A Day in the Life at Step Back Farm: Family, Farming, and Fun

Hello SBF family! I’m excited to share a glimpse into a typical Sunday on our family’s farm.

To start the day the boys and I tackled the weeding and hoeing while Anita made breakfast.  Bennett ran our small tiller to clean up some walkways while Vincent and I cultivated the peas and radishes.  We also uncovered a couple more beds to let them dry out in the breeze in preparation for planting.  It’s cooler in the mornings, making it the perfect time to get these tasks done.

We also snuck in planting the next succession of scallions.  All the alliums are so funny to grow.  They seem like they never get bigger and then one day you're harvesting them!

After a short break we shifted our focus to some necessary farm maintenance. Together, we cut firewood from fallen trees in our pasture.  Our stockpile needed refreshed, we burn a lot of wood for heating our house and campfires.  It’s an activity we’ve found brings our family together.  We work hard for an hour or so and we have enough wood to keep us warm for a couple weeks.  Our boys love all forms of manual wood cutting!  I do use a chainsaw but it’s not as photo worthy!

After a light lunch we set out to clear old garden beds. Our target today was to prepare an area for planting onions this week. Clearing beds is one of our least favorite activities but we’ve found a rhythm that works.  We also discovered that our early strawberries are putting on fruit!  Strawberries season is upon us!

It’s hard to believe but we found time for mid-afternoon break and headed to Sugar Creek Park. It was a nice change of pace to slow down and relax for a couple hours before dinner.

After dinner we were ready to get back to work. Bennett, Anita, and I spent the evening planting green beans, enjoying the cooler temperatures as we worked.  We got to use one of our new favorite tools, the Zipper!  It opens a furrow for seeds then zips them closed again to cover the seeds.

Meanwhile, Vincent fired up his forge to make a set of gravers and made some tallow candles in some rocks we collected at the creek.

We wrapped up the evening with a final walk through our tunnels to make sure everything looks good and pulled a few more weeds.  There are always more weeds…

It was a long day with a lot of work, but it was pleasant and it’s always good working with the people you love.

 

David