it somehow, no matter what happens thereafter. Even if it ends up tucked away in a drawer for several years, I guarantee when you come across your aspirations later on you will be pleasantly surprised of what you have accomplished. You might not check off each box to the “t” but if you set your goals high, beyond your wildest dreams, even if you don’t reach it exactly how you outlined it in your list, you will feel good about what you got done.

Here are a few of ours:

Solar power setup on barns (free standing)

Wind power somewhere (because it just seems logical here in windy Nepton)

Sauna

Sweat lodge (I used to attend a weekly sweat ceremony in college and miss it terribly)

Fix shutters and doors on the Warehouse and all barns

Add windows to the stripping room in Warehouse (it was previously used for tobacco, not dancing)

Paint exterior of Flower Studio

Accrue either a floral cooler or refrigerated vehicle to transport blooms

Repair water spigot in barn

Has anyone else found this to be a helpful practice? Let us know!

Important Upcoming Dates:

February 8: Still completely open for a day in the flower studio. $25/person. Reserve your spots now. It is not too late!

March 3: Monthly email subscriber giveaway raffle

March 12: Volunteer day: cut honeysuckle, move some compost, map out new garden beds, pollinator patch prep?

March 15: Volunteer day: cut honeysuckle, move some compost, map out new garden beds, pollinator patch prep?

April 19: 2^nd annual Earth Day at Loving Farm. We have a lineup of 3 bands for a day of music, nature and friends. Save the date!

Thank you all for reading! Here are a couple of photos of a project I am working on for an event next week.