Hi All and Happy Friday!
I hope you all enjoy these updates as much as I enjoy sending them. It is a constant source of joy and wonder when reflecting on what we can accomplish together. In our garden life together, friendships are forming, burdens are shared, we laugh, we sweat, we eat, we work and care for the land and each other -- It's a beautiful thing and a beautiful place, we're so thankful you are a part of our merry band
I missed stats last week so here they are. All numbers are to date beginning July 15. Hang on to your hats:
Stewardship / Volunteer hours: 114 Hrs
Produce Harvested: 3,360lbs
Produce Donated: 635 lbs
Please remember friends, you all drive these numbers and we count on you, please be sure you are recording your hours, weighing the harvest and what you take for yourself and your circles. We do not have to be perfect, but it is very helpful to quantify our work together for planning and grant purposes!
This week, we started seeds for fall crops, transplanted seedlings to the beds where potatoes and cabbage used to be and we set up hoops to protect our baby crops with netting. We also fed our chicken, talked to the goats, weeded a lot (we LOVE to weed! - just keep telling yourself that) we continued to harvest lots of tomatoes (400lbs), squash (39#) and zucchini (150#). We have pulled up another batch of onions that are drying in the barn, we set aside our potatoes for the Fall CSA and potatoes to sprout to plant next year.
A note about our farming methods, while we do have to purchase a lot of seeds, we also try and keep all we can from current harvests to plant next season. This does not work with all vegetables, but under Francis' guidance we do all that we can to be good stewards of our resources. Part of our mission at Spring Forest is mentoring in natural farming methods, so if you have questions or would appreciate a class, please speak up, we'll be happy to set it up!
This coming week: may be a little different on the farm as we have many traveling. The Truly Amazing Heather (ta ta DA!!!) will be onsite at the farm each day to let you know what the tasks are on Volunteer days. Please come out this week, and help out as you are able. Key tasks already identified include: harvesting Tomatoes and carrots, weeding carrots, and planting sweet potatoes. We are reaching the point that we are able to split work crews during volunteer times, so if you feel confident to lead a subgroup of volunteers on a task, we welcome your initiative and help in that way!
For the next two weeks, ALL VOLUNTEER HOURS ARE IN MORNING Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday 9:00 am - noon Thanks for your understanding.
The medicinal herb garden continues to expand. We have had some interest in a class on medicinal herbs, please speak up if that is something that interests you!
We have also had a volunteer step up and offer to host a crochet and knitting class. Again- shout out if that is up your alley and of interest to you or someone you know.
If you plan to sign up for our CSA, our website was updated this week to enable you to sign up and pay online. We have also added Square and VENMO (@thegardenatspringforest) to our toolbox. You can use VENMO at our farmstand for eggs. And if you would like me to send you an invoice to pay another way rather than through the website, I am very happy to do that for you.
We can always use more volunteers. If you enjoy your time at Spring Forest, please invite people you know of all ages and abilities to join us!
With thanks, grazie, muchas gracias, asante, danke, je vous remercie, obrigada, and have a great weekend! You know the deal- if you need anything or have questions or want to chat about the garden or ponder the meaning of life, give me a shout! Patti Jean (PJ) Spinillo, CSA Coordinator, The Garden at Spring Forest csa@springforest.org http://www.springforest.org https://www.facebook.com/prayer.work.table.neighbor/ @thegardenatspringforest 336-266-9475 cell
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