For Families Who Love the Land

WEBextra  Florida Diary

WEBextra February/March 2008

Welcome back to the “Winter Strawberry Capital of the World”—Plant City, Florida! It has been 20 years since I kept a diary for Farm & Ranch Living and a lot has changed. There were 18 family members back then, and Gary and I had no children. We have added 4 children to the mix and the rest of the family has added 9 more in spouses and offspring. We now sit at 33 with 2 more on the way!

Roy and Helen Parke, my father-in-law and mother-in-law, began Parkesdale Farms in 1957 on 5 acres of land. Now it’s grown to more than 100 acres of strawberries in the winter and cucumbers in the spring/summer and many different entities. The farm celebrated 50 years this year, and the whole family rode a float in the Strawberry Festival Parade in March. Dad and Mom are now enjoying a much deserved retirement, although Mom still helps at the greenhouse every once in a while. Dad and Mom have 5 children and here is a rundown of them and their families (second, third and fourth generations).

Cheryl Meeks is the eldest of the children. She and her husband, Jim, own and operate Parkesdale Farm Market. It is a retail market with all kinds of vegetables, plants and all things strawberry. The market is the largest farm operated market in all of Florida. Cheryl and Jim have one son, Jimmy. Jimmy and his wife Xiomara (Xi for short) have just recently taken the reins of operating the market. They have one daughter, Zoe, and are expecting another child in May. Jim and Cheryl are still involved in the market so that the transition from 2nd to 3rd generation is a smooth one.

Next is daughter Sandee Sytsma. She and her husband, Hank, own an internet commerce business. Sandee is also on the Florida Strawberry Festival Board of Directors. Hank is an elder at our church, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, and he teaches the high school boys Wednesday night class. He and Sandee also co-teach an adult Sunday School class.

Bobby is the eldest son. He and his wife, Peggy, own and operate Parkesdale Farms and Parkesdale Packing & Cooling. They have 3 children: Erin, Kristen and Matt. Erin is married to David McQuaig and they have two sons, Patrick and Connor. Erin is an administration assistant for an engineering company, and David is E6 in the army. They will be transferred in the next month. Kristen is married to Brett Hitchcock. They have 3 children: Hunter, and twin girls, Hannah and Hailey. Kristen works with her mom, Peggy, in the farm/packing house office. Brett is an account executive for a building supply company. Matt is married to Jennifer, and they are expecting their first child, a girl, in January. Matt works with his dad, Bobby, on the farm. Jen also works in the office.

Colleen Fulton is the youngest daughter. She and her husband, Terry, own and operate Parkesdale Greenhouses. The three large year-round greenhouses produce vegetable plants for area farmers and flowers for the retail market. They have two children, Calley and Neal. Calley is married to Todd Ziegler. She is a marketing representative for a medical supply company, and Todd is a civil engineer. Neal is a physcrometric engineer specializing in thermal dynamics.

Last, but not least, is son Gary, my husband. Gary and I branched out on our own 4 years ago. We own and operate Parke Family HydroFarms, a hydroponic/organic, you pick/we pick, strawberry and vegetable farm. We have four children. Amanda, 18, will be my co-diarist. Daughter Devon will turn 16 during the diary. Daughter Jordan is 13, and Joshua is 11. Gary runs the farm, works sales and gives tours while I do the office work and whatever else he needs me to do. I also homeschool our children. This year, I am down to three since Amanda graduated in May at the homeschool convention. 

What started as a 5-acre farm 50 years ago has grown into a huge family enterprise with a huge family to go along with it. No end is in sight for either.

• OCT. 15—Monday. We are busy in all areas of the farm. Bobby, Matt and the crew of 120 are setting strawberry plants. This is an all-day job. Everyone is ready to start when dawn breaks. Cucumbers are almost done so Peggy, Kristen and Jen are finishing up the last of the invoices for the buyers. Area farmers bring whatever is being grown at the time to the packinghouse for it to be graded, chilled and loaded on trucks.

The market is gearing up for citrus fruit gift season. They start shipping citrus in November to customers’ friends and family up North. Jimmy and Xi are learning the ropes. The market is a busy place. People come to get farm fresh produce and fresh-squeezed orange juice. They will start serving shortcake, milkshakes and strawberry cookies before Christmas.

The greenhouse is planting strawberry plants in hanging baskets to start selling in January. Colleen also started staking peppers and tomatoes today.

We were cutting runners (the plant will start growing another plant) at the hydroponic farm. That is an all-day job. We planted our strawberry plants a month ago so the runners are growing. We should be done by the end of the week.

I took the kids to our homeschool park day. It is a great opportunity for the mothers to encourage each other while the kids play. This evening, Devon, who is the district 4-H vice-president, had a presentation to give at a neighboring county’s meeting. Last week, she was honored with a leadership award from our county. After the meeting, we went to hear a speaker at our church. Sandee and Hank were there.  Sandee had just left the Festival Board meeting where they were discussing the entertainment for the 11-day festival in late February/early March.

• OCT. 16—Tuesday. We had a breeze today, for which we were thankful. The highs are still in the 90° range. After watering at the greenhouses, Colleen and Terry went to help Sandee and Hank. They are finishing the redecorating project at Dad and Mom’s in preparation for Dad’s 87th birthday on Thursday.

Bobby, Matt and the crew finished the last picking of cucumbers until spring. Cheryl, Jim, Jimmy and Xi finished redecorating the gift fruit area in a citrus theme. That was important to get finished now or they would have to wait until next summer. 

We cut more runners in the hydroponics and found more green berries and bloom. We found our first ones last week. We will have strawberries before Halloween. We have more than 100 kinds of vegetables, herbs and fruits combined. I have a fun time ordering seed. I like to experiment.

Gary had an exciting phone call tonight. Amanda met a young man, Carl, at graduation. He called tonight to ask permission to court her. She was ecstatic and it caused quite a stir amongst her siblings.

