Like many of us, when 2020 hit, our world shifted dramatically. Being at home with our children made me realize how much I truly wanted to spend more time with them. I’ve always had a desire to grow our own food, nourish my family, and embrace the role of a homemaker, but these unprecedented events sparked something deeper within me. There was a shift in my life and mindset.
I had been slowly moving in this direction for some time. As someone who constantly seeks to learn and grow, I find it difficult to remain still. I need to always be trying something new. I taught myself to sew and turned that skill into a business, even creating most of my youngest son’s wardrobe. With this shift, I knew I needed to embrace being a homemaker. With five kids, I already had cooking, cleaning, and sewing under my belt. The next things I wanted to learn were canning, preservation, and gardening. Now, I am a homeschool mom, soon-to-be grandmother, who has pigs, chickens, a farm stand, and a thriving garden.
We started with a small garden in 2022 with only a couple of raised beds. In 2023, we expanded by adding a couple more raised beds. This year, we have 14 raised beds. This was my first year with the Build It Up program. Having the support, education, and like-minded people has truly been a blessing. My favorite to grow would be hard to say. I grow a lot of peppers and tomatoes. I love canning candied peppers. However, this year has been particularly challenging. We had so much rain during planting time, followed by weeks of no rain and unbearable heat. We lost a whole bed of tomatoes, possibly due to bad soil. Then, our chickens got into the garden and ate an entire bed of sweet peppers.
Despite these setbacks, we continue to push forward, learning and growing through each obstacle. Seems like with the heat everything was hard and a fight. Battling squash bugs on cucumbers and hornworms on tomatoes. Despite all these challenges, it has been amazing and fun to watch this garden grow and become a great blessing.
~Ashley Callahan
