Our Oregon Farm

In my previous blog there were a few sneak previews of the farm, nice pretty springtime pictures! Let me tell you about our farm. It is a beautiful piece of ground, almost 150 acres. There are about 100 acres of tillable ground and a "50 acre wood" with a small lake. The woods are predominately oak with a scattering of pine and a whole lot of blackberry bushes, my goats would think they had died and gone to heaven if they could see the place! Most of the farm is good bottom land which floods in the winter. There are about 25 acres of higher ground where the house and buildings are located. There is an ancient orchard of a dozen or so trees with apples, pears, and a prune tree which bear tons of wonderful fruit. The farm has been mostly planted to grass seed the past 20 years. 

Three years ago the lease was up and we regained control of the ground and planted multi species grasses for pasture and hay. Since our kids were gone in February last year and know one was "minding the farm," things are little over grown. The grass was not grazed or baled so we're not sure what to do with it this year. We had thought we would be on the farm last year to care for it but our California place did not sell so the farm and house have been pretty lonely for some human love and attention. 

We're anxious to get some cows on the place this summer the break up the old stuff and start fertilizing it!  We've been followers of Joel Salatin for years and have employed the intensive grazing management to our place in California and were very happy with the results. We will do the same in Oregon to get our fields in shape, thought we may need more that three cows to do it! We do have a plan, we'll be bringing a couple dozen head from our daughters farm in Lebanon to help out.  

Right now we're between the two places. The California  house is in escrow and should close in March 2011. Mr. Green Jeans was on track to retire, then daughter #2 announced she's engaged and of course wants to be married from the home and community where she grew up...we're going to rent back till May 17th! Best laid plans of mice and men! The wedding is planned for Saturday May 14th then we're outa there Monday May 16th! 

Starting over with "What's in a name?"

In trying to add a picture to my post yesterday I covered the whole post with the "image" and can't figure out how to undo it! But I practiced uploading pictures, so I'll repeat yesterdays post with pictures. 

I'm half way through my fifties and wondering what I'm doing starting over farming on a 150 acre neglected farm, in a one hundred and twenty-five year old house.  I'm leaving the wonderful California climate behind (I tried to get it in the stock trailer with the cows, but it planted its feet and refused to budge!). Farming, gardening and living will take some getting used in the colder, wetter climate of the Willamette Valley of Oregon.


I'm not new to farming, I grew up in rural southern California working for a local farmer riding my horse everywhere I needed to go. My family had a few acres where we had a garden, chickens and raised our own beef and lamb. My dream was to marry a farmer and farm full time...Well, I married my own "Mr. Green Jeans" who was a third generation farmer, who then decided he didn't want to farm anymore and instead took an office job with a guaranteed pay check and all the benefits...Like not having to work in the rain, heat, or wind, no late night runs to the market or harvesting most of the night while the weather holds! It was pretty convincing. 

So Mr. Green Jeans and Farmer Jane bought 20 acres (large I know by many standards) and settled down to raise our family. But...as time went on we (I guess it was more the kids and I) really wanted to leave California and have a bigger place. Our kids had really taken to farming and were out growing our place with their projects, they wanted us to be able to have enough room to farm full time. So we began our search...We took trips traveling all over the west, with six kids in tow (they were home schooled so we could travel when it best suited us and Mr. Greens Jeans' work schedule). We saw lots of beautiful farms and explored many small towns in Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Utah and Arizona. In 1996 we bought this farm in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. 

But, when it came to leaving the security of his job and taking the big plunge, Mr. Green Jeans just couldn't do it. So the farm was leased for about 12 years, until daughter #3 and her husband moved on to it three years ago. Then in February 2010 they bought their own farm about 60 miles away, so the farm has been on its own for the last year and boy have the weeds and blackberries had a party, like when the folks go away and leave a house full of teenagers for the weekend!!!


So, now that Mr. Green Jeans has a reasonable retirement, and all the help (kids) have left home we're doing it on our own! Hence the name of my blog...farmer starting over...There are fences and barns to build and repair, pastures and hay fields to rejuvenate, a garden area to prepare and fruit trees to plant, and of course the list goes on. 


So this is a journal of our journey, Mr. Green Jeans and Farmer Jane. I've been an avid gardener all my life, we've had meat and dairy goats, milk cows and beef cows, sheep, llamas, chickens, rabbits, turkeys and horses (I draw the line at peafowl and ducks!). We're taking two horses and a pony, the beef cows are already in Oregon and we have too many dogs and cats to mention (all the dogs belong to our children who never seem to live where they can keep them! hum...) 


* Note: Mr. Greens Jeans actually mostly wears bib overalls. Mr. Green Jeans was the farmer that would visit Captain Kangaroo with his farm animals, it was my favorite part of the show  and as a child he was my ideal man! And he actually wore green jeans!