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“Having a pastime farm is actually a blessing,” says Jess Nestor, who runs the Our Wren’s Nest Farm in Ohio along with her household. Having at all times discovered herself drawn to a “easy way of life and the whole lot old style,” Nestor was capable of fulfill her self-sustainable desires after “an opportunity assembly with somebody who’s now our very expensive buddy and the perfect farming mentor.”
That particular person wound up serving to the Nestors the possibility to safe their very own land. “Now we might develop a backyard on a bigger scale, increase our personal chickens, construct a small cabin and really reside out our pastime farming desires,” says Nestor. “So we jumped in with each ft, even quitting my day job for a brand new profession that allowed me to farm full time!”
Taking a break from tending to the pastime farm, Nestor spoke to us about the advantages of completely revamping the backyard and the annoyance of cucumber beetles. We additionally received the news on ghost squash.
Go Forward & Revamp the Backyard
“This yr we made a purpose to utterly revamp how we backyard,” says Nestor when requested about how this yr’s produce haul turned out. “[We] spent a lot of the winter researching and planning. Within the spring we constructed utterly new develop beds, added irrigation and solely planted crops we knew we’d eat—no experimenting.”
Nestor provides that embracing the sq. foot gardening methodology additionally allowed them to “develop produce extra effectively in an space that’s simple to handle.”
Pesky Cucumber Beetles
Nestor calls this yr’s backyard “the perfect we’ve got ever grown” and is thrilled by how “the produce retains piling up!” However sadly the cucumbers didn’t go fairly in accordance with plan.
“We skilled cucumber beetles for the primary time!” says Nestor. “We now know tips on how to take care of them and, despite the fact that they didn’t work out, we gained a ton of information for subsequent yr!”
Introducing Ghost Squash!
When you benefit from the Our Wren’s Nest Farm Instagram account, you’ll come throughout just a little one thing tagged ghost squash.
However what precisely are ghost squash?
“I’m an enormous fan of the whole lot summer season and winter squash, one among my favourite meals, and I develop a superb quantity of it yearly,” explains Nestor. “From zucchini to spaghetti squash, it’s all so good! I wish to have various kinds of squash, and the White Scallop squash added a enjoyable contact to the backyard.”
It seems that the distinctive White Scallop crops are fairly prolific. “I believe if I used to be going to make use of it in a Halloween recipe, I’d fastidiously carve out some eyes and a mouth on the prime after which steam the squash,” says Nestor, entering into early Halloween mode. “You’ll positively get a spooky, enjoyable addition to your meal that manner.”
Coping with Potatoes
Having dallied with trying to develop potatoes for plenty of years, Nestor reveals that they lastly got here good this time round.
“Oh, potatoes! What a studying expertise these have been,” she says. “I really feel like each farmer has that one plant that assessments them yearly, and potatoes have been that for us. This yr, although, was the primary yr we had a large harvest. Regardless that it wasn’t as a lot as we wished, we realized a lot!”
In the case of potato-growing suggestions, Nestor says to at all times ensure you have sufficient house, use a superb high quality seed and be affected person. “Don’t pull the crops too early—which I’ve been responsible of previously!”
Accomplishments & Rewards
In the case of the advantages of working a pastime farm, Nestor factors to “the sensation of accomplishment and the rewards of your onerous work.”
“You raised these chickens and geese, and know the place the eggs are coming from,” she continues. “A pantry filled with canned items is a feast to the eyes and the abdomen which might be freed from preservatives. It’s simply such a way of delight for us. The perfect feeling is simply sitting again with my husband, watching the flock roam the yard and seeing how far we’ve got come.”
Observe Our Wren’s Nest Farm on Instagram.
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