Season’s End
It’s the second week of November so we are almost half way through fall, and winter will be here before we know it. Many things have wrapped up on the farm, and I’m in the clean up phase now. The gardens have been cleared of weeds, animals are being situated for the winter, and the ones raised for food are either in the freezer or will be shortly. I still have a few projects that I’m hoping to work on before winter really gets here, but for the most part things are slowing down.
Fall is when I try to clean up all the messes I’ve made during the spring and summer, and there are plenty! I get so busy during the two warmer seasons that I have a tendency to just let things lay wherever I put them down. I end up with empty flower containers, scraps of wood, and other bits and pieces of projects everywhere. Things fall apart and I don’t have the time to repair them properly, so they get patched up just enough to keep it going. The place starts to look a bit trashy and rundown. The hubby gets a little cranky about it even though he doesn’t say much.
I planned to have a new coop finished for the Zombie Aflockalypsers by now, but we are just now getting ready to begin it, so I’m hopeful we can finish it up before winter actually makes its chilly appearance. The one they’re in currently is a complete disaster at this point, so a new one has to get done now. There’s also a new project in the works that I’m hoping to at least start before the ground freezes up. Besides, those two things though, I’m pretty much done, so it’s the time of year I start reflecting on what went wrong, what worked, and what I want to try next year.
What Went Wrong
I bit off way more than I could chew, which meant that all the projects suffered. I get excited about things I want to do on the farm, and I forget that I’m only one person, and there are only so many hours in a day. I stretched myself so thin that when I got sick back in the spring, I didn’t have any time cushion and just couldn’t catch up on the things I had missed.
I started a new breeding project without remembering how many losses I have in the beginning every time. The City Cluckers are a new chicken mix I’m playing around with and I had totally forgotten how fussy some of the pure breeds can be when I first get them. I lost so many of the birds I brought in for this project. Because I’m used to the hardiness and predator smarts of the Zombie Aflockalypsers, I didn’t do a good job of planning for large losses in the CC starter chicks.
I joined our local Farmer’s Market and didn’t do very well with my participation. I didn’t plan well, or schedule myself enough time, to be able to take part in a way that would make it a benefit to me. Covid didn’t help with this, but I could’ve utilized the opportunity better.
What Worked
YouTube worked for me. I haven’t posted new videos as frequently as I intended to when I started the farm channel in January, but people are commenting and subscribing, so I think it was worth starting. It also has been handy to be able to just direct someone to a video I’ve already made, instead of trying to explain multiple times how I do something. And having the video means the person can check the comments to see if they have the same question somebody else does, or to see other people’s suggestions on the project.
Expanding my online reach in general has been a good plan. Facebook keeps getting wonky with their rules and algorithms so it seemed like a good idea to expand my options. I added Instagram, Pinterest and of course this website. I also recently got a Twitter account for the farm but I haven’t started using it yet.
What I Want to Try Next Year
Next year I want, and need, to set myself a routine and a plan that allows for some time cushions. Instead of rushing to cram in as many projects as I can, I want to focus on a few things and do them well. I need to do a bit better about managing my time, but I also schedule myself some free time. I need to also be patient with how long projects take instead of wanting them completed immediately.
I also want to quit judging where I am on my farm against where other people are on their farms. I need to remember we are all at different points in our farming journey. Some people are farther ahead of me, and I’m farther ahead of some other people, as long as I’m moving ahead that’s all that matters.
And I know I said I was going to slow down and focus a bit, but these are the projects I have planned for next year
- New critter housing
- New raised beds in a new location
- Getting my NPIP certification
- Get other permits needed
- Fixing my orchard
- Streamlining my bug production
- A few crafty projects
- Testing out some new concepts
Well, that’s been a look back at my 2020 season and my upcoming plans for 2021. It’s like the Good, Bad, and Ugly Garden YouTube video I did over the summer, except for the entire farm. Honestly it wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been given the complete dumpster fire 2020 has been as a whole for everyone. I know it could’ve been so much worse, so I’m not going to complain about the things that didn’t work. But I am going to plan to make next year better, cuz that’s kinda what I do!