The less glamorous side of running a direct sales farm. Clean-up!
As the snow melts and the weather warms we are able to get into the sales area to do some work and cleaning to prepare for the season. The building we use as our storefront is not winterized, which means that after November it is too cold to do much work in there. We close everything in the fall and don’t do much with it until spring. So once it warms up we rush around like mad doing the improvements and repairs that we need to do before we open.
This year we are renovating the upper floor which houses the gallery space. We installed new stairs (thanks to Kim’s father who is a master carpenter!) and re-painted the entire space (thanks to Kim’s mother who is a huge help on the farm). Maintaining the old building is a big job, but necessary. It would be much less work to sell our produce at the Farmer’s Market only, but it would not be as much fun!
Next we have to to a major scrub down of the entire sales area. Although the produce sales will not begin for several months, we will have customers in a few weeks and we like to have to market area clean and welcoming. Wayne has collected numerous prairie antiques and customers are drawn into the market area to look at them. So if the display where we place produce is dirty, it will not encourage people to come back to purchase the lettuce latter!
We also are renovating the staff accommodation “bunk house” that we purchased last year. It needs new paint, new flooring and a new deck. The employees who will live in it arrive the beginning of May so we need to get moving on it.
Landscaping projects are next on the list. Cleaning up the walking trails, moving dead branches, cutting down overgrown areas. Kim is building a labyrinth at the beginning of the walking trail. It should be ready by June with any luck. We are also creating a rest area in the u-pick field. More ways for visitors to enjoy the farm and the valley.
It is never ending. We should replace the roof, we need a new shed, the road needs repair. We need more hours in our day to get it all done, and with that I should really get off the computer and get to work!
