And so it begins....

If someone told you they were going to take a flying leap off a bridge and they were somewhat sure the backpack they were wearing had a parachute in it, (or was it stinky laundry?) you'd wanna watch, if it didn't cost you anything, wouldn't you? Of course you would. Cause you're sick. I'm here, in part, to fulfill that need for you.

So here's the situation: Kristie (my wife) and I have moved from Austin, TX, to Pittsburgh, PA. We'll be buying a house in the O'Hara area of Pittsburgh (north central) soon. Mom has purchased and moved into a 68-acre plot of land near Kittanning, PA (about an hour north of central Pittsburgh). The property spans a valley (thus the name Serenity Valley Farm) and is approx. 75% wooded and 25% fenced pasture; the pastured area used to have a few horses on it but has not been used for agricultural purposes, to my knowledge, in the past. The majority of crops north of Pittsburgh are, like the rest of the country, seemingly focused on corn and soybean production. If the trucks carrying the produce from Mexico and California stop rolling in, I'm not too excited about the prospect of trying to eat tofu and corn fritters for the rest of my life.

Solution? Grow it my damn self.

And so, Serenity Valley Farm is born. Here are our major goals:

1. Convert 68-acre plot of land into a self-sustaining farming operation that supplies consumers of organically grown vegetables and farm products primarily between Kittanning, PA and Pittsburgh, PA.

2. Chronicle the learning process here on this blog so that it might serve as a resource to other beginning growers in the region. This means you're gonna hear me talk about 'Tips-N-Tricks' and 'Uber-Fails' as I discover numerous wrong ways to do things, hopefully those 'wrong-ways' will not involve catastrophic physical injury (my main goal is to go the first year without a rollover on the tractor).

3. Become active in improving the 'food chains' of Western Pennsylvania. This region's dependence on produce from outside the local 'food shed' is staggering.

We're entering the 'pre-growing' season here so it's a busy time, I'm breaking ground, on hill sides, that has been pastured land for at least a decade, with a 29HP tractor and a rear-tine tiller. This is the near equivalent to you going outside to cut your lawn, for the first time in 4 months, with a pair of scissors. So, I'll try and update as much as possible, but I'm gonna be busy and sore. But like mah bumper sticker in high school said: "You gotta be tough if you're going to be stupid."