In 1993, we bought 15 acres in Fayette County as we were planning to build a country home. We soon figured out that my husband was a farmer in a former life. He bought an old Ford tractor and started farming the land in the first month. This was a perfect opportunity to show the children how to work the land as we have always lived in a subdivision. We have always had a small garden and this did not satisfy his hunger for working outdoors. Our son Kelly came to life on the farm also. He loved plowing the fields and doing anything with his dad outside.
We built our country home in 1997 and moved to the country to start this life as farmers. In the beginning, we were planting several acres of corn and purple hull peas. I say we but it was truly my husband, Clayton, with very little help from anyone else. Clayton took a lot of the corn and peas to the Scott Street Farmers Market to sell. He really loved networking with farmers and buying from them. This was such a break from the everyday wear and tear on the body at work. Clayton worked at FedEx for many years as a mechanic in the GSE department. Working outside can bring you closer to the Lord and give you such a renewal of life. This is especially true for us. We feel that we are truly blessed to have this time together working on the farm.
We decided in 2000 we would become blueberry farmers. Clayton researched and learned all he could about growing blueberries. Sounded like the perfect no fail product to go with on the over farmed poor ground that we have. Thankfully, he was very wise and the Lord led us to a wonderful new life. We soon bought 1500 two year old plants of five different varieties: Brightwell, Premiere, Legacy, Climax, and Tifblue which are all Rabbiteye blueberries. Rabbiteye blueberries are suited for the southern Tennessee area as they are drought tolerant. It is very important to have several varieties as they need to cross pollinate to produce the best fruit.
We traveled across Mississippi to Waynesboro (a town I lived in as a ten year old). What a fun day that was and very educational. We learned a lot from Don Williams, who sold plants on the side from his farming. We spent several hours talking to him as we loaded the plants and that was a great start on our education.
We built our country home in 1997 and moved to the country to start this life as farmers. In the beginning, we were planting several acres of corn and purple hull peas. I say we but it was truly my husband, Clayton, with very little help from anyone else. Clayton took a lot of the corn and peas to the Scott Street Farmers Market to sell. He really loved networking with farmers and buying from them. This was such a break from the everyday wear and tear on the body at work. Clayton worked at FedEx for many years as a mechanic in the GSE department. Working outside can bring you closer to the Lord and give you such a renewal of life. This is especially true for us. We feel that we are truly blessed to have this time together working on the farm.
We decided in 2000 we would become blueberry farmers. Clayton researched and learned all he could about growing blueberries. Sounded like the perfect no fail product to go with on the over farmed poor ground that we have. Thankfully, he was very wise and the Lord led us to a wonderful new life. We soon bought 1500 two year old plants of five different varieties: Brightwell, Premiere, Legacy, Climax, and Tifblue which are all Rabbiteye blueberries. Rabbiteye blueberries are suited for the southern Tennessee area as they are drought tolerant. It is very important to have several varieties as they need to cross pollinate to produce the best fruit.
We traveled across Mississippi to Waynesboro (a town I lived in as a ten year old). What a fun day that was and very educational. We learned a lot from Don Williams, who sold plants on the side from his farming. We spent several hours talking to him as we loaded the plants and that was a great start on our education.
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