Our Farmstand
2020 was a strange year, filled with lots of stay at home projects. The garden on the other hand did extremely well, especially the pumpkins. We had so many pumpkins and didn't know what to do with them. So we set a table up by the main road near our home with a free sign. To our surprise, in just a few hours, all the pumpkins were gone! This gave us an idea that changed our small garden into a working farm. Originally we wanted to grow a u-pick vegetable garden where visitors would come to glean what the garden had to offer. It was when we were pregnant with our 3rd baby, when we realized that having three babies under the age of 3 and running a u-pick garden seemed like a bit much for this stay at home mom. So we decided to build our farmstand. Brent began scouting out free wood and other building materials to bring this idea to life. The farmstand was essentially free aside from the tin roof, the door knobs and hardware. In 2021 we opened the stand . We have had so much positive feedback and now we even have "regulars". Every year our vision expands a little bit more, and so does our garden.
We love that our children are involved, whether they help seed start, plant or pick peas from the vine. They have helped us at plant sales in our small town of Hockinson, that now every time we drive by the venue they shout "Hey that's where we had the plant sale!". They might not help out most of the time, but they see what we do and as they grow up we hope it instills appreciation for this way of life.
Our goal is to utilize our free space as much as possible. We are always looking for ways to get the most out of our garden, and our next project is building a food forest in our orchard. The more we can grow the more we will be able to provide for ourselves and our community. We hope to participate in more farmers markets, give more at the farmstand, even maybe be a part of a CSA.
