Author: gregoryjoel

I'm the Farm Manager for Opal's Farm - a non-profit5 acre urban farm in Fort Worth that grows for neighborhoods denied access to fresh, nutritious produce through food apartheid. I firmly believe that not only is healthy food a human right, it is also what brings us together Everyone has a seat at the table!
Communication, Community, Down On the Farm, Environment, Farmers Markets, Gratitude, Neighbors, Opal's Farm, Seasons, Service to Others, Summer, Tarrant Regional Water District, Thoughts From the Porch, Unity Unlimited, Inc., Urban Farming, Volunteers

The Beat Goes On…

gregoryjoel

The real dog days of summer have arrived in North Texas. Heat warnings and triple digit temperatures are expected for the next ten days. The tomatoes have gone dormant until Fall, the other crops are growing ever so slowly, and everything struggles (including me) to survive the baking sun. Fortunately, peppers and okra love summertime in Texas so we should have plenty soon!

Please take it easy this week if you work in this heat. Hydration, both water and plenty of electrolytes, and shade breaks are absolute necessities. Heat illnesses can sneak up on you and hit suddenly – I learned a lesson last week during a farm tour! – and heat injuries are serious.

We’ll be closing the farm for the month of August. We won’t have as many varieties of produce at Opal’s Farm Stand. I’m delaying some planting as I’ll be in at Texas State University in San Marcos next weekend for the Southern Family Farms and Food Systems Conference. Then I’ll be back home on Tuesday, but Margaret and I will be leaving on vacation Wednesday. We could have chosen a better time to go with rising gas prices (as well as for everything else!) but it’s the first real vacation we’ve had since the farm started in 2019. A huge shout-out goes to Amir for irrigating while I’m gone and to our friends at the TRWD police and the Fort Worth police for additional patrols at the farm.

We’re going to Cedar Rapids, Iowa to see my stepson. To be honest, Iowa was never on my bucket list as I’ve always assumed that Iowa was just a lot of cornfields. Stereotyping anything is poor practice. You’ll miss out on the real beauty of a place. I’ve flown over Iowa many times, but I’ve never been there so this will be a new experience for me. It’s also going to be a bit challenging – it’s the first time we’ve ever been away from our pups for a whole week. I pray that their (and our) abandonment issues are minimal. Many thanks go out to our friend who’s housesitting in our absence.

Photo by Tom Fisk on Pexels.com

Aside from the brutal August heat. I won’t be at Cowtown Farmers Market until the end of August. I always miss Cowtown when I can’t be there. I’ve had the privilege of gaining so many new relationships with our “regulars”. There’s one couple I want to acknowledge in a special way. Larry and Virginia (I don’t have permission to use their last name) have been incredible friends of Opal’s Farm. I didn’t see them this summer and just found out that they weren’t going to be able to come to Cowtown due to some health issues. I want you to know that you’ve been our my prayers. I’ll be sending some farm-fresh tomatoes when they come back in season. I miss you guys and love you so much. Thank for everything you do.

I hope to see you all in September. We love all you folks that volunteer and support Opal’s Farm. You have become part of the Opal’s family!

Community, Down On the Farm, Farmers Markets, Gratitude, Neighbors, Opal's Farm, Service to Others, Summer, Thoughts From the Porch, Unity Unlimited, Inc., Urban Farming, Volunteers

The Heat’s On

gregoryjoel

I’m sitting here enjoying my morning coffee and typing this extremely slowly so please bear with me. Thank goodness for spell check and autocorrect! I’ve been plagued with numbness in my hands for the last year or so due to a cubital tunnel issue. I’ve spent many days walking around shaking my hand to get some feeling back in it to continue working – and no, I don’t have a nervous tick. I went on Friday morning for surgery to decompress the nerves and I’m pleased to report that my hand hasn’t been numb for the last couple of days! You have no idea how wonderful it is to sleep through the night without waking up with a throbbing hand. I’m having to wear a sling for a couple of days to aid the healing, hence the one-handed typing.

My doctor said the recovery is short, but I needed to stay home over the weekend to let things settle down and avoid tears or post-op infection. Therefore, I was unable to do the Cowtown Farmers Market and Opal’s Farm Stand yesterday. I’m so sorry I missed you all. I can say that I’ve truly enjoyed the air conditioning and spending time with my beautiful wife this weekend! Now if I can just convince the puppies not to nose my arm while I sit here.

The heat is finally coming on strong this week so veggie production will slow down as we finish out the summer. The tomato production is rapidly declining so please get your summer tomatoes as we might not have many until Fall. We’re finishing out our pumpkin patch for the Fall, and several new beds are coming in so we hope to keep having our produce available through the summer doldrums.

We may not be at Cowtown Farmers Market every week. If we don’t have enough for both markets, we will be sending everything to the farm stand at Rosedale and Evans. We’re also changing our summer hours to keep everyone safe in this Texas heat. Beginning next week, Saturday, June 25th, we’ll be open from 9:00 AM until Noon. A big shout out to Jay and Vicki for manning the farm stand this summer. We have been so blessed by their help and support. Please let Jay know if you’d like to volunteer, either at the farm stand or Opal’s Farm. Feel free to contact me to get you set up on the volunteer’s text thread.

Finally, a huge shout out goes to Amir for irrigating for me yesterday. This weekend was not a good time to go without water for three days (I get to go back for light work on Monday!) Opal’s Farm is so blessed with all our volunteers and friends. Please stop by and see us soon. We love and appreciate our little community.