•OCT. 17—Wednesday. The market definitely has the feel of fall with pumpkins, gourds, cornstalks and Indian corn. They are great to use to decorate your yard or to create a table centerpiece for Thanksgiving.

Colleen and Mom are trimming the blooms off the strawberry and bougainvilleas. This makes the plants bushier and delays the flowering. Sandee had a lunch meeting for with the Festival Parade committee. This is a huge parade and a lot of fun for all ages.

Bobby is still setting berries. This time of year, all the area berry growers are setting and watching the overhead water. The water is on them all day to keep them from getting too hot. This is done every day for about 7 to 10 days, depending on the weather. It has been hot so it will probably be 10 days. The guys have to keep checking the fields to make sure there are no ‘blow-outs’ with the irrigation.

Gary had to move some blueberry plants to another area so Carl came over to help him. I delivered vegetable baskets to some of our produce club members. 

Today is music day for our kids. All of our children play an instrument. Amanda plays the piano and also teaches piano; Devon plays the flute and just finished a band festival last week; Jordan plays the drums; Joshua plays the acoustic guitar. They are currently working on a song to play at church. Gary and I tell them that when they start their band, we get commission. We went to church for Wednesday night activities and dinner of Shepherd’s Pie.

• OCT. 18—Thursday. Today is Dad’s 87th birthday. Mom is having an open house after lunch for friends and family to come by to celebrate with cake and ice cream.

A cold front is supposed to be coming so that will break the heat that we’ve been having. Overcast days are great setting weather.

The market is finishing up the last of the tuning up the citrus grading belt and any other maintenance that needs to be done. There is a window to get the ‘to do’ list done, or it could be a problem during the season.

After watering, Colleen went over to Dad and Mom’s to help get everything ready for this afternoon. Sandee also came over. She was the official photographer.

After we finished school and Amanda’s piano students left, we went to wish Dad “Happy Birthday.” Everyone was there and having a good time. The cake was red and white with strawberries.

Gary had some people stop by today that wanted to know the “in’s and out’s” of hydroponics. We have had people from many countries come to ask questions so they can take this back to their country. We have even had the State Department come and ask questions.

We facilitate a small group Bible study, called The Truth Project on Thursday nights for 13 weeks. Gary also teaches this on Sunday mornings to the college and career class.

• OCT. 19—Friday. Early this morning, Hank and Sandee left for Kentucky for a business conference and to see some friends.

The day started sunny, but it got cloudy later on. Finally, the cold front is coming! We finished cutting runners in the hydroponics. Gary says that we have so many chores to do, all needing to be done yesterday, that he wonders if we will ever catch up. It does seem overwhelming sometimes.

We will be seeding tomorrow so we diagrammed the layout. This way we can tell the customers which row they are looking for. I set up a tour for 50 people to come out next month. We have from preschool age and up come out to learn the advantages of hydroponic farming. Everyone loves the tours; you get a taste test of 3 different kinds of strawberries.

We looked at hydroponics 19 years ago but decided to wait. Three years ago, God answered our prayers, and we saw this system and went with it. We grow strawberries and vegetables year round. We use less ground (from 40 acres to 1 acre), less water (uses the water of a family of 4) and less labor (only 2 employees not including us). We don’t have to worry about freezes unless it is below 30° for more than 6 hours. We also use no pesticides. We have ladybugs and other ‘good’ bugs doing the work. We call it BUG WARS. 

All the kids had babysitting jobs tonight. They have a great business and they have fun.

• OCT. 20—Saturday. It started raining around midnight and didn’t stop until 7:30 this morning. It was nice hearing the rain during the night.

Devon had a babysitting job today. The rest of us seeded at the hydroponics. Gary and Amanda labeled the rows of where everything is planted. It was nice working in an overcast sky with a cool wind. After lunch, it was hot. I even got sunburned. We were quite busy filling baskets for club members. 

Matt was busy blading today because of all the rain last night. If the ends of the field aren’t bladed, the water can back up in to the rows instead of flowing to the ditch. 

The market is always busy on the weekends with people coming to get vegetable and strawberry plants or flowering plants for their gardens and yards.

At the greenhouse, they seeded more than 22 varieties of peppers. These will be ready to sell in a few weeks as transplants. Some will be sold at the festival in March as producing plants.

• OCT. 21—Sunday. Most everyone went to church. Amanda co-teaches junior church for the preschool age through to kindergarten; she also subbed a Sunday School class. She and Devon are both in the adult choir.

Some had to stay home from church. Bobby had to continue to watch the water on the new strawberry plants. 

The market is open 7 days a week, so Cheryl, Jim, Jimmy and Xi were there. During the strawberry season, the market is so busy, you pray for a parking space. 

Gary and I took a Sunday nap. It doesn’t happen often, but it is nice when it does. I took the younger three kids to youth group. Gary and I made a list of things that needed to be done this week. It was nice and restful Sunday.

Nick: Amanda kept the diary this week.

• OCT. 22—Monday. I woke up this morning and went straight to my morning devotions. I start out with prayer and then I read a chapter from my Bible so as I keep my thoughts on God all day and to treat others in a way that honors my Lord.

My two younger sisters, Devon (16 next month) and Jordan (13), went to babysit while my “baby” brother, Joshua (11 and hates that term) did his school work. I continued my piano practice from the previous Saturday. (I do not practice on Sundays.) and tried to study a little for my piano classes that I will be taking at the Community College next spring.

Around the farm, things are beginning to pick up speed. The hydrofarm was closed, as usual, for my dad to work on his “Honey-Do” list. As my mom says, Sundays are the Lord’s Day and Mondays are hers.

