The Farm

Well here it is, doesn't look like much other than 3 acres of scrub brush, palmettos, some pines, and a couple of young oaks coming up here and there. Hopefully we will begin clearing within the next month or so and we can start getting the soil ready for planting. This will be no easy task and it will require a lot of time I don't have but it's something that I will be doing for myself. I was a forestry major in Flagstaff, Az before cooking got a hold of me and have since always wanted my own plot. Staging at McCrady's last year had convinced me that this is what I have to do.



By no means will the land be ready anytime soon and there are surveys to be done, expenses to be taken care of like equipment for clearing the hardest plant in Florida to get rid of, the palmetto. Along with being a pain to get rid of they are also considered notorious hiding spots for various poisonous snakes here in Florida like the eastern diamond back rattlesnake. Click on the link to see a perfect example of one hiding among the palmetto's palm fronds.

It's only 3 acres but it is pretty dense. I already have some volunteers from the restaurant to help with the labor aspect of it. The cooks there are dedicated and seem to really want to take on the responsibility of a farm even though this will have no official affiliation with the restaurant. This is my private land and this will be used for my own organic planting purposes as well as a learning tool for any and all interested. It's about 45 minutes from the restaurant and 20 minutes from my house so it will not be too hard to make the trip in the mornings then go off to work when I need to. This is mostly horse and goat country but I'm sure a few pigs wouldn't hurt. If we fence in 1 acre and give a couple pigs 3-4 months they can serve as our personal tillers. They will root up all the soil and eat everything leaving fertilized land to be planted. It's still too early to make any decisions. We have to weigh our options and see what we are dealing with once we find out more about the soil under all that brush.

I will be reaching out to Al Rosas and many others over the next couple months for advice, initial planning, insight into the operations of the farm, organics, seed saving, planting cycles, and soil content. Granted this is only 3 acres but at least it is something and something great can be done with it. We just have to do it. I'll randomly post on the progress of my newest venture, stay tuned.