Hilling potatoes gives me time to think. One of my most persistent thoughts is “What am I doing out here?” These hand tended spuds would be about the same price per pound as the best wine these adjacent lands have ever produced if I counted my labor. Ridiculous. An artist/engineer/mule enthusiast/ libertarian blogger should never be a farmer and even less so a businessman.
I am learning a hard lesson. I probably do not have the discipline or good sense to be a successful farmer. A complete character change would probably be necessary. I would need to fall in love with paperwork, telling other people what to do, schmoozing and filing. The thought of it makes me comatose.
I don’t want a tractor, but I keep looking at the craigslist ads for tractors. I like doing the work out in the potato patch, but it is the kind of work a farmer usually gets someone else to do so he can do the higher level activities like planning, marketing, selling and paying the bills.
I spoke to an organic farmer some time ago when I was thinking about planting an acre of potatoes and he told me the best thing I have going in the endeavor is the fact that I have a 9 to 5 job. He was pretty beat down; nice to me, but certainly not offering much encouragement as he related the reality of his situation.
I keep thinking the better way would reveal itself once the economy really crunches, but that is almost as dismal as the idea of sitting in my office doing all the things a successful farmer would be doing. Of course, this is embryonic. I recognize the phase from my other past passions, like painting and epic recumbent bike trips. I am still learning and digesting. I have a long way to go in sorting this entire thing out.
But the best part is just being out there in the dirt, looking for the next thing to do: set a gopher trap, move the water lines or get over to that neglected area to get those taller ones hilled. Later, I look at what I did and the crop looks better. So much so that I might even get some more potatoes.
I am thinking or rather ruminating that keeping it small, simple and stupid might not be so bad – so long as I keep my day job.