At the Greenhouse, Aunt Colleen and Grandma began the task of staking peppers and tomatoes. From previous experience, the work is hot and itchy, but we get it done quickly. Down at the traditional farm in the dirt, they are still setting one of the 120 acres in strawberry plants. Because they have so many acres, they have to set in pieces. Setting in pieces is actually a lot more productive and relatively easier than how it sounds. With the heat we have been having, it’s easier to set quickly to get out of the sun, and when the berries start coming in it is much easier to pick sections than whole fields all at once.

At the cooler and packing house, things remain relatively quiet. When the berries come in, there will be many trucks and tractors rolling in and out at all hours of the day.

At the market, orders for gift fruit continue to come in. Shipping fruit is one of its biggest incomes. They ship all kinds of citrus like navel oranges and ruby red grapefruit. They also ship strawberry jam.

Our Mondays close quickly on account of the TV show Heroes that my family likes to watch together. The discussions afterwards are normally very interesting as we believe in Creation and the show comes off of an evolutionary basis.

We finish all our chores: bathing, dinner, feeding our pets and tidying our rooms before it comes on at 9 p.m. My beau, Carl, and his family also watch it so at 10 p.m. after it is over he calls me. We make our speculations about the show and then move onto how each others day went. About two hours later, I’ll eventually get off and fall asleep after a talk with my Lord.

• OCT. 23—Tuesday. This morning I had to wake up extra early to be able to have my prayer time. Devon, her best friend, Lauren, and I went to the Florida State Fairgrounds to volunteer at Ag-Venture. It’s a program held for 2 weeks twice a year to teach elementary age children from the city about and the importance of agriculture. The 4-H Hillsborough County agents and youth are there every day presenting and volunteering. The outlying middle and high schools send us their FFA members to help lead the children around from station to station.

Devon and Lauren are helping with the dairy station, and I am helping Al and Kate Waterford with their horses.

We dropped Lauren off after lunch and came home—to go straight back to work! I had three beginning piano students, one right after the other.

From there we went to the hydrofarm and transplanted peppers and tomatoes into the stackers. It won’t be very long until my other red fruit comes in! We also unloaded corel stone to put in the diffusers at the top of the stackers. (Corel stone helps to keep the vermiculite from clogging).

At the farm, they continued to set. Then Aunt Peggy went with a friend to Epcot for the Food and Wine Festival. What a great way to relax after a long day! At the Greenhouses, Aunt Colleen and Grandma were also transplanting tomato plants.

The Market continued supplying locals with their vegetables, fruit, bread and jellies. I can’t wait until we can make strawberry shortcake again! 

I came home to practice an hour of piano and to finish up the rough draft of my piano composition for a contest I am entering. I fed my dog and bird and waited for Carl to come home from band practice at church.

Turned out, he came by after practice as a surprise! He wanted to bring us a gallon of orange blossom honey. We talked only a few minutes because has to wake up very early tomorrow morning for his orientation at UPS.

• OCT. 24—Wednesday. I woke up early for devotions because today I had my piano lesson. Even when I teach six students, I still take lessons. “There is always more to learn” is my philosophy. Things I learned when I first started 7 years ago are still getting clearer.

My mom, Jordan and Josh picked me up, and we went to lunch at Chick-Fil-A. That way, we could pick Devon and Lauren up from Ag-Venture and still get to Jordan’s drum lessons and Josh’s guitar lessons on time.

Jordan and I also bought our 2008 Day-by-Day dog calendars today, which we will proudly display to anyone who asks because our dogs Diamond (my 8-year-old Labrador mix) and Angel (Jordan’s 4-year-old Beagle) won a contest and their pictures are inside.

Daddy called us on the road to give us an update on how moving the blueberry plants was going. We were concerned seeing as how it had been raining since daybreak.

At the traditional farm, it became difficult to punch holes in the plastic but the strawberry plants were very pleased! The greenhouse still had to water their peppers because they are inside. They also had to cut the runners on the strawberry plants. When we cut runners (a long stem and leaf searching out a place to take root), it sends messages to the plant to stop growing and to start bearing fruit.

The market received a shipment of strawberry jelly and more gift fruit orders. They also set out their pumpkin shipment for locals to use for pies or jack-o-lanterns.

At 4:30 p.m. my student arrived, and we ran through some Christmas pieces for the recital that two of my best friends, Jana and Gabriela, and I are holding for our students. We then went to church and had dinner.

At 6 p.m I taught my Cherub Choir (children ages 3 to 6). We are already working on our Christmas pieces to sing in the Christmas Cantata with the Children’s Choir and Chancel Choir. After that, we all went to class and at 7:30. Devon and I went to choir practice until 8:30. While I waited for Carl to call, I finished the two latest books I was reading, Persuasion by Jane Austen and When Dreams Come True by Eric and Leslie Ludy. Both amazing books that I would recommend to anyone! Carl called at 9:30 and told me that he starts work at UPS next week!

• OCT. 25—Thursday. This morning, I woke up to a cloudy world. As I prayed for safety and provision, I wondered if I was finally getting what I had prayed for, wished for and wanted most: a cold front! We helped out with Ag-Venture again today and as the hours wore away and the sun rose higher, it became plain to see that it wasn’t going to get cold, at least not today.

Down at the hydrofarm, Dad was seeding carrots, onions, pickling cucumbers, radishes and squash. The traditional farm began watering their plants and finished punching holes in the plastic. The greenhouse remained busy transplanting pansies while the market set out shipments of gourds and pumpkins.

Dad finished seeding and made it home just in time for a shower and dinner before our friends arrived for Bible study.

Carl showed up in his UPS uniform! They started him today, a week early! We are all so very happy because he wanted this job very much.

• OCT. 26—Friday. God blessed me with a wild and crazy day today! I had devotions this morning and went right out the door to a teaching job at the homeschool co-op that meets at our church on Friday morning, while all our mothers are in a Precepts Bible Study. My student, Madeline is progressing so well and she makes me laugh so much!

