From the Farmer

The family, including our dog Bailey. Photo by Heather Welch.

I grew up all over thanks to my father’s air force career. But wherever we were my mom always had some sort of garden.

One of my earliest memories was chasing rabbits out of one of my mom’s vegetable garden and she stepped out the back door and shot a running rabbit with a pellet gun at about 25 yards. The animal dropped mid jump.

Growing things is in my blood. My granddaddy had a farm in central Georgia. My other set of grandparents have had a jungle of a garden for as long as I can remember (and some of the best blueberries).

My grandaddy

There are generations of growers in my family. I also have generations of military service in my family. I am talking back to the Revolutionary War. (I feel like LT Dan in Forrest Gump when he describes his family).

I always wanted to be in the military, and I was. My time as a Navy corpsman was fantastic. I had it a lot easier than most but still experienced some very hard times. But I loved every minute of it. 

Coming back home after deployment in Iraq. Photo by Michael Smith. 

I did have troubles adjusting to civilian life and still do – just like a lot of my generation. I floated from job to job since I have been officially out and finished with college since 2010. I was searching for something more. Something to give me meaning. Something bigger than me. Something to be proud of. I have found that in this farm! It’s bigger than me. The farm is something I am proud to call mine. It’s a pride I have not felt since I put on a uniform. I love taking a head of lettuce or a bag of tomatoes and cucumbers to someone and their eyes light up with joy over something I did, I made. It’s how I want my daughters to grow up, giving to others. I want to feed the world with fresh, clean food. (Well maybe I’ll start with my family).

Luckily the farm already has some fruit trees and bushes. Photo by Heather Welch. 

PS- I want to give a shout out to the East Tennessee RC&D and the UT Extension for the support and the wonderful beginner farming class I took. If you are a farmer or thinking about farming take this class.

Picking blueberries. Photo by Heather Welch.