It usually takes us until about
mid
January before we are settled down enough to begin to think
about the
year ahead. This year it has taken a little longer. We have
been
contemplating some dramatic changes in our personal and
professional
lives. It is with great trepidation that we have decided to
not make
veggie deliveries to Cookeville this year.
For a number of years we have
been
trying to find a balance of what really works in our farming
adventure. As many of you know, our land base is quite small.
The
total space of our gardens is a little less than one acre, and there's not really any room left to expand.
Because
of this, there are efficiencies of scale in farming that we
cannot
take advantage of. So, we have tended to work our little space
quite
intensively. The soil continues to improve and the food is
good, but
the process ends up working us hard too (maybe we should say
'too
hard'). The year we tried having an intern was helpful, but
that too
was difficult in our small space.
We have been looking for a
larger farm
for about five years now, but haven't found one that feels
just right. We
seek land that will allow us to expand our farming operation
without
sacrificing the natural beauty and the amenities that we
appreciate
at our current home. The plan is to spend more time looking
for a new
farm this year, regroup, and hopefully be back in a year or
two.
That said, our hearts are heavy.
It
has been wonderful to be CSA growers. We have so much
appreciated
the relationships we've made with each of you over the years.
We
love tending to the land, growing food, and sharing quality
food with
the Cookeville community. We will continue to work our land, less intensively, and your invitation to visit the farm
–
even to get food from our gardens – is still standing. It's
just
time for us to make some changes, and some changes really take
time.
Thank you for the time we've
spent. We
hope you continue to eat well, and hope to see you again, one
of
these fine days.
Paul, Coree, Lulah, and Levon Entwistle
PS - We will persist to keep some updates posted on the blog and Facebook sites, and you can also check out the blog that Coree is working on with some friends: radicalfarmwives.com. Thank you!
