E Sheep Farms
Location: Quincy, CA
Farmers: Kathy Tedford
Contact: http://www.facebook.com/pages/E-Sheep-Farms/217168318346293
Crops Grown for High Altitude: Sweet Corn, Dry Beans, Winter Squash
E Sheep Farms is an enthusiastic beginning grower for High Altitude Harvest. Thanks to farmer Kathy Tedford for this fantastic bio. Read on to learn about Kathy's roots on the farm, and how E Sheep got its name.
Hi everyone. Wow! What an opportunity. I used to believe I was born in the wrong century, but I have come to believe I am right where I need to be. Being able to participate in the High Altitude CSA is an honor. This is an interesting time for all of us, seeing the community starting to pull together and supporting each other in a sustainable way of life. It has not always been this way for me.
I grew up on 1.9 acres in a little town called Palo Cedro, a few miles East of Redding CA. We had horses, steers, chickens, turkeys, pigs and rabbits. About one acre of our property was all planted in row crops for the farmers market and our freezer. We also cultivated our neighbor's back acre. I showed at the local fair, horse shows and the Cow Palace with my livestock. I have always had the need to be close to the Earth. Growing up in the Redding area, my parents always had a garden. The farmers market, the fair, canning fruits & veggies and raising our own meat was a way of life. Some of my fondest childhood memories were making jellies and pies in the kitchen with my mom or crawling in the field behind my dad while he was tilling, picking big rocks and weeds out of the planting area.
We used conventional methods of home farming, we sprayed chemicals, used fertilizers and planted hybrids. Antibiotics were a necessary food additive for all of our animals. It kept them healthy, right? Organic was not even a word that was used when I was a kid.
As a teenager I grumbled at the work, the early hours, the hot of the day, but as an adult, out on my own for the first time, I longed for the dirt. Needless to say, I went back to parents’ house every weekend to carrying on the gardening tradition and get my dirt "fix.”
Living in the Redding area gardening was optimal. Rich loamy soils, and a really long growing season, at least 120 days. About 7 years ago I got a job and relocated to Quincy with my fiancé (at the time). What a culture shock. We had this little tiny house and a little tiny yard that only had sun for a couple hours a day. I tried and tried to get stuff to grow. Sometimes I would get lucky and successfully grow some herbs. Most of the time it felt like everything that I ever knew about gardening was not working. I forgot how to grow food? I kept trying. I read, paid attention to the weather (daily), asked a lot of questions and looked at what other people were growing and when they planted. In Redding there are two seasons; Hot and Cold. Plumas County has all 4 seasons...and weather. Quincy is where I learned what organic was. I also learned that organic does not mean small, tasteless & boring. I also learned that it is the soil that can make or break a garden.
I spend a lot of time reading and researching new heirloom veggies and herbs, trying new seeds and techniques, seeing what works and what does not. Sometimes crops are disappointing, but it is all a learning experience. It is important to keep trying and realize there is no end to the lessons you learn. Our community depends on our efforts. My husband thinks I am addicted to seeds... he is right.
As fate would have it, we became the proud owners of nearly a half acre on Fairgrounds Road. So, me being me, I began to dig in the dirt. In between plantings, I, with a few of our friends, helped my husband build a screenprint shop in our garage. The shop began to thrive and so did my garden. I adopted a White Dorper ewe that was pregnant and due anytime; she was to help me mow my weeds. She was known as grumpy granny at the time. I didn't think she looked like a granny and our roommate named her Emily. We also have a Pomeranian named Elvis. With the addition of Emily, E Sheep Farms was born (my sister's idea). I began to look for an outlet for the lambs that would be born and the vegetables I would grown in abundance. I received an email from my husband about the High Altitude CSA and I knew I wanted to be a part of that program and this community.
My philosophy is keep it simple, keep it local and keep it clean. I don't know if it is my Native American roots, but I believe that if we care for the Earth, she will continue to care for her children. I am a firm believer in relocalization and it gives me a great satisfaction to know that I am able to push my fingers into the soil and bring something up that will nourish my family, my friends and my community.
