Springtime Dreams on the Hobby Farm
Living in Idaho, I appreciate Springtime. As the cold, dark, bleak of winter begins to finally surrender its icy grip, signs of new life abound. Apricot blossoms appear, bursting like bright pink popcorn against the slumbering landscape. Colorful flowers, long dormant under the winter snow, are waking up and brightening the landscape with their vibrant colors. The air, once again warmed by the sun, is filled with the sound of honeybees, newborn lambs, and that tanager who recently returned to his favorite tree on my farm from his winter migration. Even indoors, the scent of the wood fire has been replaced by the faint scent of potting soil, with nearly every available square inch of horizontal space boasting trays of newly started garden plants, growing bigger each day to the sound of the chicks peeping in the brooder. Hope abounds, and I am busy dreaming of all the things I’m going to accomplish this year on the farm.
If history tells us anything, it’s that I won't make it very far on my to-do list again this year. I have big dreams for my hobby farm and there aren’t enough dollars in my bank account or hours in the summer to accomplish all my high aspirations. And there are always unplanned repairs and unforeseen setbacks that inevitably chew through time and money. Even as I sit here and dream, I have no doubt I will get to the end of summer and find I only accomplished a fraction of what I had planned to do. No longer shocked by this reality, I take comfort in the answer to the old question: ‘How do you eat an elephant?’ The answer? One bite at a time.
When I first started hobby farming 15 years ago, I thought I needed the orchard, the big garden, the animals, the fencing, the barn, the tractor, all of it - to be a successful hobby farmer. Over the years, I have learned that isn't true. Hobby farming is about doing what you love and enjoy, even if it is done on a small scale or without making a profit. Maybe you measure your garden space in square feet instead of acres, maybe instead of the gorgeous accommodations you see posted on Facebook, your chickens live in a ramshackle coop made from recycled pallets for now. Perhaps there is still a substantial difference between the hobby farm you want and the hobby farm you have.
That’s why I love spring and the fresh hope it brings. I get to dream how this year, I take the hobby farm I have, and move it closer to the hobby farm I dream of. While I won’t get all my springtime wish list done, I can get some things done.
Some are lucky enough to have time and finance budgets large enough to quickly create and grow their hobby farm, but many of us must take a measured approach, a little here, a little there. I love gardening, and a big, beautiful greenhouse is one of the big-ticket items on my spring wish list again this year. Ever climbing higher on my list as other, more pressing needs are addressed, and the dream greenhouse didn’t make the cut from “wish list” to “get it done” again this year. But, improving my cattle-panel high tunnel and converting it to a Dutch-bucket hydroponic system for heirloom tomato varieties did. Baby steps.
So, this spring, I’m dreaming of vine-ripened heirloom tomatoes I’ll harvest this fall from the hobby farm I continue to build... one bite at a time.