Open Farm Day: I must be crazy :)

This year, for the first time I started the farm, I am having a open to public farm day on April 19th,  2015.  Am I anxious? Yes. Am I excited? Yes.  Am I scared? Yes. Am I loving having the day? Yes.  Talk about mixed emotions.  When I bought the farm, it was a jungle, nothing like what it is today.  I went my own route, approaching it like a major project with project timelines, tasks, resources, etc. - old habits dies hard.  I spent several months thinking about it and planning starting with what my vision was, what my goals were and what outcomes I would like.  Some thought I was crazy to leave a high-flying corporate lifestyle to become a farmer.  Some thought I was weird to have a farm concept different from everyone else.  Some thought I was wasting my education and talents.

Having this Open Farm Day where it is open to the public and having people who I have never met as well as some that I know come over to see what I have done is nerve-wrecking but I love challenges. I will get to hear what people think of what I have done.  I am sure that I will get comments of what I should have done and I always leave an open mind when I hear this kind of comments as I never know when I might hear something that would work wonderfully at the farm.  At the same time, I get to hear other people's perspectives and learn.  The farm is a continuous work in progress as I strive to improve the quality of the produce whilst trying to improve efficiency in having an organic environment.

What is planned is a sharing of what I have done and how I have done it, from fertilising to end produce; from balancing nature to getting the desired outcome; preserving our botanical heritage.  In essence, people get to see what I have done, me, a person with no agriculture or aquaculture knowledge prior to having the farm and with an idea of my own of how I want to do it.  To me, it is all about the journey of love and passion and mistakes have been made but I love the challenge of learning from it and doing better.  I am still a long way off to what I want to achieve but each day brings new experience and more practical knowledge.

Throughout my journey, I have met and talked with may people who are knowledgeable in specific areas but not one who is doing what I am doing.  The farm is all about me, from what plants and trees were selected to be planted to the sectioning of the area, to the design and how the farmhouse was built.  My challenge is there is never enough time to do all the things that I want done but I give it the best that I can.  So is it perfect?  Of course not :) I have always been a maverick and I guess, it is in my nature.  I am really looking forward to this day as it will be a test for me.  Still, I hope all my guests have a great time and we all share our experiences.