Aisling Farms: Opening up the Farm

Opening Up the Farm...

A Tour of Aisling Farms

So today was rather fun! I opened up Aisling Farms to the community as a free event! This came to me because I tend to get at least one message or request a day to just come "check out the farm." I dont mind but it is hard to sync up with other people and schedules, to dos etc. So I figured out a day and time that would work for our schedule and just said "hey come and enjoy!" So today that is what I did. It was a free event and people got to come and not only just enjoy the beauty of the drive but also they got to see AND HOLD baby chicks, baby rabbits (One set 1 week old and the other set 3 weeks old), check out some of the farm ducks and also harvest their own organic crops from the garden! It was a great time and I loved seeing the kids just running around enjoying themselves and just learning a little bit more about the "farm life."

 

My favorite part was when people asked how to go about harvesting. Do you realize that sure you can go to a Farmer's Market and purchase crops from a farm just like you would from a store, but to actually get to get into the garden bed of the crop and pull out or cut off your own crop from the soil is something to be enjoyed. Not alot of people garden or know how. It brought great joy to know that today those people actually learned a bit about how to harvest their own crops. I know that each person that took home a filled bag of lettuce, radishes, herbs etc will take great pride when they sit down to eat it knowing they got to harvest their own meal. 

Why wouldn't a farmer want to share that joy and knowledge with others?

The fun part was seeing the kids get into it. Here is a little 19 month old that once I showed her how to pick her first radish and after doing so, she wanted to pick a bit of everything and place it in her bag.

My step mom helped in the "petting" area. Who doesn't love baby animals right?!?! Those kids sure didn't want to stop holding those babies and I am pretty sure a few kids held each animal multiple times ha!

I also have a wonderful gal that does alot of my signs on the farm and inside our home and she is also working on the main entrance sign to my farm currently. She does face painting so I had her come join the event. Here are some of the things she painted and boy is she good! Check her out HERE!

 

 Got a birthday party or an event with kids? She is great and I highly recommend her!

WHY FREE? A few people asked why "Free" and I say "Why Not Free?" I feel God blesses us in certain ways and I feel with the garden space and the land, we have been blessed. I had an abundance of crops and I planted items that work well as companion plants for crops such as lettuce and radishes but I don't enjoy radishes. They served their purpose in helping my lettuce grow wonderfully and that is all I wanted. Sure I could have bundled them up and sold them but what if I picked them and didn't sell them, then they would have been wasted. I would much rather use the gifts of education as well to help encourage others to possibly start their own farm or even set up a small container garden on their back deck of their apartment. 

Also, just finding the joy in harvesting your own food is something to experience first hand. Kids need to see more of where their food originates from in order to gain a greater respect for what is served on their family dining table. I know my kids see a salad made or the meat from our animals and they take a greater pride in enjoying that dish they are consuming. That is my goal and vision of my farm.

I am thinking of making this a monthly even as time and schedule allows. If you went to the event and would like to offer up a review of your experience please post HERE. Will see what my crops produce and see if this is an option to do this again. Hope you all enjoyed your time and experience at Aisling Farms!

This is "Our Dream That We Made Into A Reality." 

Jennifer aka Aisling Farms