From there we went to the hydrofarm. Dad had a few customers and we helped cut back the squash, pumpkin and cantaloupe plants. We also helped put together some baskets for our produce club members. f you are a member, you get some of everything in the field which is a great deal.

We went to visit Grandad and Grandma today as well. I went to the cooler to see how things were holding up there and I got to catch up with my cousin Matt’s wife, Jen. She is pregnant with their first child, and I always have fun talking to her. I also got to see Matt being interviewed in the field by a Florida travel magazine. He took me by the oldest field that was planted and everything looks wonderful!

I also visited Uncle Terry and Aunt Colleen at the greenhouse and saw how well the baby tomato plants are getting along. There are tomato blooms everywhere.

We all went to the market to visit Uncle Jim, Aunt Cheryl, Jimmy, his wife, Xi (pronounced ‘Z’) and their daughter, Zoe. We all got strawberry milkshakes.

We bought a box load of produce and the pumpkins we will carve. I also bought the orchid I’ve been wanting for two months.

Aunt Colleen and Grandma took us out for lunch, and when we returned home, I began to practice for my own Christmas recital. Later Mom and I went to Carl’s house to pick up our milk. (Yep! We have our own milkman!)

From there, I changed clothes and went to my friend Shannon’s 18th birthday party. We line danced and goofed off all night! I came home a little later than I expected.

• OCT. 27—Saturday. Today we began fall cleaning. You know, the cleaning we all do before all the relatives come in for the holidays.

Mom, Jordan and Josh washed the car, inside and outside. They also cleaned out the garage and worked on Jordan’s drum room, which is attached to the garage. I helped Devon with a broken shelf in her closet. After we finished cleaning, I practiced piano and worked on my composition.

At the hydrofarm, my dad blew off the ground cloth with a leaf blower and did general chores in between customers.

The traditional farm finished setting and turned the water on the new plants. Uncle Bobby decided to seed some more pickling cucumbers. Aunt Sandee had a Board of Directors Luncheon for the Florida Strawberry Festival. She helps plan the entertainment and also guides the Florida Strawberry Queen and her Court through the process each year.

The greenhouse finished transplanting and turned water onto the new plants. The market finished their shipments of jelly and avocadoes. They get really busy during the holidays because people come to get fresh vegetables for their holiday dinners.

I got a call from another one of my best friends, Emily. We made plans for making pickles when the cucumbers come in. Her mother makes the best pickles I have ever tasted, so I begged to be taught how to do it too! I also got to talk to another best friend, Erin, my pen pal from Massachusetts. We hadn’t talked in quite a long time so we had fun catching up and updating our prayer lists for each other.

Later, I tidied my desk and went outside to check on my papaya tree and to play with our dogs. My siblings and I played around on our instruments together for a little while and then watched a movie as a family.
 

• OCT. 28—Sunday. This morning, I woke up a bit later than I expected so my prayer time and dress-for-church time got combined. We got to church early to help set up for our Pastor Appreciation Day party. Carl and his family joined us at our church this morning. Grandma, Aunt Sandee and Uncle Hank were there, too.

Devon and I sang in the choir and during the sermon I taught the 3- to 6-year-olds in Junior Church with Autumn’s mother. After the sermon, we all moved to the Fellowship Hall for a potluck lunch and cake celebrating our Senior Pastor, Don Mason and his wife, JoAnn and our Associate Pastor, Dave Martin, his wife, Lori, his son, Gannon and his daughter, Gianna.

After lunch, we stopped by the grocery store so Jordan could buy the last minute foods she needed for her annual Fall Dinner. She made roast beef, mashed potatoes, green beans, homemade biscuits, apple and pumpkin pie. We all ate until we couldn’t possibly eat another bite!

Our hydrofarm, traditional farm and greenhouses were all closed for the Lord’s Day. The market remained open, but all was quiet.

Uncle Bobby, Aunt Peggy and Matt went to the Tampa Bay Bucs football game. After the game, they connected with Jen, Uncle Jim, Jimmy, Xi and Zoe for dinner.

When dinner was over, we carved our pumpkins. Then we lit them, turned off all the lights and danced to River of Dreams by Billy Joel by the candlelight.

Terri kept the diary this week.

• OCT. 29—Monday. Amanda and Devon went to Ag-Venture. They are having a great time teaching children about agriculture. This is their second year teaching and they teach again in April. They have taught about citrus, dairy and horses. This is a great way to earn community service.

Jordan and Joshua did their school. Since the hydroponic farm is closed on Mondays, Gary blew the leaves off the house. We have over 20 oak trees in our yard so we always have tons of leaves.

In the afternoon, we had some rain. We are getting back-to-back cold fronts this week. Yeah! It is about time. Almost November and we haven’t had any really cool weather yet. While it was raining, Jordan and I worked on her drum room.  We are painting a surfboard theme since all the kids like to surf.

The market is getting busier all the time. From now until March/April, it gets packed. All the northern people, who come down for the winter, love to bring their friends to have a shortcake, milkshake and the like. They also like to have their picture taken in the strawberry throne. The throne is a huge paper-mache strawberry that you can sit in. We also have it at the festival every year. Over the years, thousands of people have sat in that throne.

The cooler is grading pickling cucumbers for wholesale market. The cooler never stops. Trucks come in at all hours to pick up cucumbers, squash, peppers and strawberries throughout the year.

Bobby’s zucchini look really good. He planted those a few weeks ago.

Over at the greenhouse, Colleen delivered tomato and pepper plants to several customers. There is quite a demand for hot peppers. She and Mom are continually seeding peppers to keep up with the demand.

