We searched high and low for the right kind of land. We settled on this one, but the only drawback was the sogginess of the soil. But, after looking it over, I felt we could drain it. A creek ran along the southern side of the property some two hundred yards from the edge. Another drainage ditch was on the northern side and with these close enough, I felt we had found the soil we wanted and needed for the perfect organic farm.
The reason for this search was because land never used is much easier to bring into full production and can be done much faster than with soil that is worn out. It only takes around four years to bring new ground into the realm of good soil, whereas, it takes around eleven years to bring back the depleted soil.
When working a full time job, it takes longer to bring the soil around to the point of production we wanted. I found a chicken house that had litter for sale. If I loaded this by hand, it cost only two dollars a load, but had a huge amount of sawdust in the mix.
Using a tiller, we made the first garden on the land. When it began to flood, I used that tiller to ditch the ends of the rows. This gave the plants good drainage and we made some good watermelons as well as tomatoes.
The road we live on is located some two miles and six inches from the Interstate. Okay, if one wishes to argue this point, it may be two miles and eight inches. The reason I mention this is because I had to haul the watermelons out to a station there and put out on consignment. After this season, no more consignment was ever called for because folks came from all over for the veggies and melons we produced on the land.
When a local store ran out of cotton seed meal, I went to the co op in Hattiesburg and ran into dealer that wanted okra. I agreed to sell, but had to get the soil ready for the crop the following year.
Burning the ground early in the morning made it easier to till and helped get rid of unwanted weeds and grasses. That particular area was one hundred fifty feet square. It took me seventy two hours to till that soil down the full depth I wanted.
This was a front end tiller and when I began to plant, I did every other row, skipping the rows to give us room to gather the okra. Using the saw dust and chicken litter, I made a good crop of okra that year. I put the seed down in the furrows made when tillering the soil and after covering it, I put the chicken litter on top to let the rains do their job of washing down the fertilizer to the seed.
Even with rubber gloves, Anna's hand was blistered and I had the chore of picking the okra, but I didn't mind.
We took thirteen bushels of okra to the dealer and he gave me a total of three dollars and fifty cents after he went through those thirteen bushels. All he wanted was baby okra, three inches or less. One can say for certain that he never got another pod of my okra unless he purchased same in the groceries we sold to that year.
A wiser head than mine told me I needed lime on this soil for optimum growth patterns. So, I went to the local co op and asked if they could spread some for me. With the price being too high, I purchased the lime in Hattiesburg and spread it by hand. It was so heavy I could only take a half bucket at a time.
Spreading and trying to remember where the last hand full had gone, I finally got the land limed the way I thought it should be. This is a task that is difficult for those that can see good, but I am legally blind and this made it all the more so. For me.
Our little five acre farm was going good and beginning to grow those things we needed for survival until along came Camille. This hurricane destroyed the entire farm, even the trailer we had lived in for those first years.
Many weird things happened on that fateful day. The trailer was so badly damaged that it seemed at least five pieces of dynamite was placed under it. The barn was gone along with the pump house and the addition I had built onto the trailer.
So, the problem left was to begin again or tuck my tail between my legs and run like it was on fire. Out of the destruction of the trailer came a fine brick home.
