A True Family Farm




When our boys help in the gardens they represent the fifth generation of the family to work the soil on Kimker Hill. Four generations still live on the farm today. Strong family bonds and a deep love and respect for the earth influence all of our farm practices.

Our gardens provide us with the best and purest of food, matchless beauty, and the ultimate earth science classroom for our homeschooled boys.

Sustainability is a popular buzz word among small scale agriculture. To us it means giving more than you take. Putting back what you use. Remembering that this beautiful earth will last forever and it's our commision to care for. In our gardens we try hard to follow these ideals and work with the earth's design, not against it.



Monday, April 21, 2008

Earth Day Was a HUGE Success

Photobucket
Thanks to all who made earth day such a success. It was a great day! The weather was perfect! We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful setting. It was wonderful to see so many of our usual customers and to meet so many new people.

We hope you were able to attend, and we hope to see you again at the Tower Grove Farmer's Market. We'll be there all summer long, beginning May 10th for the big kick off.

Now it's time for us to concertrate on planting. I have 240 tomato plants to try to get into the garden in the next week. Danny got the garden plowed & hilled & mulched last week & started putting in the t-posts. This week he & the boys need to finish the job.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Earth Day is Sunday!

Hi everyone! Thanks for a great market on Saturday. I'm so glad the weather cooperated & so many were able to attend.

Now I'm busy getting ready for Earth Day this Sunday, April 20th. We're excited! I've been told there were about 20,000 people there last year. I've also heard there is even more to see & do this year.

I'll be sampling some of my products, so if you haven't had an opportunity to try them, here's your chance.

I'm also bringing pepper plants to sell, both sweet & hot varieties. Last year it was difficult to find hot pepper plants, so I decided to start them myself. I have the old standards, as well as varieties I've never grown before. The plants look beautiful, especially the variegata peppers. Last year we planted them in big planters in the front of the house. This year we will again, but we're also putting them in the front flower bed, they're so pretty.

There's so much going on this week at the farm. Danny's on vacation from his off-farm job, so he's tackling all kinds of projects. Today he's going to try to plow the tomato garden so we can start planting next week. I'll be glad to get them in the garden, the plants are huge, they're too tall for the plant stand.

I'm planning to get the rest of the potatoes planted today...it's supposed to be 70 degrees. We're all going to work outside together.

Well, I'd better go join the rest of the family, they're already busy.

Friday, April 11, 2008

Good Morning! Reminder about tomorrow's market.

Good morning! Just a reminder that tomorrow we'll be at the St. Louis Community Farmer's Market in Tower Grove across from the park on Arsenal off of Grand. The market runs from 8:30am to 12:30 pm. Just look for the signs posted nearby & in front of the building.

Well back to work, I still have 4 kinds of flour to grind, muffins & muffin mixes to make.

Hope to see you there!

Thursday, April 10, 2008

The New Vineyard

PhotobucketWell the weather broke a little Wednesday so I got a helper and finished up the trellises for the new vineyard (at least phase 1 anyway). So far I have 98 feet of trellis installed and ready. That should support about 12 vines. It's a simple 2 wire Kniffen system. I plan on starting with several varieties of table grapes and graduate into more of the wine grape varieties. We want to have grapes to sell at the markets and I really want to try my hand at home wine making!

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

It feels like spring!

Finally, it's a warm, sunny day!

Since my last post, Danny managed to plant 2 peach trees, despite all the rain. Now today, he's working on grape arbors. Before long, we'll have several varieties of grapes planted. Of course that means I get to practice patience, since we won't get a good crop for a couple years. But at least we've gotten started!

Oh yeah, we also got 6 rows of potatoes planted. This is our first try at potatoes, we're hoping it's not too wet for them. We're using the Ruth Stout method. We'll let you know how it turns out.

I'm working on getting ready for the last winter market this weekend at Tower Grove. Hope you can join me. Check out the listing on the side for the address if you haven't been there yet. It looks like I'll have herbs, swiss chard & even turnip greens ready to pick by Saturday. I'll have free-range eggs, too. And, of course, I'll have all the usuals; muffins, grains, flours, beans, peas, mixes, salsas, pickles, relishes, dried pineapple & mango.

Zachary's working on getting more pictures posted soon!

Have a great day!

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Some More Pictures

Here are some more pictures of our farm. Please tell me if you like them.


Zachary, Chief Designer/Author

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Great news!

Danny built me a new, larger plant stand for the basement & I spent most of the day yesterday transplanting & watering & moving the tomato plants to it. I can hardly believe it, but it is completely full & I still have more plants to transplant!

I wish it would stop raining for a while. Even the hoophouse is waterlogged. I was hoping to start planting in there this week, but I can't even walk in.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Denise's Mixed Bean Soup Recipe

After many requests at the market, I finally put up the recipe for Denise's Mixed Bean Soup. It's located beside the blogs on this page. Try it out for yourself, if you haven't already. If you need the mix, let me know or come see me at the market.