Only in Kansas

So today was a Big day out on the farm. Our Little Idea has finally broken ground! HUGE thank you to veteran farmer and best father-in-law Wayne Heorman, who came over Friday and made this......

 And this.....

Look like THIS!!

But this ground is not really ready for prime time just yet. Since we are going organic, we need a little different kind of fertilizer. However, we do not have a fully functioning compost yet. Fortunately, we do live a mile from a horse stable! BEST fertilizer ever! And it is free!

So, after a quick call to the Doc (literally, the place is owned by Dr. Passman) once again the greatest father-in-law Wayne came over with his farm truck and met my FABULOUS, patient, loving, supportive Hubby and I at the biggest manure pile in Benton, Ks.

Insert your favorite Crap joke here....I have had them all day long....starting with......

This really IS a mountain of Crap

This really IS shoveling Crap

This really IS dumping a ton of Crap

And this is the finished product - doubled the Crap load!

Now, since this is Kansas, Mother Nature also had to have her own input into our plans. I could not take pictures of the second load coming in as I had intended, because in the middle of the second load coming in the skies opened up and started pouring. So, we ran to the house for shelter! We had just enough time to change out of our nasty, muddy, wet clothes and get cleaned up a bit when Justin, Arianna and Julian got to the house. I didn't understand why they were not coming in, they said they were waiting for the worst to pass. When I stepped outside I realized why they were waiting...because there was all of THIS!!

Really Mother Nature? Hail? Are you kidding me?

I always say "if you don't like the weather in Kansas, stick around five minutes, it will change." So, after a bit the DaMetz trio came on inside. Ed, Justin and I went out - in the rain still, but without the hail - to spread Crap around. Ed used his tractor to move Crap, while Justin and I shoveled Crap. Yep, we were slinging Crap everywhere to make sure it was where it had to be! That's a good Midwest workout right there!

Yes, it was still raining in these pictures. But it was just a light Kansas rain.

Finally, we were finished with that Crap!

I need to take a moment to say how humbling it is to have to stand back and watch my husband and father-in-law do a lot of heavy work today. It is soooo hard to know that as much as I think I can do in this world, I cannot operate a tractor or a large truck. How completely limiting is that?! I hate constantly asking for help to make my little projects happen, but most of the folks who know me know that I personally have no business behind the wheel of either of those kinds of vehicles. I have a great deal of respect for the men in my life that can do so many great things that I have no ability to do. Gardening is NOT something Hubby is interested in, but his support of me today was something truly beautiful to see. Plus, it is always fun to see him playing with his tractor. I saw Pure Joy on his face!

One more tilling is needed to have this plot ready for seeds, but there was no way to do that today with the ground so muddy. Hopefully, we will be ready for planting potatoes in bare feet on St Patrick's Day. But if not, I still think we are off to a great start!

I LOVE that My first post on this Blog is all about the Crap that is going on before we have anything beautiful to post on here! I spend a lot of time thinking when I am gardening, which is not always such a great thing.  I have spent many months now filling my life with a lot of Crap. I have been eating Crap foods and thinking Crap thoughts. But today, I spent a lot of time laughing about Crap! Today was a reminder that it takes hard work to turn Crap into something beautiful and wonderful - but that is exactly what Crap was created for! It is absolutely perfect for using as a Spring board into something Amazing. 

So, now that we have all that Crap out of the way, this party is ON! Here's to putting something Amazing into our lives!!

Peace and all good,

Mama Cat

First Planting: Heirloom Tomatoes

Our first seeds are in the soil: heirloom tomatoes! We did five different varieties: Golden Sunray, Beduin, Green Vernissage, Green Bell Pepper Tomatoes, and Tasmanian Blushing Yellow. These are all from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.

Since it's still fairly early in the year, we decided to plant indoors to start. Cathy found a neat way to make paper pots from newspapers:

Not too tough once you get the hang of it. Ari and I managed to figure it out,

These are so neat, because when we transplant them, we can put the entire pot into the ground and it will decompose easily.

 We made 28, just to be safe. It took a while.

And we planted! We used bagged organic compost, since our compost is still in the very early stages.

So, here's hoping! It's been five days since planting. We are watering with a spray bottle for now, and getting them out into the warmth of the sun during the afternoon. We hope to get about half of them sprouted, and transplant to the garden plot soon!

Our Little Idea

Life's calling sometimes arises in the strangest and most unexpected ways. So it is with this idea my wife was hit with for an organic farm.

Neither her nor I have any background in farming or gardening in any way. In fact, until about 3 months ago, we had lived all of our married life in urban areas, Oklahoma City and Kansas City. But in December, we moved back to rural Kansas, where I grew up. This move coincided with Arianna discovering her calling for nutrition and organic gardening. We wanted the ability to control our own food source and what we put in our bodies. We wanted to grow produce and buy local natural organic goods. We wanted to practice sustainability and respect for the Earth. Not ones for subtlety or small ideas, we thought, why not start a farm?

Fortune smiled on us again, as a friend of ours, upon hearing about our ideas, approached us with an offer to let us use the acre she lived on to start an organic farm. The land has been mostly unused for the past decade or so, and we couldn't have asked for a better situation. Cathy is also passionate about organic farming and has become a full partner in making this happen.

This blog will be a place for us to share stories, plans, ideas, pictures, everything we do with our little corner of the Earth. Most of all, we want to inspire and teach others about the joys of organic gardening and farming, and we want to help others start their own, in the hopes of transforming the food landscape of America, which has become dangerously large and unhealthy. Nutrition and poor eating are the major causes behind the poor health epidemic in our country, and getting back to basics can help people live fuller, happier lives. We hope to be on the forefront of this effort.

Just a little about us. I'm Justin, a graduate of Oklahoma City University with a degree in Political Science. By day, I'm Executive Director of the Sedgwick County Democratic Party, and I am in the process of starting Methodist candidacy and seminary. I love reading, writing, and spending time with my wife and our 1-year old Julian Christopher.

Arianna, my wife, is a former religion major and Youth Director, who has discovered a passion for organic gardening and nutrition. Its her goal to make people's lives better through what they put into their bodies, and this whole grand scheme is her brainchild. She is the driving force, and she will be sharing on here soon how she came up with the idea and what she wants to get from it.

Cathy is our friend who put up the land for this. She is full-time nurse at a senior care center in a small Kansas town, and is in general a wonderful, happy, generous person. She doesn't know it, but she holds Ari and I accountable to making this happen, and she provides the constant optimism and can-do spirit an undertaking like this needs.

Of course, there are many others who will be joining us in our adventure. As we go forward, we will share their stories, and maybe they will even share with its here.

I hope you will regularly keep up with us here. We love feedback, comments, ideas, questions, offers of advice or help, or anything you have to contribute. Just keep it positive, PG, and on topic. Thanks for the support!