2022. A Year for Growth.

Here we are again, another year older. 2018 was the first growing season for my little adventure called Mule Barn Farms. Some years have been better than others as we have grown, shrunk, and now have grown again.

You may be asking what is all this growth and change stuff? 2022 changes many aspects of our operation, but it is all based around one key subject: a Mrs. Britt Livingston. I'm sure nearly everyone that is reading this already knows with the help of social media, but in case you don't, I got a permanent roommate (and an extra helper) last November. One could argue that in itself is a big change, and that could be a whole blog post in itself!

Let's get down to the growth of the operation and what 2022 may have in store for us.

Grass to Garden

First, Britt was a strong advocate for expanding the garden space at our house. Who wouldn't be? More for us to eat and more to market. And who wouldn't want less yard to mow? This new area of garden was actually in the works late last fall, which is the best advice I have to give anyone that wants to start or expand a garden. I marked out the area I wanted to utilize for this growing season and planted an annual winter cover crop that would aid in the transition of grass to garden. I had originally planned to use my grad school experience to copy the way I planted directly into the ground after a cover crop using a cordless drill. After researching and admiring other gardens, I decided to purchase better soil (topsoil/compost mixture) and create borderless raised beds. These beds would be a better home for the plants I hoped to grow than the hard Missouri ground they rested on. So after 2 cubic yards of soil, we created four beds and lined one side of our fence with hopes of increasing our production.

According to Britt, that space would not be complete without one thing: an arch (that I have to duck under every time I walk in). So what did we do? We used a cattle panel to create an arched entryway so that our vining crops could grow up and over. To discourage our biggest garden pest, our dogs, to stay out of the crops, we then used cattle panels to fence off the new garden addition. But wait, there's more. After making the arch, new beds, and new fence, something still seemed to be missing. Lights. We agreed to "invest" in some outdoor lights that line our patio and the length of the cattle panel fence creating some cozy light for us to sit under on peaceful summer nights.

But does it stop there? No, of course not. We enjoyed everything we worked towards, but something else was missing. When it rained, I'd be covered in mud just from walking and working in the pathways between beds. We put our heads together and quickly came up with a decision to go all out this year and purchase mulch for the entire garden. After 7 or 8 cubic yards of mulch, we finally had a solution to our mud problem. Our pathways were neater and cleaner and we both were happier with the appearance.

An Added Lineup.

We covered the physical changes we went through to improve our growing space for this season. Next, let's cover what we are working towards offering in the hopefully near future. With the addition of Britt, she definitely excels in one particular area I lack: cooking. More specifically in this case, baking. Breads of all kinds are constantly being created in our home along with cookies, muffins, homemade pop tarts, scones, and nearly anything under the sun that involves flour. That being said, we (specifically Britt) are looking into ways to market and sell some of her tasty treats. And trust me, they are tasty. So let us know if there is a certain baked good that you would love to see us take a shot at making, and we just may try it out.

The BIG Change.

I guess it's customary to save the biggest news for last. With our new staff addition to the farm, it was an easy decision to put her straight into the highest position we have. This is a formal introduction and announcement that Britt Livingston will now be the new Owner/Operator, CEO, President, Managing Director, Chairperson, and any other fancy business title your mind can craft. As for me, farmhand fits well enough. As discussions turned into goals, and goals turned into plans, its safe to say that we both have similar goals and dreams for where we would like to go. We may even try to convince her to create a few blogs of her own sharing her thoughts, recipes, or tips that she has learned in the kitchen.

We are nearly halfway through with 2022 and for us, it seems like we packed in our fair share of (good) change already. This summer and fall has the potential to become very exciting for us, so we both invite you to stay tuned and keep up to date with all that we have in store.