By Kathy Tedford of E Sheep Farm
Farmers: Kathy Tedford
Contact: http://www.facebook.com/pages/E-Sheep-Farms/217168318346293
Crops Grown for High Altitude: Sweet Corn, Dry Beans, Winter Squash
E Sheep Farms is an enthusiastic beginning grower for High Altitude Harvest. Thanks to farmer Kathy Tedford for this fantastic bio. Read on to learn about Kathy's roots on the farm, and how E Sheep got its name.
Hi everyone. Wow! What an opportunity. I used to believe I was born in the wrong century, but I have come to believe I am right where I need to be. Being able to participate in the High Altitude CSA is an honor. This is an interesting time for all of us, seeing the community starting to pull together and supporting each other in a sustainable way of life. It has not always been this way for me.
I grew up on 1.9 acres in a little town called Palo Cedro, a few miles East of Redding CA. We had horses, steers, chickens, turkeys, pigs and rabbits. About one acre of our property was all planted in row crops for the farmers market and our freezer. We also cultivated our neighbor's back acre. I showed at the local fair, horse shows and the Cow Palace with my livestock. I have always had the need to be close to the Earth. Growing up in the Redding area, my parents always had a garden. The farmers market, the fair, canning fruits & veggies and raising our own meat was a way of life. Some of my fondest childhood memories were making jellies and pies in the kitchen with my mom or crawling in the field behind my dad while he was tilling, picking big rocks and weeds out of the planting area.
We used conventional methods of home farming, we sprayed chemicals, used fertilizers and planted hybrids. Antibiotics were a necessary food additive for all of our animals. It kept them healthy, right? Organic was not even a word that was used when I was a kid.
As a teenager I grumbled at the work, the early hours, the hot of the day, but as an adult, out on my own for the first time, I longed for the dirt. Needless to say, I went back to parents’ house every weekend to carrying on the gardening tradition and get my dirt "fix.”
Living in the Redding area gardening was optimal. Rich loamy soils, and a really long growing season, at least 120 days. About 7 years ago I got a job and relocated to Quincy with my fiancé (at the time). What a culture shock. We had this little tiny house and a little tiny yard that only had sun for a couple hours a day. I tried and tried to get stuff to grow. Sometimes I would get lucky and successfully grow some herbs. Most of the time it felt like everything that I ever knew about gardening was not working. I forgot how to grow food? I kept trying. I read, paid attention to the weather (daily), asked a lot of questions and looked at what other people were growing and when they planted. In Redding there are two seasons; Hot and Cold. Plumas County has all 4 seasons...and weather. Quincy is where I learned what organic was. I also learned that organic does not mean small, tasteless & boring. I also learned that it is the soil that can make or break a garden.
I spend a lot of time reading and researching new heirloom veggies and herbs, trying new seeds and techniques, seeing what works and what does not. Sometimes crops are disappointing, but it is all a learning experience. It is important to keep trying and realize there is no end to the lessons you learn. Our community depends on our efforts. My husband thinks I am addicted to seeds... he is right.
As fate would have it, we became the proud owners of nearly a half acre on Fairgrounds Road. So, me being me, I began to dig in the dirt. In between plantings, I, with a few of our friends, helped my husband build a screenprint shop in our garage. The shop began to thrive and so did my garden. I adopted a White Dorper ewe that was pregnant and due anytime; she was to help me mow my weeds. She was known as grumpy granny at the time. I didn't think she looked like a granny and our roommate named her Emily. We also have a Pomeranian named Elvis. With the addition of Emily, E Sheep Farms was born (my sister's idea). I began to look for an outlet for the lambs that would be born and the vegetables I would grown in abundance. I received an email from my husband about the High Altitude CSA and I knew I wanted to be a part of that program and this community.
My philosophy is keep it simple, keep it local and keep it clean. I don't know if it is my Native American roots, but I believe that if we care for the Earth, she will continue to care for her children. I am a firm believer in relocalization and it gives me a great satisfaction to know that I am able to push my fingers into the soil and bring something up that will nourish my family, my friends and my community.
By Kathy Tedford of E Sheep Farm
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