This is how we got back into market farming. When my folks retired (been close to 15 years ago now) Dad decided to plant some fruit trees - about 300 - mostly apple. Back in the 70's we had a pretty fair sized sweet corn operation so had some experience in the field and he had a fair orchard prior to this. After the trees went in there really is little to do those first few years (dormant pruning, cover sprays, mowing and the like) so he started some extra garden plants and started to sell the surplus. One thing morphed into another and slowly he drew in my sister to help out. I should have known I was in trouble one spring when I saw him looking at the garden area at my place and taking notes. Now we have about three acres under cultivation (we planted the onions just today - about 7000 of the little bugers) plus the orchard and do three large markets at the height of the season. It's a lot of work and is falling more and more on Kathy and I as Dad is no spring chicken anymore. Don't get me wrong - I very much enjoy doing it and get to spend a lot of time with my folks - but it does become a grind to the end of the season. We now have a couple of people that help at the markets with us and had a local boy help with the pruning this spring. I guess my point here is that your going to need help at some point along the line as although now your in pretty good health at some point you are naturaly going to slow down and the work never seems to. My personal thinking is that starting slowly and working up was a good choice - we grew a market share as we grew our operation. We tried a lot of things along the line - some worked and some were failures - but we learned. One thing that we learned was not to try too many new ideas at any one time to keep from being overwhelmed. We try to limit ourselves to one big project each season. Drip irrigation is a great example. It seems pretty simple on the surface (no pun intended) but figuring the initial set up is both time and cash intensive to do right. After figuring out the mains and learning the best way to regulate the areas we wanted to water and how much then laying the tape was a lot more work than you might think. It also took a little time to get the nuance of using fertigation with the system. Now, with a litte expeience, it is just another task to be done when we plant and is one of the best things we have done to grow more produce. One of the things the we strive for is the "Work smarter not harder" mantra. You have a good start with equipment - it can be your best friend. I am a hopeless tinkerer and have built or converted a lot of implements for our use. It is pretty easy to go out at the outset and buy a lot of implements not knowing if you need them or even the best way to utilize them. Adding them as you go when you see the need is probably the best idea.

You have the luxury of time on your side. Start small and grow your operation at your own pace. There is nothing worse than planning and planting a huge garden to find that you are overwhelmed. It takes the fun out of it and leads to burnout (which IMHO is why a lot of begining farmers go for a year or two then give up). Just some things to think about when your planning. There are some great people here that are always willing to jump in and try to help out with advice and I am sure will have many ideas that I have not. Good luck and have fun.

Tom

Good article in one of the new Mother Earth News about permanent beds. No need for putting sides of any kind on them. Wide heaped or flat beds are the best! Then leave grass in between and mow it. Gardening When It Counts by Steve Solomon is very informative on this subject.

Using cover crops that die and can be planted into is wonderful too. Lots of ways to be wiser than your clear cutting, row planting farmer!

Start slow and do what you can as you can. I definitely can understand your thoughts, since mine were along the same lines. As we get older, we need to think wiser and do things easier.

For me, raised beds have not worked. My ground isn't really wet, but it does have good drainage and a slight slope. I've found that wide row crops work best for me, but I'm even changing things this year. Hoping to control the weeds more with drip tape and landscape fabric.

Marla