Urban Farming With the Ol' Man

Easton

New member

Equipment
Kubota L3400
Sep 24, 2024
9
14
3
Morristown, TN
I don't care what none of y'all say, I've got the greatest Dad in the world. He came from the humblest of beginnings and carved out a great life for himself and his family with his own two hands.

As I've gotten older, I've come to treasure the experiences with him I took for granted growing up. One of those experiences was clearing land on our old homestead. What used to be "chores" I would do anything and everything I could to try and get out of are now precious memories. I realize every day the opportunity to do these thing with him won't be there forever.

So I've started an Urban Gardening Project to give me the opportunity to capture all the tribal knowledge I can from him before he leaves this Earth. I've got a small plot of grass we're turning into a serious vegetable garden at my subdivision home. Corn, beans, squash, cucumbers, okra, tomatoes, watermelon, zucchini, potatoes, peppers, the sky is the limit on the about 50'x35' space we've set aside for the project.

The goal of the project is two fold. 1) to give the Ol' Man the opportunity to teach me everything he can so his generations of farming knowledge isn't lost to time. 2) To show others in my neighborhood with their perfectly manicured grass and hedge bushes (and most importantly their children) that Mr. Albertson and Mr. Kroger aren't farmers and that their food doesn't come plastic wrapped from Heaven. It tastes so much better fresh when you grow it yourself.

Starting from virgin Earth covered with grass, the first step according to the Ol' Man is to turn the soil. For the project we're using a Kubota L3400 pulling a double bottom plow to turn that hard Tennessee clay. The one we're using was handed down the family and I couldn't find the exact make/model. But I was able to find one of a similar design from Catawba Attachments: https://cattachments.com/product/14in-double-bottom-plow/ if you want to try a similar project.

Now we let the turned Earth freeze over winter to kill the weeds before plowing again and disking in the springtime. The project is already teaching me patience and consistency is what yields a good crop. You don't beat Mother Nature into giving up her bounty, you work with her gently on her time table. She does the work so to speak...you just do the heavy lifting. Or in this case...the L3400 did.

As an homage to the Ol' Man and how far he's come in his lifetime, I've also uploaded a picture of the old mule plow he used to drive as a kid to plant tobacco every year so his family could pay for their Christmas. Spring break for him wasn't a vacay to Myrtle Beach. Those days were built into the school calendar to allow him to get his plowing/planting done without falling behind in his lessons. What did that spring break work buy him at Christmas? I asked that question...a new pair of shoes and a peppermint log.

I was also floored to learn the origin of the term "Yee-haw" when he told me that when driving a mule (or other plow animal) you yell "Gee" to tell the mule to turn right, "Haw" to tell it to turn left, and "Gee-Haw" to tell it to go straight. Turns out it's not just a term rhinestone studded country music stars yell out to try and sell albums. I wonder if Tay Tay knows that.

Will upload more photos as the project progresses.
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GreensvilleJay

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Equipment
BX23-S,57 A-C D-14,58 A-C D-14, 57 A-C D-14,tiller,cults,Millcreek 25G spreader,
Apr 2, 2019
11,483
4,937
113
Greensville,Ontario,Canada
If you double the size of the veggie garden, you'll have less grass to mow AND get a LOT more veggies AND quality time with your father !!!
 
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Easton

New member

Equipment
Kubota L3400
Sep 24, 2024
9
14
3
Morristown, TN
If you double the size of the veggie garden, you'll have less grass to mow AND get a LOT more veggies AND quality time with your father !!!
If it were up to me I would have. But we had to honor the setbacks and utility easements of the neighborhood and didn't want to destroy the root system of the property's bordering pines. They're about 70 feet tall and even as far as we went back we were starting to hit root.

This reminds me of another great point...Always call 811 before you did in an urban environment. It's free, fast, and hassle free.
 
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GreensvilleJay

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Equipment
BX23-S,57 A-C D-14,58 A-C D-14, 57 A-C D-14,tiller,cults,Millcreek 25G spreader,
Apr 2, 2019
11,483
4,937
113
Greensville,Ontario,Canada
Well, OK, I suppose...... ;)
Be sure to add LOTS of compost , EVERY fall. Everything EXCEPT black walnut tree pieces !!!! Those have a poison(jugalone sp? ) that'll kill every tomatoe and pepper plant in your garden.....
 
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rc51stierhoff

Well-known member

Equipment
B2650, MX6000, Ford 8N, (BX sold)
Sep 13, 2021
2,581
3,119
113
Ohio
I don't care what none of y'all say, I've got the greatest Dad in the world. He came from the humblest of beginnings and carved out a great life for himself and his family with his own two hands.

As I've gotten older, I've come to treasure the experiences with him I took for granted growing up. One of those experiences was clearing land on our old homestead. What used to be "chores" I would do anything and everything I could to try and get out of are now precious memories. I realize every day the opportunity to do these thing with him won't be there forever.

So I've started an Urban Gardening Project to give me the opportunity to capture all the tribal knowledge I can from him before he leaves this Earth. I've got a small plot of grass we're turning into a serious vegetable garden at my subdivision home. Corn, beans, squash, cucumbers, okra, tomatoes, watermelon, zucchini, potatoes, peppers, the sky is the limit on the about 50'x35' space we've set aside for the project.