• OCT. 30—Tuesday. For the next day or so, we will have overcast skies and possibly some rain due to the tropical storm that is off the east coast. For Floridians, a tropical storm is really not that newsworthy. We listen to the weather report and continue with the day. We take notice when the word hurricane is used. In 2004, we personally went through 3 hurricanes. We were blessed and had no damage of any kind. So the tropical storm just means possible rain. We are about to enter the dry season for Florida so we will gladly take the rain.

The girls continued with Ag-Venture. After Amanda returned home, she had several piano students. Devon picked up some sticks in the yard and put them in our bonfire pile. When it gets cooler, we light the fire and roast marshmallows. Gary loaded some blueberry plants to be transported to South Florida. We did a lot of produce baskets today. The baskets had 3 kinds of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, yellow squash, zucchini and basil. In the next week or so, strawberries will be added to the basket along with sugar snap peas and spinach.

Mom and Colleen planted hot peppers while Terry winterized the greenhouses. This takes a couple of days because you have to check the heaters, the roofs of the houses and the curtains on the sides (to make sure there are no small holes). This is very important to have done before the cold weather gets here.

We finished off the day with the Hillsborough County 4-H Youth Leadership Board meeting. Devon is vice-president, and Jordan is Historian. They are doing a food drive for the holidays and collecting bears for Christmas.

• OCT. 31—Wednesday. Today is windy and cloudy. Peggy and Kristen went to a handler luncheon meeting that the Florida Strawberry Growers Association (FSGA) sponsored. They discussed the promotions that will be used in the upcoming months. Kristen is a director for the FSGA. Her dad, Bobby, was one of the first directors 24 years ago. When he retired from the board, Gary went on it. Now, Kristen is keeping the family tradition.

Colleen and Mom transplanted peppers into gallon containers. There is something going on at the greenhouse everyday. The greenhouses have to be watered every day, twice a day unless it is really cool.

Today was music day for my kids. I also delivered produce baskets to some customers who are en route to the music lessons. Gary seeded more vegetables at the hydroponic farm. He also cut runners and got the ground cloth blown off. With all the wind that we have been having, we have leaves all over. The kids and I walked through the hydroponics eating strawberries. They are really good.

Customers at the market got a great treat today. The strawberry cookies are back. They are the best cookie that you will ever taste. We have hauled over 40 dozen cookies across the country. People request that we bring them some.

Joshua went trick or treating with a friend. He dressed as a Star Wars character and returned home with at least 5 pounds of candy. The girls were thankful for the chocolate.

• NOV. 1—Thursday. It is hard to believe that it is November. This was the last day of Ag-Venture. Amanda and Devon were happy and sad at the same time. After school, we got the house clean for our Bible Study tonight.

The seeds that Gary planted last week are up. Some, like the yard-long bean which is good for stir-fry, is 2 inches high at 5 days. The herbs take longer to come up, but most of the other things are up. Gary is going to wait a couple of days and seed some more.

Colleen was cutting runners today. With the heat that we have been having, the runners are growing tremendously.

The traditional farm was busy checking water. They were making sure that none of the rainbirds for the overhead irrigation were stuck. They were also tying in all the drip irrigation. Although we have been getting rain, the new berry plants have to be irrigated overhead to keep them from getting too hot. Once they are established in 10-14 days, they will use the drip irrigation for water and nutrients. Matt has to keep the ends of the fields bladed for the excess water to go to the reclamation pits.  Mom, Colleen, Hank and Sandee went to the annual Strawberry Festival volunteer dinner. Sandee is the chaperone for all events that the Festival Queen and court attend. She is also the coordinator of the queen activities.

• NOV. 2—Friday. The kids and I went to my Friday morning Precept Bible study. They did some crafts with the kids while Amanda taught piano lessons. We also had our local 4-H club meeting. Amanda and Devon led to projects that the club is working on together: healthy living and drama. At the end of the year, we are going to have a mystery dinner theater. That should be fun. Jordan is vice-president and Joshua is historian. We have a very active 4-H family. The kids are involved from the local level to the state level. Amanda was able to participate nationally her senior year.

Peggy, Kristen and Jen were busy training all the employees for their chemical training. It is a federal law that all employees have to be trained if they are going to be around any kind of chemicals. It isn’t hard, just time consuming.

Gary checked our frost cloth. Since we farm hydroponically, we use frost cloth instead of overhead irrigation during a freeze. If the weather is projected to be below 30° for more than 6 hours, we cover. Otherwise, the cold doesn’t hurt us. The Styrofoam and groundcloth keep the farm warm. It takes us 4 hours to cover. On the traditional farm, when it gets 32°, the overhead water is turned on to form an ice blanket. That keeps the temperature at a constant 32 degrees. Then when the sun comes up and gets warmer, the ice melts. 

We had chili for dinner. Every time that there is a cold front, the kids want chili. The wind has picked up so the front is coming in. Tomorrow should be nice.

• NOV. 3—Saturday. Today it is clear and windy. If you stand in the shade, you get cold. Amanda pressure washed the driveway. She said that she couldn’t feel her toes. You can always tell a true Floridian: if it is below 75°, we will have on sweatshirts and jackets and be freezing. 

Devon had a babysitting job today. Jordan and Joshua helped me with some chores. We planted more spinach, squash, bok choy, kale, chard and head cabbage. The onions, carrots and radishes look good. We did more produce baskets. Saturdays are really busy for produce baskets. Everyone is stocking up for the week.

The market was busy. The word got out that the cookies are here. Poinsettias will be here before Thanksgiving. The market will be awash in them. It is great for pictures—standing amongst all the flowers.

Colleen was watering all the new seedlings and transplants. She had a few customers come to get tomato and pepper plants.

Sandee chaperoned the Queen and court to an area high school. Joshua made dinner tonight. We had spaghetti, salad (4 kinds of our lettuce and tomatoes) and bread. He loves to cook and he comes up with all kinds of recipes. He says that when he gets married that his wife won’t have to cook. I tell him that I might not let him leave.

