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.



Thursday, January 12, 2012

Thank you for the comment on The Virtues of Mulch

Here's the comment that caught my attention today.

Interesting, I read a book called lasagna gardening and I follow the book every steps. First, gather all your newspaper or even junk mail soak them in water. I soaked mine in a cooler. Then, I just lay them in the ground no digging at all after I just keep piling on top with different organic matter. Your leaves, grass clippings, kitcthen scrap, egg shell, fish scraps, coffee grinds. After I saw the outcome of my summer garden I believe on lasagna gardening now. Check them out..


I read that book years ago, and I love the concept.  We've been working on applying it in the hoophouse the past couple weeks.  First, we finished clearing out the dead tomato plants.  Surprisingly, a few of the plants in the middle row were still alive, a couple of them even had new shoots growing up from the roots.  I didn't like having to pull them out, but I knew they wouldn't survive the extreme cold on the way.  Then, Danny and the boys layered on the compost and manure they emptied out of the chicken coop.  This week, I put on a new layer of junk mail and newspapers, then I started covering the walkways with cardboard.  When the weather permits again, we will layer on the big pile of leaves we collected in the fall.

It's great to be getting a head start for the spring!  This time last year, we didn't even have the hoophouse finished.

We won't be at the Winter Market this weekend

Sorry to dissapoint, but we won't be at the St. Louis Community Farmers' Market this weekend.  We'll plan to see everyone next month.