hmm. maybe ONE of my degrees won't go to waste.
so. i was catching up on my podcasts this past week and i listened to one about veganic farming, and it made me think about my future. i honestly can't think of anything (other than farming and baking) that i would want to do... SO! why not buy a plot of land and be a farmer. the organic veggie scene is really lacking in this part of the state. (much of it is up by princeton. you lucky ducks)
i ended up looking at patco's expansion project, and they have a few areas within 10 miles from philly that look like they'd be really good! ideally i'd like to stay along the proposed track line in case they put a stop nearish our land. i'd like people to be able to visit the farm if they don't have a car. BUT it'd also be nice to be near a highway exit so we'd get free advertising, and spur-of-the-moment visitors.
according to patco's "round 1 open house boards", there are a few sections of land that have a low population within 10 miles of philly (however one has high employment. so i suppose there's a factory down there?) so at least that's a start. and two of them are right along i-295 and the turnpike, one of which is right along 3 of the proposed alternatives, and the other is near the other 2 alternatives. here's a picture to show the spots (don't laugh, i had to use MS paint, cause we now have some sort of dual booting thing going on, and photoshop and all the other useful programs are on the other OS. (damn zune)
so. i'm going to try to get an apprenticeship or something on an existing organic farm to get a feel for farming and learn real-world tips. i just need to figure out how i'm going to get there. i might have to buy a motorcycle. the one farm which i think would be perfect might be close enough to the end of the patco line to be able to bring my bike aboard and bike from the end of the line, but if i'm going to be a farmer, do i REALLY want to have to bike in addition to farming? i think my heart might give out. i'll have to write up a cover letter and amend my resume. and maybe we'll go out to visit them sometime this week, or weekend. i think this kind of thing might be better done in person... possibly. unfortunately there aren't too many farms nearby. *nervous*
we only have 1 organic farm that sells at our farmer's market. it's really pretty lame. they never have enough stuff. and about now, they're selling popcorn. :-( we don't really go to the farmer's market all that often. we do however have an awesome peach guy. but peach season is a ways off.
so, i'll have the farm, and a vegan bakery, and a farmstand and a greenhouse! (dude, we'd need to get a grant for this! it would be so awesome though.) it'd be cool to be a co-op type of thing. i wonder how practical that'd be. hmmmm.
i ended up looking at patco's expansion project, and they have a few areas within 10 miles from philly that look like they'd be really good! ideally i'd like to stay along the proposed track line in case they put a stop nearish our land. i'd like people to be able to visit the farm if they don't have a car. BUT it'd also be nice to be near a highway exit so we'd get free advertising, and spur-of-the-moment visitors.
according to patco's "round 1 open house boards", there are a few sections of land that have a low population within 10 miles of philly (however one has high employment. so i suppose there's a factory down there?) so at least that's a start. and two of them are right along i-295 and the turnpike, one of which is right along 3 of the proposed alternatives, and the other is near the other 2 alternatives. here's a picture to show the spots (don't laugh, i had to use MS paint, cause we now have some sort of dual booting thing going on, and photoshop and all the other useful programs are on the other OS. (damn zune)
so. i'm going to try to get an apprenticeship or something on an existing organic farm to get a feel for farming and learn real-world tips. i just need to figure out how i'm going to get there. i might have to buy a motorcycle. the one farm which i think would be perfect might be close enough to the end of the patco line to be able to bring my bike aboard and bike from the end of the line, but if i'm going to be a farmer, do i REALLY want to have to bike in addition to farming? i think my heart might give out. i'll have to write up a cover letter and amend my resume. and maybe we'll go out to visit them sometime this week, or weekend. i think this kind of thing might be better done in person... possibly. unfortunately there aren't too many farms nearby. *nervous*
we only have 1 organic farm that sells at our farmer's market. it's really pretty lame. they never have enough stuff. and about now, they're selling popcorn. :-( we don't really go to the farmer's market all that often. we do however have an awesome peach guy. but peach season is a ways off.
so, i'll have the farm, and a vegan bakery, and a farmstand and a greenhouse! (dude, we'd need to get a grant for this! it would be so awesome though.) it'd be cool to be a co-op type of thing. i wonder how practical that'd be. hmmmm.