• NOV. 4—Sunday. Okay, I know that it’s Florida, but it was cold for us this morning, 55°. Everyone at church was dressed for winter. We don’t get to dress for cold too often. Kristen and Brett’s 5-month-old twin daughters, Hannah and Hailey, were dedicated this morning.

The whole family got together this afternoon, all 33 of us. Erin and David will find out in the next week or so, where he will be transferred. 

Dad and Mom were thrilled that all were able to come. Joshua fixed dinner again tonight. This time it was orange chicken, rice, mixed vegetables, and strawberry and spinach salad.

Then Gary, the kids and I snuggled together and watched a movie.

Amanda kept the diary this week.

• NOV. 5—Monday. This morning I woke up extra early and went through my devotions with a bit of a thankful fire. It was finally cold! Mom made pancakes for breakfast and later on we baked bread. Our family eats a lot of sandwiches and toast and when soup, chili or spaghetti is on the table, bread gets used to wipe the plates clean!

My daddy spoke to a group of people about the how-to’s of hydro-farming. Very many people in the surrounding area are quite interested, especially those families that live in the city, because of the easy care and little space it takes to keep one. It can sit on the back balcony or small yard.

At the market, more strawberry jelly shipments arrived. In the greenhouse, more berry plants were planted and runners cut on the older plants. The traditional farm and cooler continued on as usual (taking inventory, watering plants, and keeping in touch with previous customers). My Uncle Hank and Aunt Sandee, however, were busy preparing for the Sunday School Soup Night they are holding at their house tomorrow night. Aunt Sandee makes amazing soups and we always benefit when she comes out of the kitchen with bowls in her hands.

I spent my time working on the Christmas duet, Ding Dong Merrily On High. I will be playing with my friend Gabi at several Christmas parties and our piano recital for our students. I also finished working on my piano composition Break of Dawn. I truly love this piece! I can’t believe I wrote it! It’s a style I love and I can just see the music making the picture I’m trying to express.

I also pressure washed the driveway and got a quarter of it done before the machine ran out of gas. I think I froze my poor toes off! 70 is freezing!

• NOV. 6—Tuesday. This morning, I woke up to a low of 55° and a high of 79°. We all started to rethink our prayer for cold weather. And, of course, after Phillip came for his piano lesson and before David and Melissa came for theirs I had to pressure wash again. Until the machine ran out of oil, that is. At least I’m half done! But I am really starting to hate that machine!

Daddy began to cut runners on the strawberry plants. They are beginning to shoot out everywhere! That’s a good thing though because we can plant those runners and have more production on the side. We have berries throughout the field. We kids like to walk through and eat. You don’t even have to bend to pick them since they grow vertically. You also don’t have to wash them, no dirt or chemicals.

The greenhouse took an order of hot peppers and tomato plants to the market. The greenhouse supplies the market with all their plants. Many people buy flowers, ferns and fruit-producing plants that we have grown from seeds. They also planted berry plants in 1-gallon pots.

The traditional farm continued to finish up strawberry planting. There are only a few more pieces of land left before we’re done! It sounds as if all we ever do is plant plants at every part of the farm. That might be true at the greenhouse, but at the farms it is only during certain times of the year. From mid-November to early April, the traditional farm is picking every day. Each field is on a 3-day rotation. Right now, it is really slow but that won’t last. 

Uncle Hank and Aunt Sandee hosted their Sunday School party, and it was a success as always!
Carl and I spoke for a little while after he returned from band practice, and we might be going to Gabi’s house for our annual monthly movie night on Saturday. I prayed for health for my family this evening because I believe they’re coming down with the flu.

• NOV. 7—Wednesday. After devotions, I found out our weather forecast: High of 74, low of 49. At least I’m not pressure washing today!

I went to my piano lesson and sat in on Devon’s flute and Jordan’s drum lessons while Mom sat in on Josh’s guitar lessons. We are all learning a rock version of The Little Drummer Boy to play at our church during December.

The greenhouse cut runners today. Their plants are also growing quickly. Now if we could just get the plant to understand “berries” and not “grow.”

The market took care of gift fruit orders. Many people love to ship fruit this time of year, especially to their friends and family in the snow. Dad worked on our produce club, where anyone can buy a basket of fruit, herbs and veggies as often as they like. Mom delivered several produce baskets on our way to music lessons. The traditional farm watered to help the most recently planted berries acclimated to their soil. They shouldn’t have to water too much today since it isn’t hot.

Devon and I also studied for our driver’s test—Devon for her permit, me for my license. I also taught Autumn her recital piece and then we went to church.

I taught the Cherub Choir a new song and worked on the bridge in another song they like very much. The women in our church have taken on the project of sewing robes for the Junior and Cherub choirs because they so want to match the adults! I have taken on the task of creating the Cherub Choir robes and will be buying fabric next week. We all went to class for about an hour, and then Devon and I went to choir.

Mrs. Meredith introduced a different taping of Battle Hymn of the Republic for our Sunday offertory song for Veterans Day. I came home quickly to shower and tidy up before Carl called. He teased (ruthlessly) that he had something for me. This is unfair because he knows that I loathe surprises and on top of that God and I are still working on this patience thing. I must be a much slower learner then I thought. I, obviously, fell asleep begging for patience and asking why I didn’t already have it.

• NOV. 8—Thursday. Today, we woke up to another cool morning. I spent time on devotions and waved my entire family out of the house. Dad to work and Mom and my siblings to church for a Friday morning Bible Study that was moved up a day because of the Women of Faith conference. Before they went to church, Devon went to get her driving permit. I’ll be getting my license soon. Then Dad and Mom will have two drivers in the family.

I spent an hour on piano and another couple minutes for the Sunday song’s high notes. Then I cleaned up the entire back rooms of the house for the Bible Study tonight.

I also decided to go through my poor, neglected inbox. 152 E-mails! I think my eyes glazed over!

