Farm Friday

We had our first "sustainable living" meeting last Saturday and it was quite a success.  We had 19 people show (including 2 children) and a number of others expressed an interest but were unable to attend.  After having a delicious pot luck meal, we settled down to business and discussed what everyone expected from such a group.  It seemed that most were in sync with what Bill and I were looking for so we expect a good turnout at next month's meeting.  While it most of the attendees are interested in sustainable and simple living, a few of us are also interested in the social justice aspects of our consumer society.  I want to help people connect the dots between our American lifestyle and suffering in the world - and to find ways to opt out of such a damaging system.

Some of the crates of sweet potatoes

This week we "got up" the sweet potatoes.  That involved Bill pulling up the vines and taking them away, then using the tractor to plow up the rows.  He lined up the potatoes along the trenches that he created and I went in and sorted and crated them for transporting to the basement.  I sorted them into three categories:  cut/damaged potatoes that we need to use right away or compost; decent-sized ones for the CSA members and for general selling; and small ones to use to grow "slips" (starter plants) for next year's harvest.  Then we hauled the boxes to our basement and laid out the larger potatoes  to"cure" for a couple of weeks.  Once they're cured, we will put them back in crates for storage.

Tomorrow is the last day of the market we've been going to.  I've connected with the owner of a health food store who wants us to vend in front of her store and we'll start that next month in order to create a market for our surplus.  We've increased our sales to individuals, outside of the market, and hope that continues throughout the fall and winter - as long as the gardens continue to produce.

Some of the 6,000+ walkers in Greensboro

On Sunday I and a fellow CROP Walk planning team member walked the Greensboro CROP Walk, which is the second largest CROP Walk in the US.  We decided it would be good to see how other cities conduct their walks and we picked up a few pointers to help us with our walk next year.  It was a fun event and a beautiful day.

Last night we were given the opportunity to have our granddaughter with us for a long weekend so we're looking forward to having her on the farm.  She always has a good time.  This time, though, she will get to go to the farmers' market with us and then to visit another farm for their customer appreciation event.

Have a great weekend!