A Farm Visit -- What is the value? - Page 2

easttx_hippie · August 22, 2013

Ted, have you tried smoking catfish?? While it's not smoked trout, it ain't bad....but still not worth trading the garden.

Or maybe you could try Tyler State Park. The lake there gets stocked with trout a couple of times a year. Catch your own trout and keep the garden.

August 22, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by easttx_hippie

Ted, have you tried smoking catfish?? While it's not smoked trout, it ain't bad....but still not worth trading the garden.

Or maybe you could try Tyler State Park. The lake there gets stocked with trout a couple of times a year. Catch your own trout and keep the garden.

I've never eaten smoked catfish and I have fished in Tyler state park. When the state stocks the small lakes with trout in the fall, it usually is intended for kids under sixteen years old. I've seen a few elderly folks fishing for the trout in those lakes. I'm old, but I'm not elderly yet. The state wants all those trout caught before spring arrives because they will die when the water starts warming. I actually prefer catching and cooking trout in the cold mountain streams of New Mexico and Colorado. I've never tried to smoke them though. Those pond trout taste totally different than trout from mountain streams.

Ted

easttx_hippie · August 23, 2013

Those pond trout taste totally different than trout from mountain streams.

I have to agree. I've eaten trout caught from a small lake/large pond in Angel Fire, New Mexico that couldn't compare to the trout I caught from a stream near Donner Pass in California. I've never tried smoking trout either......but I have eaten a lot of smoked catfish.

Barbee · August 23, 2013

We are not a small farm to most of you but I can totally relate to the visitor issue. This summer in particular has been much more out of control than in years past. I'm not sure why that is (maybe the weather?) but we sure have picked up on visitors this year. It's getting to be where 3-4 hours of every work day is taken up by visitors.

I wish I knew the solution. In years past, we would have company stop in on Sundays and that worked out pretty well. We could plan our work week around it so that everything we needed to get done would get done. Now its just non stop cars coming up the lane.

So frustrating!

Stowaway · August 23, 2013

I don't know why any farmer should feel obliged to give tours. It's not like you're making candles or churning butter in Colonial Williamsburg so people can gawk at the quaint way of life. If people are taking time out of your work day, charge them! If it's something you don't really like doing even if they're paying, gouge them!

Fred, I read your blog post. $50 for a workshop that includes lunch and $20 worth of produce is a bargain at twice the price. I mean that literally; you should be charging more.

Misfit · August 28, 2013

"I try to schedule volunteer work days about twice a year, so that I can get some help with planting and harvest, and so that people can tour the farm."

I think this is an excellent way of dealing with visitors.

I run a non profit mountain bike club, and we encourage everyone (volunteers) to come out to our build/maintenance workdays. The novices and weekend warriors appreciate, and usually learn the most.

Many hands, makes for light work.

Jimmy

August 23, 2013	#19
Barbee Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: SW Ohio Posts: 1,818	We are not a small farm to most of you but I can totally relate to the visitor issue. This summer in particular has been much more out of control than in years past. I'm not sure why that is (maybe the weather?) but we sure have picked up on visitors this year. It's getting to be where 3-4 hours of every work day is taken up by visitors. I wish I knew the solution. In years past, we would have company stop in on Sundays and that worked out pretty well. We could plan our work week around it so that everything we needed to get done would get done. Now its just non stop cars coming up the lane. So frustrating! __________________ *Barbee*

August 22, 2013	#16
easttx_hippie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Piney Wood Hills Posts: 423	Ted, have you tried smoking catfish?? While it's not smoked trout, it ain't bad....but still not worth trading the garden. Or maybe you could try Tyler State Park. The lake there gets stocked with trout a couple of times a year. Catch your own trout and keep the garden.

August 23, 2013	#20
Stowaway Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Somerville, MA Posts: 32	I don't know why any farmer should feel obliged to give tours. It's not like you're making candles or churning butter in Colonial Williamsburg so people can gawk at the quaint way of life. If people are taking time out of your work day, charge them! If it's something you don't really like doing even if they're paying, gouge them! Fred, I read your blog post. $50 for a workshop that includes lunch and $20 worth of produce is a bargain at twice the price. I mean that literally; you should be charging more.

August 28, 2013	#21
Misfit Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Baltimore Posts: 165	"I try to schedule volunteer work days about twice a year, so that I can get some help with planting and harvest, and so that people can tour the farm." I think this is an excellent way of dealing with visitors. I run a non profit mountain bike club, and we encourage everyone (volunteers) to come out to our build/maintenance workdays. The novices and weekend warriors appreciate, and usually learn the most. Many hands, makes for light work. Jimmy