Introduction
Let me give you an extensive list of what I know about farming……………… It’s hard!!! That’s it, that is everything I know so far. We don’t even do this for a living, we just want to grow and raise enough to get by and we haven’t been able to do that yet. We own 40 acres, almost half wooded and the rest pasture. Our house sets on about one and a half acres along with a shop, a chicken coop, four rabbit hutches, and various other items. There are big plans in process, but they require time and financing which we haven’t had a lot of. Either way, I know this seems like a grumpy way of introducing IBK farms to the public, but it really isn’t. My family and I are extremely blessed to be here and I’m sure by the time it is over you will agree.
Introducing IBK Farms – The Garden
Along with the stuff we have in our yard we also have a 40’ X 60’ garden spot. We’ve been here for just over three years now and we’ve attempted a garden every year. Yes, I said attempted, that is the only description I can give it. Every year we get super excited to plant our garden, by the time it is tilled and planted we are over it. I hold on to that excitement for the entire season, but I’m one dude. Getting the kids to go out and weed is a fight so now we usually reserve it for punishment at this point. My wife gets out there as much as she can, but let’s be honest nobody likes to weed the garden.
Weeds are not the only issue we have with the garden. It seems that every year we face a different challenge that causes us trouble. This year was a horrible drought year. We didn’t get any rain from June until September. Yes, I do have a well-house that is right next to the garden so watering isn’t an issue. However, we are dumb and haven’t figured out yet when is the best time to water. Some of our plants really liked our watering habits, while others didn’t. They were right next to each other, so you get the picture. Lesson learned………. Garden layout is extremely important. We have learned good lessons every year, so I take the learning as a silver lining. We do also get some farm fresh vegetables out of it, which I am grateful for everything we get. It truly is a blessing.
Family Introduction
Now that you’ve heard me whining about how hard it is, maybe I should introduce myself. My name is Nathaniel Karr, I have a beautiful wife of 14 years (18 altogether), Heather, and six beautiful kids. Makayla is 21 years old and hasn’t lived on this farm, obviously, she is from a previous relationship. Emily is 17 and of course has her own priorities, jobs, friends, etc. Michael is 13, he is the one boy in the group. She doesn’t like to do anything that wasn’t her idea. Bella is 9 she gets in trouble a lot, but she is the hardest worker of them all when she is directed. Haylee is the baby at 7, she doesn’t like to work but she will do what she is told without much fuss. You will hear much more about them as we go along.
Introducing IBK Farms – The Animals
Since it is a farm (kind of), I’d be remised not to mention the animals we have. I’m sure I will talk more about how we got all of them later, so stay tuned. We have 14 chickens, 4 different breeds, one of them being a rooster. This summer we bought 100 meat chickens and raised them. We still have most of them, but in a different capacity now. Along with chickens we have eight ducks and nine turkeys. We have three rabbits, two dogs, two horses, and six cats. I am also working on becoming a beekeeper, I have four hives that I am hoping to get through the winter. This is my second attempt at getting hives through the winter, so fingers crossed it happens this year. I’ve prepared, but ultimately it is up to the bees. That sums up the animals, for now.
Introducing IBK Farms – The Beginning
At this point, you may be wondering how I ended up with a farm if I didn’t know anything about farming. That is a long story, but the short version is it was destiny. When we bought it from my grandma in September of 2019, I became the third-generation owner. It has been in the family for almost 85 years, so we were thrilled when we got the opportunity. Since I was a kid, I knew that this is where I belonged. It is the one place in the world where I can find utter peace, no matter what is going on in my life. I am a firm believer that everyone needs a place like this, and I hope they find theirs.
Introducing IBK Farms – The Plans
As I had mentioned we have plans and a vision of what we want this to become. The main goal is to become self-sufficient before retirement. An orchard with a variety of fruit trees is in the works. We’ve been planting a few trees a year so that we can step into it rather than going all out and getting overwhelmed. We really need a greenhouse so that we can get our plants started and growing early. This would also give us the opportunity to not rush to get them in the ground before they spoiled. We need to build a barn for the horses. I would love to build a new shop that serves my needs more. The current shop has a history so I’m not so quick to tear it down and start over. My grandpa built it and it was perfect for his purposes.
I would also love to develop the land to not only serve our livestock but also attract wildlife. Hunting is an excellent way to provide for the family, and many times provides a different source of meat. There are so many projects that we’ve discussed, and as we are getting to them I will be happy to talk about them.
And in Closing
Now that you have a little bit of the background, I hope you come along on our journey of discovery. This will not be an educational site or blog, but hopefully entertaining. If you learn something along the way, great. If you can teach me something, even better. I am always open to conversations with people who know more about things than I do. I’m the first to admit that I know nothing about anything, but I can and want to learn as much as possible.