Ok, some announcements. First of all, meet future farm kid Ruben Maslow!
He’s the main reason I wasn’t farming this year, though with the extreme heat and smoke I was often glad for this to be my year “off”. I actually really enjoyed being a customer at the farmer’s market and accepting garden extras from my friends for a change (but to be honest, I ate a lot less vegetables than I’m used to!). Baby Roo and I spent way more time at the beaches and parks around Nelson than I ever have before, and though I long for the rural farming life again, this was just what I needed this summer.
And next, meet the future location of Hoe Down CSA!
After a year of semi-serious farm hunting, my little gang of friends and chosen Kootenay family found our spot. Of course this happened all at once and super fast – Arlo off treeplanting, Ruben brand new in the world, the rest of us navigating the totally unfamiliar world of getting a mortgage and buying a property. It was a bit surreal, but now here we are! This place is far from operational (or even liveable!), but we are looking forward to restoring this old Doukhobor homestead back into production and beauty. And I’m looking forward to a lifetime of silliness and treasure hunting with this bunch!
So far we’ve mostly been focused on cleaning up the years of junk accumulated on this place (and let’s be honest, I did a lot more walking around with a baby than actually helping this summer), but I did take the first important steps to getting back in the garden. A neighbour came and tilled about 1/2 an acre in our beautiful flat field, and I seeded a winter cover crop to start building some fertility and hopefully make things a bit easier in the spring. This is my first time starting a garden from scratch, and it’s pretty exciting and a little daunting. Here’s to a winter of dreaming and scheming!
Hoe Down Farm 