There’s a lot of growing going on at the Boyd family farm in Edwards.

It’s not just the cantaloupe, tomatoes, squash, string beans, peas and four or five varieties of peppers grown and then sold at the Vicksburg Farmers’ Market.

Farmers’ Market

At Levee and Grove streets; 8 to 11 a.m. on Saturdays and 4 to 7 p.m. on Wednesdays.

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There’s also Millie, the Lab puppy, Brown Midnight, the German shepherd, and Noodle, the Yorkshire Terrier; six kittens (one an adopted stray) and a cat; two cows, a calf and another on the way; a couple of horses; and a flock of chickens.

Oh, and the Boyd children, too: Bo, 12; Sarah Beth, 10; Luke, 8; Jordan, 7; Maggie, 5; Josiah, 3; Jesse, nearly 2; and the baby, 4-month-old Jeremiah.

The five oldest run the Boyd Farms’ booth at the Farmers’ Market, with a little help from their parents, Bryan and Becca Boyd.

“The main reason we did this was as a ministry — to share with people about the Lord,” said Bryan. “They ask (about the kids), ‘are those all yours?’ And that gives us an opportunity to share with them. It’s also an opportunity to do something as a family.”

The Boyds moved to their nearly 18-acre Edwards farm six years ago from Clinton, choosing it as the perfect place to raise a family. The kids, homeschooled by their mother during the school year, decided in the spring that they wanted to be part of the market.

“We always plant a garden, but we planted extra after we made sure everybody wanted to do it,” Bryan Boyd said. “They kept their commitment but it’s been a lot of work to do it.”

That’s one of the things Bryan and Becca Boyd wanted. “We wanted to teach them about work, and also to serve other people and each other,” Bryan Boyd said. “And to learn that fun things also have their disappointments and difficulties.”

Bryan, a self-employed agricultural consultant who advises farmers on insects, weed infestations and other farming concerns, said the family has always kept a garden but just made it bigger this year —about three-fourths of an acre. They started planting April 25.

The jobs the children couldn’t do, the parents did — driving the tractor, setting posts, driving tomato stakes, spraying chemicals. The kids dug spillways and waterways, planted, weeded and harvested. “They’re doing it on their own,” Bryan Boyd said.

“The whole family helps,” said Bo. “We all help pick the string beans. When we have peas Mama helps shell them, Daddy weighs them. We work together well.”

The kids get up between 5 and 5:30 a.m., have breakfast, read the Bible, pray through that day’s prayer list and head out to the fields.

Often they work together in pairs, older ones helping the younger to make sure what ends up in the sack is the right size for picking. The job can take an hour to three hours or more, depending on what’s ready. Weeding and helping feed the animals are done in the afternoon.

“When we were picking peas there were days they started at 6 a.m. and were shelling the last batch of peas at 8:30 p.m.,” Bryan Boyd said.

On days like that, he said, they probably picked and shelled eight to 10 bushels each — hard work, the kids agreed.

“Yes, but it’s fun,” said Sarah Beth.

“And we’ve got a sheller, too,” Bo said, making the harvest seem even more impressive.

Jordan said her favorite chore has been harvesting. “You get to pick a lot of stuff, and wash it and make it clean.”

The worst part has been “probably pulling weeds,” Luke said.

Bo agreed. “I learned it’s better when you get them when they’re small.”

But the kids like the market so much, they don’t mind too much having to pull the weeds, Bryan Boyd said.

The family has had a table at the market since the middle of June, arriving each Saturday around 7 a.m. They’ve sold produce on several Wednesdays, too, though the market tends to be slower then. The kids answer questions, talk to people about the farm, weigh bags of beans or tomatoes, total the bill and make change. “Sometimes we tell people how we like to cook them,” Bo said.

“We sell a lot of stuff,” added Maggie.

The back-and-forth, one-on-one interaction with people has been one of the best experiences for his children, Bryan Boyd said. Each child keeps busy without being told, Bo figuring the bills and handling the money, Sarah Beth and Luke helping customers make selections and giving out evangelistic tracts, and Maggie and Jordan, putting it all in bags.

When there’s a break in the line of customers, baskets get refilled. Bo and Luke can often be seen polishing tomatoes with a damp cloth.

Josiah plays in the background and Jesse stays near his mother and the baby or naps in the back of the van, kept running to keep him cool.

“They’re steady at it,” one customer noted, and Bryan and Becca Boyd heard plenty of compliments on the kids’ manners, neatness and hard work.

“It’s been a joy for them,” Becca said. “They’re always excited and ready Friday night getting everything ready.”

“They’ll get to keep all the money from this,” Bryan Boyd said. “But it really wasn’t about making money. They’ve learned a lot and we’ve had many opportunities to share about the Lord’s love.”

The Boyds expect to sell at the market through the end of August. The weeding and harvesting will end, home-schooling will begin again, and the calf will be delivered. Lots more growing to be done at the Boyd family farm.

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Contact Pamela Hitchins at phitchins@vicksburgpost.com