Thank you to all who came out to the FWAFWC Evans Avenue Plaza Marketplace on Saturday. We certainly thank you for your purchases of truly local produce. Most importantly, thank you for your prayers and support for Opal’s Farm and our mission – Building vibrant local communities through regenerative urban farming, faithful gathering, and lasting fellowship. We are so thankful to Dione Sims and the Fort Worth Association of Federated Women’s Clubs for inviting us to be a part of the festivities.
I also need to offer a huge thank you to the Paschal High School Key Club members who came out early Saturday morning to Opal’s Farm to volunteer their time and energy. They’ve become “regulars” at the farm. I can’t tell you what a help this is going into the winter! They mulched walkways, weeded, and cleaned up the Summer and Fall beds so they can be prepped for Spring! Thanks so much for all you do for Opal’s Farm!
*** For volunteering with Opal’s Farm please go to http://www.opalsvolunteers@gmail ***
I must apologize for my miscommunication about our Race Street market this Saturday. I marked the calendar for the evening, and it was during the day while we were at Evans Ave. However, the good news is that we will be at the Race Street Holiday Open Street next Saturday form 11am-5pm. We’ll be set up next to the Tributary Café. We can’t wait to see you all.
Finally, I want to extend an invitation to each of you to drop by the farm. We’d love to show you what we’re growing! We are blessed with a little oasis with Downtown Fort Worth for our backdrop!
A freeze finally came on December 1st. We knew it was coming eventually but this has been a long, warm Fall here (Yes, Fort Worth actually had a Fall longer than a weekend!). The dip below 32 degrees ended a great season for our tomatoes and peppers. Opal’s Farm produced over half a ton of tomatoes this year and over 225 pounds of peppers this year. The bad news is that they won’t return until Spring. The good news is that we have plenty left for market this week!
We won’t be at our usual place at Cowtown Farmers Market this week. Instead, we’ll be at 1050 Evans Ave, Fort Worth, (76104 if you’re using GPS!) from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM for the Evans Avenue Plaza Marketplace held by the Fort Worth Association of Federated Women’s Clubs. Please come by and check us out. Come and support local small business!
Later that evening we’ll be outside the Tributary Café (2813 Race Street) for the Race Street Holiday Open Street. We’ll also be there the following Saturday evening as well. We love our friends at the Tributary Café (Chef Mike – your gumbo and fried green tomatoes are awesome!) and can’t wait to see you all there.
Good Morning Everyone! I’ve been seriously lacking in updating everyone on Opal’s Farm over the last month. Fall is particularly busy this year with planting and expansion into the next 1/3 acre of the farm. We’ve made some amazing progress with the help of some dedicated, hard working volunteers and our amazing friend Charlie Blaylock with Shines Farmstand.
Fall is a special time of year at the farm. The days are a bit cooler, which makes work all the much easier (and fun!) and the changing season brings new life to dormant summer plants (the tomato pepper plants are loaded). The purple hull peas apparently produce more in the Fall than in the Spring!
The late summer plantings of cantaloupes are going to be ready this week. Jamison the Farm Dog is doing his best and working hard to keep the field mice and river rats from getting to them first.
The Fall plantings are growing and going. We took the first radishes of the season to market this Saturday. The Japanese turnips and beets should be close behind.
We may be unbelievably busy, but we always have time to enjoy the peace and wildlife Fall brings to the farm. Monarch butterflies are more frequent, the turtles sun themselves more frequently on the banks of the Trinity (unfortunately so do snakes! Don’t worry though: they stay by the river!), and the egrets are everywhere these days.
We’ve also had a beautiful pair of visitors over the last couple of weeks. Two Great Blue Herons have been frequenting the farm. They are truly majestic. They’re the largest herons in North America (and tend to make Jamison a bit curious and bark a lot…) and we feel blessed they’ve chosen to hang out at Opal’s Farm.
We’d like to take a moment to thank the Tributary Café on Race Street. We began selling okra to the café a couple of weeks ago. Last night, they asked us to set up for the Race Street night out hosted by the Riverside Business Alliance. We met some great neighbors and shared the bounty of the farm with many. We now deliver on Wednesday’s to the adjoining riverside neighborhoods for a $2 delivery fee. You can always call the farm to see what’s available and place your order. We’ll have that set up online soon.
As always – we’d love to have you come out to the farm to volunteer or just visit and say hi. You can always donate directly to Opal’s Farm by visiting our website at www.unityunlimited.org or our Facebook page.
