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Kathleen Rose’s Story
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We purchased a 10 acre original homestead from a family eight yrs ago. The property includes 80 year old orchards(grapes,figs,pears,apples,etc)as well as an extensive vegetable area. The family were stewards of ecologically safe practices. We have continued with their organically grown philosophy and do not use herbacides, pesticides or fungicides. We have dabbled in the local farmers market, but was never profitable so had close per IRS guidelines. I recently resigned my job to be home with our small children & make another go with the farm, enrolling in master gardener school & participating in a local co-op \”FreshFoodRevolution.com\” I love the idea of bringing fresh organically grown produce to my community, but need some funds to help get things started. Would also like to add beef cattle & free range eggs to my offering. Thank you for your consideration.
I plan to use funds to build hoop houses to extend the northwest growing season & provide fresh vegetables to the co-op for a longer period of time, including a winter garden. I would apply the money toward a mulch mower for managing cover crops, irrigation hoses, deer proofing & cattle fencing. I would also like to install a rain garden to help improve the run-off ground water. Local conservation district will pay for half of that cost. Also in need of some basic gardening & pruning tools. Will also have some storage & liscensure costs. All of these items would help me expand my growing area and allow me to provide fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs & beef to the co-op.
I believe in fresh food for everyone, free of pesticides & herbacides. If I were to expand the farm and become a fulltime producer, then the community would benefit from fresh goodies! The co-op currently only has a handful of local farmers. With more farmers, there will be more produce & selection and hence more members… resulting in a successful co-op!
