I'm going to be the wet blanket, k. :) We have 8 acres in the middle of farming country. We don't farm for our livelihood, but we have a horse and donkey, cats and a dog, a large yard, fences and outbuildings to maintain. Quite frankly, it's more than we can keep up with - we're only two people with a two-year-old daughter and plans for another little one in the near future. Our vegetable garden is a modest 55 x 65' not including the perennial beds (asparagus, berries, etc.) and it's all I can do to keep up. Considerations of country gardens: a) You will be constantly battling weeds no matter how good your practices. Unless you garden exclusively in a greenhouse, you WILL have weed and tree seeds blowing into your yard from EVERYWHERE. Nice little board fences don't exist out here. b) An acre is 43,560 square feet (roughly 209 x 209 feet in area). That's a far cry from 250 square feet (roughly 16 x 16 feet). I'm really confused as to the real area you're planning on gardening. c) Our own yard is merely an old hay field that has been mowed for so many years that it resembles quite a nice "lawn" as long as we keep up with it. If we get behind, we get all sorts of clumps of various clovers and alfalfa. This also means that no matter how much time we spend digging grass roots in the garden, they're always faster than us. Good luck "clearing the area of grass" - it's not as easy as it might seem, given the habits of tenacious farm grasses. d) Really sit down and consider just how much time you are going to have to spend just maintaining what is already there. Really. Unless you've maintained a farm before, you honestly have no idea. I can easily see a tree farm taking huge amounts of time to maintain (although you didn't say what kind of trees) - pruning, irrigation, etc. So, unfortunately, I'm just going to skip down and answer your last question. Yes. Too ambitious... for now. I strongly suggest that - as hard as it may be - you take one or even two years to acclimate yourselves to life in the country and on your farm. Garden on the previous owner's plot or make yourself a new bed the same size or only slightly larger than what you garden now. Your head is probably spinning with all the possibilities for your new place and you may not be seeing the practical aspects yet. I don't want to douse your enthusiasm. I just feel I have to inject a tiny bit of reality. Actually, I'm really jealous. ;) I'd love to have more land (and time) for pastures and hay.

I did a compost demo at my garden for my local garden group. I have 4 bins, so I showed them the bin where I add new putrescibles, then added a bagful of shredded newspaper to it and -- presto! -- the fruit flies went away. I sifted some finished compost, and they got close to smell it and feel it. But the most exciting part was when I took the cover off a not-quite-ready bin and moved aside the top layer. Everyone ooohed and aahed at the multitude of worms. I think if everyone can learn one or two things from your garden tour, it will be successful. If it's too much to absorb, it may be overwhelming. So if I were doing something like this, I'd have in mind some main points I wanted to make (to appeal to beginners as well as experienced organic gardeners), and then be aware that often people learn best when they can get specific questions answered, so no matter how much preparation you do, some people will think the best part of the tour is something you may not have imagined -- serendipity. (Does that make sense? It's analogous to the kid getting all kinds of fancy presents and then having the most fun playing with the empty boxes and ribbons.) I also went on an organic garden tour last week. Four gardens. 1. A community garden where you get a garden plot (100 sf) by taking a weekly gardening class. It was interesting to see the different trellising strategies. The worm bin was disappointing -- I found only 1 tiny worm. 2. A suburban garden with 4 plum trees in the parking strip (the area between the sidewalk and the curb), and a dozen or so other fruit trees scattered around a mostly ornamental garden. The highlight, though, was seeing a new composting/mulching tool, one of two prototypes built. It's like a big hand blender and hose that shoots water out at 750psi. Get a barrel full of green waste, use the tool, and in minutes it's pulverized and ready to use as mulch or, after sitting for a few days, ready to incorporate into the soil as a "compost." The inventor is talking to the state, in hopes of having this technology adopted to replace spraying roadsides and rights of ways with herbicides. He also says it will be useful for building firebreaks. (Not really a home gardening tool, though.) They have also experimented with pulverizing lawn trimmings, squeezing out all the liquid, and returning it to the lawn, with great results. 3. Another suburban yard, this one with a gardener who has a toddler and does not have much time to spend on the garden. So the front yard had lots of tree collards, the back had lots of arugula, and at other times of the year he grew lots of chard, fava beans, and other greens. He had a 1-page handout describing "low-labor organic gardening": at least 4 inches of mulch, delivered free from tree trimmers; "a dead flower is a living seed"; keep matching plants to their favorite microclimates; try something else until you find the easy ones that match how much time and effort you want to put into your garden. 4. A large suburban lot with tons of corn growing (they ate corn every day of the year, freezing the summer overproduction to eat in the winter), interplanted with carrots earlier in the season and with beans and squash later in the season. This is one of the few gardeners I've met who double-digs every year. He explained that the ornamental plants in the front yard (cacti, hollyhocks, etc.) were grown as biomass for the compost. He collects the yard waste and sends everything through the chipper when he builds the compost pile. His compost pile, which had been run through the chipper the day before, had a thermometer sticking out of it registering 155 degrees F -- very effective. I also put my hand on the pile and could feel the heat. The compost pile sits for a week, is turned, then after another week goes into a bin.

Clover might be good as would many other legumes. Buckwheat is supposed to attract beneficials. What about sunflowers! They attract beneficials and pollinators. Also feed the birds as well as squirles. Many herbs also attract beneficials. Bees seem to love the basil. Carrots take a long time so if there is a little water, you could come back to find carrots in the fall and if they were to go to flower, the good bugs love em. Radishes can help add organic matter to the soil if you leave them to rot. They may also be deterrent to some squash pests. Lots of annual flowers or even an annual wildflower mix might be great if you are starting from a relatively weed free base. I like growing alyssum along with lots of veggies. Nasturtium would be a good choice in somewhat dry/poor neglected areas, when grown in with other plants they make good aphid traps crops. Marigolds, they are supposed to be great companion plants but I've read that they would actually be far more effective is grown as a cover crop and turned in to help deter some soil pests. I've also read a bit about using sesame plants as a cover crop against some pests. You are probably best off having a bit of variety so that if something fails there is still a chance that something else will work. You will probably want to use something that you can get inexpensively and easily. Check for local seed sources or someplace like Johhny's selected seeds usually has some cover crop mixes. I got several different seed bags from them to see what cover crops will work well here. I currently have beds of clover, oats, winter and spring wheat, buckwheat, and since I can various cool weather crops that are struggling with the almost 80 degree days we have had lately. Just be careful of perennial plants that are known to be aggressive (stuff like mint and yarrow are probably not a good idea where you want to plant a veggie garden again next season.) It is definitely a good idea to keep something happening in the garden even if you aren't actively cropping. If all else fails, bury that garden under lots of leaf or compost mulch for the season so the worms can have a party while you are away. Here is a link that might be useful: TCLynx Gardening

PLASTIC MULCH! I strongly recommend it. Or several layers of weed blocker. I use a lot of plastic for anything that can handle heat. For things that can't handle heat I do cardboard paths and straw mulch in the bed. Make beds rather than till the whole thing if you want. You could make heaped beds 4x10 or so in that area of grass, leaving grass between that can be mowed. You would have paths inside the garden anyway. When you till in grass it doesn't die so you need the plastic mulch. Also just because there is nice grass on it doesn't mean the soil is good- compost like crazy in your heaped beds. I bring home straw from the compost facility or ask people in spring who decorated with it. I use it on half of my 15000 sq ft.