The goal of the project is two fold. 1) to give the Ol' Man the opportunity to teach me everything he can so his generations of farming knowledge isn't lost to time. 2) To show others in my neighborhood with their perfectly manicured grass and hedge bushes (and most importantly their children) that Mr. Albertson and Mr. Kroger aren't farmers and that their food doesn't come plastic wrapped from Heaven. It tastes so much better fresh when you grow it yourself.

Starting from virgin Earth covered with grass, the first step according to the Ol' Man is to turn the soil. For the project we're using a Kubota L3400 pulling a double bottom plow to turn that hard Tennessee clay. The one we're using was handed down the family and I couldn't find the exact make/model. But I was able to find one of a similar design from Catawba Attachments: https://cattachments.com/product/14in-double-bottom-plow/ if you want to try a similar project.

Now we let the turned Earth freeze over winter to kill the weeds before plowing again and disking in the springtime. The project is already teaching me patience and consistency is what yields a good crop. You don't beat Mother Nature into giving up her bounty, you work with her gently on her time table. She does the work so to speak...you just do the heavy lifting. Or in this case...the L3400 did.

As an homage to the Ol' Man and how far he's come in his lifetime, I've also uploaded a picture of the old mule plow he used to drive as a kid to plant tobacco every year so his family could pay for their Christmas. Spring break for him wasn't a vacay to Myrtle Beach. Those days were built into the school calendar to allow him to get his plowing/planting done without falling behind in his lessons. What did that spring break work buy him at Christmas? I asked that question...a new pair of shoes and a peppermint log.

I was also floored to learn the origin of the term "Yee-haw" when he told me that when driving a mule (or other plow animal) you yell "Gee" to tell the mule to turn right, "Haw" to tell it to turn left, and "Gee-Haw" to tell it to go straight. Turns out it's not just a term rhinestone studded country music stars yell out to try and sell albums. I wonder if Tay Tay knows that.

Will upload more photos as the project progresses.
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That’s great. I am not going to Mendelbaum you (Seinfeld episode). I am sure your dad is just as proud of you as you are of him. Don’t forget to tell him. Give him a hug, shake his hand whatever it is in your family to let him know. Tell him when you can. Some day you may not be able too.

I lost my dad in 2022 and I think what you are doing is awesome. I miss my dad a lot. Oddly enough I miss hearing ‘as long as you have my name you aren’t doing that’. I really miss him. I won’t forget our last words either.

Do your best and I am sure he will be very proud of you. (It may not be bad to consider how to document the greatest hits).

Have a great day.
 
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skeets

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BX 2360 /B2601
Oct 2, 2009
14,578
3,358
113
SW Pa
Enjoy every second you have with him, I sure do miss mine... oh and all the best with the new garden
 
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JimmyJazz

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B2601
Aug 8, 2020
1,221
739
113
Pittsburgh, Pa
If you are interested in pursuing some of the newer methods increasingly being used by urban farmers look up Neversink Farm on YouTube. Pretty amazing.
 

D2Cat

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Lifetime Member

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L305DT, B7100HST, TG1860, TG1860D, L4240
Mar 27, 2014
13,842
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40 miles south of Kansas City
I appreciate the story and am sure you mean well, but I was taught to "honor your father and your mother...". I wouldn't use the term you used, it has a negative connotation.

My suggestion would be to use a good recorder, and when visiting and asking question about his life, why and how come... have the recorder on. Might even ask him about things he remembers when he was young and how hat effected him. Priceless.
 
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Easton

New member

Equipment
Kubota L3400
Sep 24, 2024
9
14
3
Morristown, TN
That’s great. I am not going to Mendelbaum you (Seinfeld episode). I am sure your dad is just as proud of you as you are of him. Don’t forget to tell him. Give him a hug, shake his hand whatever it is in your family to let him know. Tell him when you can. Some day you may not be able too.

I lost my dad in 2022 and I think what you are doing is awesome. I miss my dad a lot. Oddly enough I miss hearing ‘as long as you have my name you aren’t doing that’. I really miss him. I won’t forget our last words either.

Do your best and I am sure he will be very proud of you. (It may not be bad to consider how to document the greatest hits).

Have a great day.
I absolutely will. Thank you for reading our story.
 
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Easton

New member

Equipment
Kubota L3400
Sep 24, 2024
9
14
3
Morristown, TN
If you are interested in pursuing some of the newer methods increasingly being used by urban farmers look up Neversink Farm on YouTube. Pretty amazing.
Thank you for the tip. I spent 5 years developing biotech for industrial scale agriculture but am learning real quick it's a whole different ball game when you poly crop. I'll definitely check it out.
 
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Easton

New member

Equipment
Kubota L3400
Sep 24, 2024
9
14
3
Morristown, TN
I appreciate the story and am sure you mean well, but I was taught to "honor your father and your mother...". I wouldn't use the term you used, it has a negative connotation.

My suggestion would be to use a good recorder, and when visiting and asking question about his life, why and how come... have the recorder on. Might even ask him about things he remembers when he was young and how hat effected him. Priceless.
Thank you for reading our story. Honor certainly comes in all shapes and sizes and colloquialisms carry different tones in different parts of the country. For me, it was definitely meant in a Zac Brown Band kinda way.

A recorder is a great idea. Cause with Pops it's not just the story itself, but the idioms he uses to tell them. The voice inflection makes all the difference and you can't jot that down in a notebook.
 
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