Thursday, March 26, 2009

EXCITING NEW ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT 2009 SEASON

I am excited and pleased to announce that the Farmer and I have decided that we are going to be open to the public this year. Granted, it will only be for one day per week, but it will be all day and mid-week on Wednesdays. Hours will be from 9am until 5 pm, starting June 3rd, with hours to be extended for July and August, maybe even into September. The last open day will be October 28th. We chose Wednesday because we are very limited as to when we can be here all day, due to the rest of our market schedule.

This is also kind of an experiment and if it works out, we will expand for next year. I admit that we have resisted doing this in the last several years because frankly, the last time we tried to have a produce stand at the Farm it didn't work out so well but I am optomistic that things will be different this time around.

Also, we are adding Wednesday at the Farm as a CSA pick up location, for those folks that live
too far from Charlotte, Davidson or Huntersville. It appears that there is a lot of interest in Salisbury, Statesville, China Grove, etc. and this location will be much more convenient for them, especially with the extended hours. I wish we could have extended hours at the other market locations where CSA picks up but we are bound by the constraints of those market hours.

The Farmer is still recovering from his back surgery. It has been nearly 7 weeks and while he is still experiencing some pain and weakness, overall he is making progress. He had 3 weeks of radiation treatments and that took a toll on his energy level and general well being, but that is over now and he is getting a little better every day. We don't start the next round of treatment for another 3 weeks and so are trying to enjoy this break. The therapies he will be undergoing are extremely hard on the body and we have our fingers crossed that he will have minimal side effects. But, like everything else, it is a "wait and see" scenario. His doctor is an expert in the particular type of rare carcinoma that the Farmer has and we feel very blessed to have been accepted as patients. Also, the incredible outpouring of volunteers, coming out to help on the Farm has been wonderful and we are thankful for them everyday. Things are going pretty well, although we are slightly behind in planting...although that is due to all the rain we have been having lately. Hope it dries out soon...my chickens are starting to get webbed feet.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Latest information about CSA

(Our website is still in limbo because of the new server switch, so here is the latest on CSA.)

Charlotte CSA pick up is completely full.

Huntersville CSA pick up has room for about 5 more members.

Davidson CSA pick up has room for about 4 more members.

Possibly adding a CSA pick up at THE FARM on a weekday but no decision on that yet. Check back here this weekend for more detailed information about that.

Thanks!

Monday, March 2, 2009

Affirmation and validation is always a sweet reward for hard work and dedication, especially when what you are doing is something slightly controversial. Take what I do for a living....I grow organic, heirloom vegetables, which I sell at farmer's markets. It always made perfect sense to me that anything that hadn't been too hybridized had to be better than something that had been tinkered with until it barely resembled the original, even if much of the differences were at a molecular level. It seemed that if something had been bred for long storage, firmness, and the ability to be picked earlier and greener and later being "tricked" into ripening by the application of hexane gas (tomatoes, for example), well, there was something not quite copasetic about that. And then there is the whole GMO argument....

I grew up eating homegrown organic veggies and I know what they are supposed to taste like. I am old enough that everything my gran grew when I was a kid is now considered an heirloom, so I know from whence I speak..... So, let me leave this alone before I go off on a rant about this subject. Hate to say “I told you so” but I told you so.....