Hi Jared I started by working for my cousin, then spent 2 years working as what was essentially a migrant farm worker. saved my $ and bought my first house on 2 acres for $27,000. You can pretty well figure ... it wasn't much of a house. But, it kept the rain off and I worked another job and worked on the house and farmed my little one acre of date palms and 1/2 acre of produce. The next year I leased an additional 1 1/2 acres of dates. Eventually sold that place and now have 5 acres with on acre of dates producing and another planted. Will eventually have 4 acres planted. I admire your desire to stay out of debt. It means you have to live like no one else for a while, and save save save. With a family, that will be harder than it was for me but it is possible. Then look for the right opportunity. Be patient, and you will find it. Then 2 things about farming. 1) grow what you love to grow and what loves to grow for you. Different kinds of farming require different kinds of work. One will be better suited to you and who you are. Best way to find out is work for other farmers and learn from experience. 2) always have a market before you plant. This is the farming equivalent of location location location. May your crops grow well and your markets swell. Arthur the date guy and do drop a word and let us know how it goes

What a great assortment of plants and it looks like you have bright sunny windows--I have very little sun plus this New England weather--cloudy & cold can't wait for Spring--I hope you win the contest--I am not into Face Book --not even sure how it works-so I can't help u there--perhaps others will Good luck Mari

You can till clay, if you do it at the right time. Tilling too wet clay makes for major problems and trying to till too dry clay is about immpossible. Then, once the clay has enough organic matter in it it probably would not need to be tilled again unless someone walked on it or other wise compacted it. These simple soil tests may be of some help. 1) Structure. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. A good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top. 2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains� too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up. 3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart. 4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer your soil will smell. 5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy.

The first thing I notice is that you're growing your pumpkins in a field of thick weeds and grass. That's not necessarily too bad as long as you have a large cultivated area at the main stem for them to draw from, but I don't see that either. Basically, your pumpkins are competing for survival with some very fierce competitors. This is a fight you won't win. I also see some powdery white spotting which is Powdery Mildew, a natural enemy of squashes but generally only a problem for weakened plants. A few fertilizers spread the base is not what your pumpkins need. They need room to spread their roots. I would suggest a deeply cultivated and composted 4' x 4' weed-free area to start each pumpkin. And that's the minimum. The more area of moist, fertile soil they have to spread across, the better off they will be. Additionally, you may or may not be having problems with Squash Vine Borers (SVB). I don't have those where I live and know little about them. But from what I understand they are *very* nasty and hard to avoid. You may want to research that a bit.