Where did you learn to be a farmer?

[Hideaway Pines]

I was raised with gardens all my life, my mom canned and we ate fresh things all summer long. So something's I learned from her. I also was one to have an animal in my hands in every photo growing up. I preferred animals to people most of the time. I spent my times running in our woods and playing with the various animals I could convince my parents to let me have. Then as a young teen I worked at our local riding stables helping with the horses and in the KC zoo in the summers learning all about farm animals, I worked in the section that was like a working farm set up for kids to learn about all things farm life. This just fed my passion for all things country/farm/animals. I was always one to pick up any critter, no matter what it was. When I worked in an office I was called Mother Nature more than a few times as I would assist with birds trapped in the building, squirrels trapped in the walls, tarantellas found in the offices and even a snake or two. I would rescue each one and set them free. I also hand raised a few litters of baby bunnies that were found by others and brought to me. I hand fed baby possums that were abandoned in our back yard and the list goes on... you get the idea. Once we move to the country I could not wait to start my own collection of animals. But my husband is trying to keep me in check, so we have not branched out too far... but I have high hopes of many other critters in the years to come. Also, I signed up for the Master Gardening Class at our extension office. This 9 month class was wonderful at giving me a lot of great tools/info to become more successful at my gardening.

hope that helps...

 

[Finnie]

I was raised with gardens all my life, my mom canned and we ate fresh things all summer long. So something's I learned from her. I also was one to have an animal in my hands in every photo growing up. I preferred animals to people most of the time. I spent my times running in our woods and playing with the various animals I could convince my parents to let me have. Then as a young teen I worked at our local riding stables helping with the horses and in the KC zoo in the summers learning all about farm animals, I worked in the section that was like a working farm set up for kids to learn about all things farm life. This just fed my passion for all things country/farm/animals. I was always one to pick up any critter, no matter what it was. When I worked in an office I was called Mother Nature more than a few times as I would assist with birds trapped in the building, squirrels trapped in the walls, tarantellas found in the offices and even a snake or two. I would rescue each one and set them free. I also hand raised a few litters of baby bunnies that were found by others and brought to me. I hand fed baby possums that were abandoned in our back yard and the list goes on... you get the idea. Once we move to the country I could not wait to start my own collection of animals. But my husband is trying to keep me in check, so we have not branched out too far... but I have high hopes of many other critters in the years to come. Also, I signed up for the Master Gardening Class at our extension office. This 9 month class was wonderful at giving me a lot of great tools/info to become more successful at my gardening.

hope that helps...

My husband and I took our local Master Gardener class too. Absolutely loved it!

 

[farmerjan]

Grew up with gardens and canning and freezing. Dad had a horse when he was young, then got married, but they kept the one older pony that all us kids got to learn to ride on (and get dumped off!!!!. My grandmother and great grandmother (dad's mom's side) had 10 cows when he was a kid and they sold milk that went in the cans on the train to NYC when he was growing up. He hated the dairy cows.

Had rabbits and guinea pigs, then got into chickens for 4-H projects, raised some to eat and some for layers. Went to work on a small egg farm picking up eggs out of the coops daily, as he sold the grade AA (freshest eggs there are) to many small groceries. Was "horse crazy" typical teenager....bought my first horse at 15......had family in VT that had a dairy that we would go to when we took summer vacations up there..... and a family friend had a dairy that I would go visit. Learned to hand milk and I loved the cows. Got divorced went to work on a dairy milking and learned to drive tractors and run different equipment. Started raising veal calves. Just went from there. But no one else in the family does any of it. They all grew up with the animals, and all had show chickens for awhile..... just not on their radar. Even my DS doesn't do anything like gardening..... just the beef cattle. We grow many acres of hay for them and do rotational grazing as much as possible....