photo courtesy of Liberty Hill Farm

A friend emailed this morning with the query: “Do you know of a farm where we can go for a vacation? We really want to experience life on the farm, but we’re not ready to get our own yet!”

Agritourism is a way that farmers are adding to their on-farm income. There are farms where one can stay for a week, pitch in with chores, work with animals, and truly learn the work of farming. There are other farms where you can simply hear the rooster crowing from the comfort of your bed – no milking, hauling, plowing, weeding, picking, or feeding necessary!

A few resources for finding a farm vacation: Agritourism World – Worldwide database of farms. Search by location, farm type, activity and more.

New York Times article about the trend: Down on the Farm With Your Sleeves Rolled Up

National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (ATTRA) provides valuable business guidance to farmers interested in creating an agritourism experience on their farm. ATTRA is one of Farm Aid’s national partners for our Farm Resource Network – a web-based database of local and national farm groups.

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Make your own greenhouse, hoophouse, hothouse

Greenhouse kits at the hilariously-named Greenhouse Megastore!

Inspiration: It Pays To Be A Packrat member blog from Erin

The Whatley’s greenhouse made from recycled windows

Hope this helps! What are YOU seeking information about??

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From Grass to Cheese Trailer from Milk Products on Vimeo.

The farm’s web site is charming with sayings like “Don’t be a nerd eat a cheese curd” and “Make it a party with our havarti”, and the farmers “manifesto” paints a vivid picture of why farmers farm:

I believe in freedom, freedom to work the soil and care for the land, and freedom to worship as I please.

I believe a man’s greatest possession is his dignity, and that no calling bestows this more abundantly than farming.

I believe hard work and honest sweat are the building blocks of a person’s character.

I believe that farming, despite its hardships and disappointments, is the most honest and honorable way a man can spend his days on this earth.

I believe my children are learning values that will last a lifetime and can be learned no other way.

I believe farming provides education for life and that no other occupation teaches so much about birth, growth and maturity in such a variety of ways.

I believe many of the best things in life are indeed free; the splendor of a sunrise, the rapture of wide open spaces, the exhilarating sight of your land greening each spring.

I believe true happiness comes from watching your crops ripen in the field, your children growing tall in the sun, your whole family feeling the pride that springs from their shared experience.

I believe that by my toil I am giving more to the world then I am taking from it, an honor that does not come to all men.

I believe my life will be measured ultimately by what I have done for my fellow men, and by this standard I fear no judgment.

I believe when a man grows old and sums up his days, he should be able to stand tall and feel pride in the life he has lived.

I believe in farming, because it makes all this possible.

And for this we are thankful.

There’s a fascinating article in today’s Home section of the New York Times about forester-architect Roald Gunderson and partner Amelia Baxter and their company Whole Tree Architecture and Construction. Gunderson explains the structural, aesthetic and environmental benefits of building with whole trees. Photos and accounts of the projects they’ve built for themselves and local farmers are stunning.

Baxter, a one-time urban farmer, also runs a forest foraging CSA and grows an impressive amount of food in their 20 x 100-foot passive solar greenhouse.

We’re so impressed with the practical, affordable and simple life that they’ve created. Thanks for the inspiration!

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I’m not a smoker – but that’s not going to stop me from learning how to grow, cultivate, and enjoy some good nicotiana tabaccum. Last spring, bought a pack of Scherazi Tobacco seeds – an Iranian variety – and was able to get 1 plant to maturity.

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From planning your home to laying out garden beds, a long-time homesteader offers advice 20 years in the making. By Steve Maxwell

Wise plans are the most important thing you’ll ever have on your homestead. That’s because wisdom creates the framework within which good things happen. More than 20 years ago, I cut through a tumbledown wire fence at the edge of an empty pasture, rolled up my sleeves, and began applying a big homestead vision to a quiet piece of farmland and forest not far from the middle of nowhere (more specifically, 91 acres on Manitoulin Island in Ontario). My family and I have been blessed with plenty of success ever since, but looking back, I can also see how I could’ve done better if only I’d had more wisdom. What you’re reading now is the article I wish I’d read in May 1986….

Continued

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It’s always a good time for gift-giving, and we’re firm believers that handmade gifts are the most meaningful gifts – thanks for the inspiration!

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I stumbled upon this blog looking for a DIY toothpaste recipe and stayed for the lovely pictures, inspiring posts and the refreshing frankness of Tara – “…A wife. A mama. A spare-time poet. Aspiring Photographer. Frugal Environmentalist. Organic Gardener/Urban Homesteader. Massage Therapist. Revolutionist. Free-thinker. And just an all-around awesome chick.” And the keeper of the site.

Tara and her brood have been planning their escape from Las Vegas with a Five Year Plan that begins with an open-ended biofueled road trip. Particularly enchanting (while remaining pragmatic) are the sections on Simplicity, Food Not Lawns, and Creating.

They also might just have the best backyard critters ever – desert tortoises.

Oh, and here’s the toothpaste recipe. Thanks Tara!

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Big River Trailer from Wicked Delicate Films on Vimeo.

Following up on their Peabody-winning documentary King Corn, Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis are back for a new adventure in America’s agribusiness underbelly. This time they’re following the runoff that leaves their acre of corn, on a journey that takes them from heartland cancer clusters to a hypoxic dead zone in the Gulf.

Visit bigriverfilm.com for more information.

What: Can-o-rama Preserves Exchange and Holiday Recipe Demo
Who: You, canner, preserver, enthusiast
When: Sunday, November 15th
Time: 1-5 pm
Location: A beautiful apartment overlooking Chinatown, on Hudson St – address will be confirmed once you confirm! 5 minute walk from South Station, 5 minute walk from Chinatown Orange Line. Free parking on street and nearby lots (expensive and crowded on Sundays!)
What you bring: 6 jars of something* you preserved yourself for exchange, preferably 6 of the same thing. And an extra to sample.

Demos: Yvette The Queen of the Pantry will show us how to make some delicious holiday condiments (yay). Is there something you’d like to share? If so, email me and I’ll add you to the list. I’m going to demo mustard.Anything goes as long as it is 1. in season and 2. festive!
Cost: $5 -suggested donation -  to defray cost of event (refreshments plus demo supplies). If you come on your own (and not in the company of  a preserver) and do not bring preserves, the suggested donation is $15 (and, sniff, you don’t get to bring home any preserves). If you are bringing preserves and a non-preserving friend/spouse/partner etc, you both pay $5 each. So bring some preserves to exchange.

To RSVP: Send an email to cakeandcommerce AT gmail  with your name, your guest(s) if any, and what you would like to demo (if you so desire). Also – if you don’t plan to be part of the exchange, let me know that too.

I’ll collect your suggested donation at the door on November 15th.

Please feel free to forward this to anyone you think would like to attend.

Can’t wait to see what you’ve been up to!

Also – if you would like to participate in this month’s canning challenge, the recipe and instructions are here: http://www.cakeandcommerce.com/cake_and_commerce/2009/10/canoorama-challenge-2.html

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