Support Local Businesses

Shout out for Local Businesses! 

So now more than ever it’s important to support your local businesses. Amidst so much uncertainty with what the future brings, let’s band together to help our community out. I had two great experiences with some local businesses this week and I just wanted to give them a huge shout out! Both businesses are right up my alley with the farmer hat that I have slowly assumed over the past 13 years. Most people that meet me today might assume I was born a farmer and happily frolic in the fields when quite the opposite is true. I would much rather be playing with all things Cricut in my craft room, but I have learned to love both these hobbies – hence the site name Barton Craft AND Barn

The End of an Era

Every year that we have planted a garden we have gone to Vaughn’s Country Store in Simpsonville, SC. The folks that worked there were always so helpful and kind answering all my new local, novice farmer questions. I could describe what I was looking for and they would sift through the vast seed bank and find exactly what I needed. They would even give tips on what to plant when and things to look out for when planting or harvesting. When they sold us our sweet potato slips we showed them the mammoth sweet potato that we harvested and they kept it to put on display for their other customers. They even gave lollipops to the kids while I was browsing and figuring out what all I needed.

Then they closed. It was a sad sad day. I think there will be shops & restaurants in its place. It reminds me when they sold Martin’s family farm and I was really upset with the landscape change, but then they put a Hobby Lobby in the shopping center and all was forgiven. It’s the end of an era. Vaughn’s Country Store was open about 100 years! I struggled to find a local replacement that would offer the seeds, the expertise, and quality starter plants, but I think I found my people when I was planting the fall garden this year!

I started my plant/seed search at the local big box store and was so disappointed to not see everything I was looking for or anyone that might be able to help me. Everything that was on my list was picked over and sad looking. I remember a friend mentioning Coleman’s Farm Supply, a local family-owned farm store. It was such a nice experience buying seeds and plants there, with helpful staff and a clean store. There was even a parrot that mimicked my laugh at check out. I would be in trouble if I spent any amount of time in this store. I feel like I am always laughing at something, usually myself! I laughed, the parrot laughed, then I laughed again, and well you get the idea. I had to leave. I will surely be back though! I don’t get anything for this shout out, I just wanted to point local farmers to a great store while also helping this locally-owned family farm store. 

When I was looking at the local big box store for my fall plants I noticed they were selling blueberry bushes. We have a few wild blueberry bushes on the farm, but they yield tiny berries and they are not very juicy or sweet. So every year we visit a local blueberry farm to get our fresh-picked blueberry fix. Lately, this outing has been at Gentry Farms. It is so close to our house, the owners are really friendly, and the kids love seeing the dogs poking around. They always have tons of berries we can effortlessly pick. We have enjoyed watching the place build up over the years. Every visit we think, wow these blueberries are so good! Why don’t we have these kinds of blueberries growing on our property? Then life takes over and that becomes a distant memory. Well this year, with the time COVID gifted to our family, we decided this would be our year.

So we were looking for where to buy some blueberry bushes and I checked on our local Neighborhood Nursery before going too far. We landscaped the yard with their plants last year, and then in the spring updated some new areas as well. I am no landscape architect, nor do I care to be. So it’s all learn as I go, and the family at the Neighborhood Nursery was so helpful in guiding me to choose the right plants for each location. They were also very patient with me as I bombarded them with question after question. 

I think of them as typically selling landscaping plants so I wasn’t sure if they would have fruiting plants, but they had them this year! These guys are literally right around the corner from us. It’s a sweet family-owned nursery that we have always had a great buying experience at with great quality and competitive prices. If you are local check them out!

So coming soon to our little hobby farm is a blueberry patch! The farmer prepped the land, dug the holes, and enlisted our less than enthusiastic helpers to assist with planting, watering, fencing, and mulching the bushes. Hoping that we can see some blueberries as soon as next summer! 

And the last shout out for supporting local business is my very own Barton Craft & Barn! The new ducks have started laying! So we currently have both chicken and duck eggs for sale. I also am starting up my local Cricut craft classes again if there is interest. COVID really put a damper on the in-person classes. The website is still very new, so if you have ideas for products that would fit in my farming/craft niche let me know! In the meantime, I will plug away on my craft tutorials and hobby farm blogging.

So you may not be shopping for feed & seed or landscaping but you can still get out there and support your local business. It’s so important during this crazy time in history!