The greenhouse began planting hot peppers while the traditional farm continued planting strawberries. Uncle Bobby found their first strawberry and Kristen said that it was sweet. Daddy planted hot pepper plants, and Mom delivered more baskets.

Tonight, our Truth Project Bible Study was on Labor. Now, I’m a farmer’s daughter, right? I think I got this question handled. Wrong! I had no idea God thinks that labor is beautiful! He created the Sabbath to keep us from working every day because we are supposed to be having that much fun! In the words of Professor Del Tackett: “Wow!”

Carl also gave me my surprise! I love letters! I must have read it at least 20 times since then.

• NOV. 9—Friday. I had an early and quicker than normal devotion and ran outside into the ‘freezing’ cold (49/76) weather. My student Madeline fell ill last night, and I had no students today. Mom and we four kids went to the mall for some early Christmas shopping and everyone (but Mom) piled into a photo booth for some funny pictures. I also went to the fabric store to buy my Christmas dress pattern and a couple yards of deep, dark forest green broadcloth for the under layer.

Daddy planted lettuce seeds out in the hydrostackers this morning. The lettuce, which normally takes 60 days in the ground, if you can get it to even root this time of year, takes only 24 days from seed to head in our stackers regardless of the weather. The greenhouse planted more hot peppers.

The traditional farm watered their strawberry plants and the cooler was busy getting certified for food safety. Of course, there is always a lot of paperwork involved, but it is worth to show that the food that is bought is safe. The market went through inventory and received more strawberry jelly shipments. The market will be standing room only next week as people get fruit to take out of town during their Thanksgiving travels.

My family went to church this evening to help support oBoy Scout Troop 14 in their spaghetti dinner fundraiser. Their dinners are always delicious, and we had an amazing time! On our way home, we visited Uncle Hank, Aunt Sandee, Uncle and Aunt Colleen. Mom picked up some hand-me-downs from Aunt Sandee while I picked up some tips for my dress from Aunt Colleen.

Soon after I was dropped off at my other best friend Kira’s house for a sleepover. Kira and I stayed up until 4 a.m. drawing, reading, talking, laughing, searching Regency time period on the Internet and watching Pride and Prejudice.

• NOV. 10—Saturday. I woke up to warmer weather. Kira and I woke up at about 8:30 and said our prayers. We then had our Regency-style breakfast of mashed potatoes and gravy with apple cider and began to work on our new website Pearls and Petticoats which is a Regency style role-playing forum.

Dad came by and picked me up on his way to work. The berries are coming in and everyone is so very excited! We have customers that come by just to see how they are doing and how much longer it’s going to take before we open the field for u-pick.

The hydrofarm is u-pick all year long for everything that we have. Customers are always asking if we have tried to grow this or that. So Mom looks in the seed catalogs, orders them and plants them. Mom checked on the herbs that we planted 3 weeks ago, and they are coming up great. We have fun experimenting especially if someone says that it can’t be grown in Florida all year long.

Xi and Zoe came by to visit and brought some friends who had never seen hydroponics before. 

The market was getting things winterized. They have a huge garden area for customers to eat shortcake and milkshakes. That is also where a lot of their plants are so Uncle Jim has to make sure that there are no holes or the plants will freeze. 

Calley and Neal came over to help Aunt Colleen, their mom, in the greenhouse. The greenhouses are all going through inventory and replanting what is purchased. There are three greenhouses: one for seeding and the other two for the plants after they are transplanted into different size pots.

The traditional farm finished up watering their strawberries. The zucchini look really good. They are also repainting the signs on the farm.

I began baking bread and brownies and while they were baking I continued practicing my duet. At 6, Devon and I left for Gabi’s house for a movie night. We came early for Gabi and me to practice. We also played with the black and white setting on my camera and had a photo shoot of our hands on the keys and different profile pictures by the piano.

Grant Conine and Carl came around 7, and we all watched the 1982 version of The Scarlet Pimpernel. I adore that movie!

• NOV. 11—Sunday. This morning I woke up feeling miserable. I’ve come down with the same cold as everyone else. I prayed for healing and for guidance. I still went to church and sang in the choir and taught the Junior Church, but I kept away from their faces. (Mom said if I didn’t breathe on them I’d be fine because that was my biggest worry.)

Today, we had Super Sip N’ Chat for Chef Franz who is now retired and moving with his wife to be with their son in another state. We’re going to miss him very much! Especially myself because he taught me how to make chocolate strudel! 

The hydrofarm and the greenhouses were closed. The market remained open but nothing out of the normal happened.

The traditional farm was watering and some of the employees go around to make sure that there are no leaks or blowouts.

Aunt Sandee had orientation for the contestants for the Strawberry Festival Queen. There are about 40 young women competing for the title.

I wanted to work on my dress today, but I did not feel up to it at all.

Terri kept the diary this week.

• NOV. 12—Monday. Gary and I set our alarms at 1:43 a.m. to sing “Happy Birthday” to Devon. She turned 16. Devon shares her birthday with her Aunt Sandee. When we got up, at our normal hour, she didn’t even remember it.

After breakfast, I fixed stuffing to take to our home school group’s covered dish dinner. It was fitting to have our Thanksgiving celebration on Veteran’s Day. If it wasn’t for our veterans, we wouldn’t have all the things that our country can be thankful for. It has been our veterans who have fought to keep our country’s freedoms. Gary was able to attend since our farm is closed on Mondays.

Devon practiced driving with Sandee at the greenhouses. Jordan and Joshua went along for the ride. They saw Calley, Colleen and Mom working at the greenhouse. It is nice weather to work in—the sun is shining, there is a slight breeze and it is in the high 70s. The greenhouses have plants that are in every stage. Colleen and Mom have a great system of seeding, then transplanting in 1- or 3-gallon pots, sometimes even in hanging baskets. Every kind of tomato and pepper that you can imagine are in the greenhouse. There are also ornamentals like pansies, begonias, impatiens, coleus, ornamental cabbages, etc. You can landscape your yard and get plants for your garden. She has a lot of wholesale customers and the market.  erry and Colleen have the greenhouses running almost year round. They take one month off in the summer to get everything ready to go again.

