Author: Nuttygrass

I'm a nut and grass farmer, EMT, Firefighter, and world traveler. I love a good laugh and a great adventure!

Whew…What a Whirwind!

Sorry I’ve been MIA for awhile….below are all my awesome reasons why…

First there was some big event…that had a lot of prep work!

2013-06-20_14-34-58_327 2013-06-20_16-02-44_148 2013-06-20_16-24-50_368 2013-06-20_16-31-28_522After lots of help from friends and family….We tied the knot!!!

999019_10151508095902749_395686288_n 1044513_10151508114292749_1277856068_n 1045212_10151508096227749_29426901_nAfter that…we abandoned the farm for a more humid climate…Hello Costa Rica!

DSC02357 DSC02387 DSC02465Then returned only to find that in fact, crops do not wait for anyone!  The crimson had been swathed while we were gone and now it is time to combine!

2013-07-03_13-29-14_177 2013-07-03_16-50-26_910Meanwhile the 4th of July hits, and with this our small little town is transformed into a mecca of rodeo craziness! Welcome St. Paul Rodeo Fans!

2013-07-02_21-26-27_964And of course we had to go in the parade with the hot rod! Where we won first place! 2013-07-04_08-43-07_143  2013-07-04_10-28-45_823There you have it folks, all my great, fun, awesome reasons for not having time to blog the last couple of weeks!  So happy 4th of July, I hope it was a great day of Independence for everyone and enjoy a wonderful weekend!

Signing off now as Mrs. Brenda Frketich (And don’t ask me how to say my new last name, I’m still practicing how to say it myself!)

ps…Thank you Murray Photography for the amazing wedding photos!!!

Farmer/Wedding Planner

As most of you who have been following my blog for awhile know, I was engaged to the man of my dreams last year.  And since then we have been planning a wedding.  And as the saying goes, smaller the town…bigger the wedding!  So our intimate gathering of over 500 people will be this Saturday…I can hardly believe it!

I have to admit it hasn’t been easy having my dad take a step back in management, challenging me to step up in my career while at the same time knowing that the wedding day was going to come much faster than I realized.  So I took it one day at a time, asked my dad to be patient when I couldn’t work on a Saturday because I had appointments to try on wedding dresses, get my hair trial done, makeup trial done, pick up the wedding dress…the list goes on and on for prep work! And now we are finally here…six days away!  But where dad took a step back from management, he very quickly took on a large role with my mom of making sure the farm was just right for the big day.  And it is looking incredible thanks to all of their very hard work!!!

It’s been interesting keeping the farm running smooth while planning for one day of our lives…one big day…but still ONE DAY!  My brain has been scattered with details of irrigation timing mixed with linen choices, and dealing with a broken down tractor while at the same time on the phone with our caterer, or wiping grease off my hands on my way to pick up my wedding dress…let’s just say that I’m glad this juxtapose of life only happens once! And I’m glad I have some great workers by my side to keep me straightened out most of the time!

So all that being said, things are going to continue to be a bit wild over at Kirsch Family Farms World Headquarters for a few more days.  And if you call to ask me about wheat, I may think it’s for our center pieces, not for loading on a barge.  Or if you ask about how the rust is looking (fungus that grows in our fields) I may just assume that you’re talking about our rustic country theme.  Bear with us…the big day is just about here and it’s going to be incredible!

Peas…From our Field to your Freezer

We grew peas for the first time this year.  They are for a company that will take them from our field, clean them, freeze them and then they will end up in grocery stores for you to buy!  Here are some pictures from harvest just yesterday.

2013-06-13_11-47-54_368I’ve always tried to be honest about good and bad times on our farm.  And this time our yields weren’t quite up to snuff you could say.  We had a lot of pea pods that look like the picture below.  It hurt our yield, but I learned a lot, and I know next year will be better!

2013-06-13_11-48-36_524You can see that some of the peas aren’t sized up.  Each one of those small peas is lost income for this crop.2013-06-13_11-49-06_510The picture above is all the trash left behind by the combines (harvester), lot of vines and pods.

2013-06-13_12-04-13_63

2013-06-13_11-51-21_6032013-06-13_12-00-50_0The vines go in the combine and go through a large roller that opens the pods and separates the peas from the trash.  Then the peas are put into this tank.

2013-06-13_12-01-48_407Next they are transferred into a wagon, then into a truck, and finally the to the plant where they will be processed for your freezer!