The Beginning

Sharecropper… A tenant farmer who gives a share of the crops raised to the landlord in lieu of rent.

We are a family of 6 (though technically 1 son is away at college) who are outgrowing our home garden and have decided to ‘rent’ a plot of land (1/2 acre) in exchange for vegetables grown there. With food prices going up and organic fruit and veggies at a premium, growing safe, healthy food as close to home as possible seemed like a good idea. We live in a small town (pop. 10,000), near a fairly large city (pop. 120,000) in the middle of the Central Valley CA and the amount of uncultivated land is pretty impressive. We have approached a local woman (ok, so she’s a relative) with our idea and are still hammering out the details.

This blog will follow the planning and progress of the project and hopefully our ultimate success in this endeavor. We plan to raise chickens for eggs and eventually for meat, goats for milk and cheese and possibly pigs. In the meantime we will chronicle our continued efforts in our expanding home garden, including our recent change from grass to veggies in the front yard (can’t wait to hear from the neighbors:)

Though we have gardened for years, it was always a luxury more than a necessity. Our efforts allowed us to eat organic homegrown produce but failure wasn’t a concern as we could always suppliment with store bought produce. As our budget tightens we now are taking our ‘farming’ a bit more seriously. What we grow, raise, produce…will be a major part of our diet. We are amatuers setting out on this road and hope to learn and share along the way.

Come with us.