Sandee has a Festival board of directors’ dinner tonight. They are finishing up a lot of the details since it is less than 4 months away. They will also finalize the entertainment. Last year, the festival had more than 20 entertainers in an 11-day time period. They announce the line-up between Thanksgiving and the first week in December.

The girls had a Generation Joshua meeting tonight. The group is a very active civics group that does community service and is active politically. Last year, their group went to Maryland to help campaign.

I also talked to my sister, Traci, who lives in Savannah, Georgia, with her husband John and 1-year-old, John-John.

• NOV. 13—Tuesday. The girls did face painting this morning at our church’s Pumpkin Tyme. Area elementary school children come to pick out a pumpkin, get their faces painted and hear the Gospel. I also delivered some of the Parkesdale preserves to the church. New visitors to our church always receive a jar of preserves. It is our church’s calling card especially with Plant City being the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World. 

I talked with Sandee and she told me some of the line-up for the festival. We will be getting Alan Jackson, Travis Tritt, Sugarland (one of Gary’s favorites), Trace Adkins, Josh Turner and Mercy Me. I can’t wait! I haven’t even told our kids so you know first.

On the traditional farm, Matt and Bobby were watching the drip irrigation and cleaning leaves off the berry plants. After you plant bare root plants and the plants get established, the crew goes in and cuts off the dead leaves. This helps control pests and helps the plants grow faster. They were also planting winter rye grass on the ends of the field. This is for soil erosion and also keeps dirt from blowing onto the plastic and the berries. Matt said that there is a lot of bloom in the first fields planted. It takes 21 days from bloom to berry so the farm will be hopping the first of December.

In September, when the preparation work is happening (disking, bedding, planting), it seems as if you will never catch up then comes the waiting for the first bloom, then green berries and finally the red berries. As soon as the picking starts, it is every day unless it rains. Sometimes, the crew picks in the drizzle, as long as it is not cold. The season won’t stop until April. Some of the berry fields will be planted with pickling cucumbers or zucchini, and the spring/summer season starts. There are about 2 months in the dead heat of the summer when it is in the high 90s with 100 percent humidity that the cover crop is planted. The cover crop helps put nutrients back in the soil. Then in mid-August, the whole process starts again.

At the packing house/cooler, Peggy, Kristen and Jen were finishing up the food safety program. There are different posters that have to be hung up for the employees that work the grading belt. The zucchini should be ready in about a month and then those will be graded out and sold to wholesale buyers and shipped across the country. They were also finishing up the last minute details for Jen’s baby shower on Saturday. Gary played with Kristen’s twin girls, Hannah and Hailey, for a few moments before heading back to work.

We had beef stroganoff for dinner with a salad made from vegetables from our field. I enjoy that we have so many kinds of lettuces because it makes such a delicious salad.

• NOV. 14—Wednesday. I picked up produce baskets to deliver on our way to music lessons. Today’s baskets had strawberries in them. The customers were so excited.

We did some shopping for Thanksgiving next week and Devon’s birthday party Friday night.

Jordan and Joshua went over to Grandma and Grandad’s house. Their house is right next to the hydroponic field and anytime that we are working in the field, the kids run over to see their grandparents. During the summer when we are working, they take a swim in the strawberry shaped swimming pool. They would rather swim than eat lunch. I have to agree that sometimes it is too hot to eat. Almost everything at Roy and Helen’s house is red or strawberry themed so it pays tribute to the fruit that has given them such a wonderful life. The farm was started by Roy and his dad in 1957.

The market started shipping gift fruit today. Maybe you will be blessed by a friend or family member and receive some on your doorstep. The market has every kind of vegetable and fruit that you could want. They have a lot of exotic fruits, also. I know that the customers love to come get their produce and get a milkshake at the same time. The milkshakes and shortcake are beyond words to describe. The shortcake stands over 5 inches tall. The poinsettias will be delivered this weekend, and then it begins to look a lot like Christmas. They are the biggest and the most beautiful poinsettias that you can find. Jim, Cheryl, Jimmy and Xi will be busy from now until April.

Gary, the kids and I went to church and had dinner. Amanda’s preschool choir practiced to sing on Sunday. The congregation will love it. At church, a friend brought me some fresh Georgia pecans. Those will be good to add to a salad or pancakes.

• NOV. 15—Thursday. The girls went to Pumpkin Tyme again today. Jordan and Joshua did their schoolwork then we all started cleaning the house for our last Truth Project Bible study tonight. After the study, no one wanted to leave. We talked for 3 hours!

I set up two tours for November 30th. We will have over 100 people come tour on that day. That is in addition to all our regular customers. The tours are always a lot of fun. People don’t realize all the things that can be grown hydroponically. They also love to pick the berries and other produce without having to bend down or get dirty. If you have a bad back or bad knees, you would love picking at our farm.

I ate berries as I walked through the field checking on all the plants. We have so many bloom, green berries and red berries. We are going to open this Saturday for you-pick berries.

I’m eager for some of the new varieties of peppers, tomatoes and beans. Joshua and I try different combinations of things to test. Then we tell our customers. I am really blessed that all my kids like to cook.

Beside the edibles at our farm, vegetable plants can also be purchased as well as the hydroponic system. We have been able to show people how to have their own backyard hydroponic garden. 

We have really enjoyed telling you about all the different aspects of a farm that began with 5 acres 50 years ago. If you are ever in the area, come by and chat. E-mail us at gparke@tampabay.rr.com. May God bless you and yours. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!