Chapter Two
An Exercise in Perseverance
I know that it’s been awhile since my last post, but I have been busy… really busy. Been planting like a madwoman here at home, at the farm, at my local community garden plot, and at my friends’ space. I’ve also been working out at Carriage House Farm one day a week, so as to get a better understanding of growing on a larger scale (thanks, Richard, for the opportunity).
The fellow who is managing the urban farm program quipped not too long ago that I must function on 4 hours of sleep. Well, I may, but not too terribly well. This is the season of the hurry-up-and-wait. I.E. hurry up and get as much planted as you can between torrential rainstorms and the sauna-like humidity of the region. I think this may be the first year that I long for the true dog days of summer, when everything is in the ground, and all I have to do is tend to the plants, harvest and sell.
My retail endeavors kicked off last weekend at a pretty nifty event, the Eco Go-go, where I was supposed to give a little talk about seasonality. Very appropriate, considering the main thrust of the event was a fashion show highlighting Eco-friendly clothing brands sold by small locally-owned businesses. Unfortunately, it started raining at around 7 that morning, and it didn’t let up until the event was supposed to start. The show did indeed go on, but those of us scheduled to speak were cut. Not to worry – I will be posting my speech in the next week or so.
Meanwhile, back at the farm, there has been some good news trickling in. We will be getting some fencing support! We will also be getting a processing station of some kind, so that we can wash our goods before going to market. My fellow farmers from St. Leo’s have also offered up the use of the church’s walk-in cooler and industrial kitchen. We had a very successful work day a few weeks ago, and got lots of new beds laid out. Nature then promptly dumped about a month’s worth of rain on us. I’m starting to wonder if I should look into growing rice.
Next on the farm to-do list: preparing locations for water holding tanks and getting the new fencing installed as soon as it gets purchased. I’m also generating a brand for myself, and the associated marketing collateral to go with it. Here’s the first stab at the logo:
And a pic of the stand:
Keep the happy thoughts coming in, friends – and come visit me at Findlay Market! You can also "like" White Fox Farm on Facebook.
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