My family has a tradition of being interested in unique agricultural ventures, so with the legalization of industrial hemp in 2018, I jumped on board and planted my first hemp field in the spring of 2019. A female farmer starting her own business from the ground up? Sure! I have three children closely watching everything I do. If I want them to be adventurous, brave, self-sufficient, and hard-working, I will show them how.
Hemp farming took us back to the days of old. The first year, every seed was planted by hand into trays and carefully monitored. After a few weeks, the plants were then transplanted, yes by hand, into the field where they required watering for a little over two months. There are no approved pesticides or herbicides for hemp, meaning our organic product was cared for the old fashioned way – pulling weeds by hand. This is where the help of my children and amazing parents came in.
By October, our plants had turned into tall beauties with woody stems that we took down with a chainsaw, one-by-one. They were then hung in barns to dry, and once dry, the leaves and flowers were shucked by hand.
You must be logged in to post a comment.