Happy Sunday and the beginning of October! Thank you to everyone who participated in the White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, and Health at the Watch Party on Wednesday. We are so thankful attention is being given to the food insecurity and the health issues that stem from it. The conversation has started and now is the time for action – changing how we think about food, giving access to healthy food for everyone, and pursuing food justice. This is 2022 – there is no reason that 1 in 5 of our kids goes to bed hungry each night.
One of the things that stood out to me the most is that the food advocacy community here in Tarrant County is already doing and growing into many of the actions the conference discussed. We are blessed to have a small but vibrant community of food advocates here in Fort Worth and Opal’s Farm is proud to be part of that community.
In support of the White House Conference and the Administration’s drive end hunger by 2030, Opal’s Farm will be hosting a Day of Service at both the Community Food Bank and Opal’s Farm. Not only will be doing some excellent service work at both places, but we will also be walking “Opal’s Walk for Hunger” from the Community Food Bank to the farm, immediately followed by a celebration of Ms. Opal’s 96th birthday! Please come and join the festivities.
I didn’t realize how long it had been since I’ve written a blog post until I saw there was no September posts. Here it is the 25th and the month is almost over. It’s not like nothing has been happening. In fact, it’s busier than ever – some good and some well, you know…
Opal’s Farm started September with hiring a new Assistant Farm Manager, Amber Carr. In three short weeks she’s come to be loved and appreciated by each of us. We have long been trying to grow into the next phase of Opal’s Farm and we finally can do just that. Amber interned with Charlie Blaylock at Shines Farmstand for the last year and brings a wealth of knowledge and incredible drive to Opal’s. We are blessed to have her with us.
Stacey Harwood, our Volunteer Coordinator is no longer a “volunteer” Volunteer Coordinator! We were able to hire Stacey on part-time thanks to a salary grant from the Rainwater Foundation and Grow Southeast. Stacey has been with Opal’s as a volunteer since Spring of 2020 and she is greatly appreciated.
We had a major glitch in operations last Tuesday. We found the fence down and the doors to our shipping container were wide open. About $15,000 worth of equipment was stolen. The thieves cut the fence and loaded everything on our trailer and took off. While it is fortunate that our new Kubota tractor was not touched, the BCS tractor and rotary plow that builds our beds is gone. We now park the Kubota off-site for security reasons. The police said that several sites were hit in the last couple of weeks. Apparently, these people are professional thieves. Given the tools necessary to cause the break-in damage it makes sense…
They weren’t messing around.
For this reason, we are setting up a Go Fund Me account to help replace the stolen equipment and install additional security measures. While no security systems are perfect, we try to give thieves reason to think twice before attempting to break in. You can always donate directly to Unity Unlimited and the Opal’s Farm page. Please be sure to mark what it’s for.
I know the North Texas Giving Day was last Wednesday, but we are asking to consider this a special, immediate need. This has hampered and slowed our operations in many ways. Anything you can give would be a great help and so appreciated.
Good morning from Opal’s Farm! I realize that some Opal’s supporters may not share the same scene I have looking out my office door this morning (thanks to all of you across Texas, the nation, and even the globe! We appreciate you all so much). The sun has just come up and it’s a brilliant Spring morning. Last week’s wintry morning has been replaced with cool Spring mornings. The birds are talking loudly amongst each other, and the trees are beginning to bud in radiant greens, whites, and purples. The projected high temperature for today is ninety degrees (in March)!
Spring planting is moving ahead at breakneck speed. Professor David Cole, Stephanie Schmitz, and the students at Tarrant Count College NW’s Horticulture Department grew four hundred tomato plants and one hundred pepper transplants for the farm this year. The one thing we are unable to have has been a greenhouse (no structures on the floodplain) so we can’t start out tomatoes and peppers on time. Providing our transplants saved the farm hundreds of dollars. They’re also bigger and healthier than those that come from our regular vendors. Hopefully, we will be able to provide tomatoes early this year.
All our tomato and pepper plants are in and trellised thanks to our wonderful volunteers. Melissa, Jamie, and Tony came during the week, and we had two great workdays with the Ridglea Presbyterian Student Ministries and The Hills Church Unity Builders Ministry over the last two weekends.
We skipped market this Saturday so we could pick up, deliver, and plant all our transplants. Don’t worry though. We’ll be back next week with more of the organically grown fresh produce you all look for from Opal’s Farm!
I was sitting on the porch drinking coffee and listening to the sweet songs of the mockingbird that perches on our catalpa tree every Spring. When I got to the Opal’s Farm, I saw the first robins skittering across the newly turned soil. We had what I hope is the last freeze this past Friday night. The lettuces and Tokyo Bekana that was beginning to sprout survived with flying colors. I feel ready to say that Spring has finally sprung here in North Texas. Then again, it is North Texas…
I love when the robins flock to the farm. I enjoy watching them because I know that they know where the worms are and earthworms are one indicator of healthy soil. I pulled some turnips yesterday and saw the mycelium covering their roots. My kids laugh at me about how excited I get to see such things but quite frankly, I don’t care. Healthy soils mean healthy plants. Healthy plants mean wonderful flavor and maximum nutritional value for our customers and those we serve!
This Spring promises to be a pronounced difference from last year. The historic 2021 ice storm and the uncommonly wet May caused dramatic losses to our Spring crops. Everything seems to be on track this year for a successful Spring for Opal’s Farm. Our compost pile is growing (Thank you Carpool Compost!) along with our wood chips for mulch (Thank you J Davis Tree Company!). In fact, we have wood chips available to our community if anyone needs some for their Spring gardens!
We weren’t at Cowtown Farmers Market this week, but we will be there next Saturday. It’s been hit and miss since the first of the year. We didn’t even get to go to market from the first week in January until last week. It was so good to see so many of our regular customers and share Saturday morning with our fellow vendors. We missed you all! We have some of the most awesome folks who share their Saturday mornings with us.
Our Spring Volunteer Sign Up calendar will be updated today. Stacey Harwood, our Volunteer Coordinator, tells me that weekends are beginning to fill up with large groups coming out so be sure and schedule your groups as soon as possible.
We can’t even begin to tell you how excited we are that Spring is finally here. Come and join us as we work the soil, plant Spring crops, and eagerly await the anticipated abundance Opal’s Farm gives us each year!
As always – you can donate to Opal’s Farm at http://www.unityunlimited.org or at our stall at Cowtown Farmers Market. Every dollar you donate to Opal’s Farm is goes to providing a healthy meal to our neighbors. Every dollar you spend at Cowtown Farmers Market helps those with no access to fresh, nutritious produce have a healthy meal and builds our neglected communities!
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. I took a week to travel to Kentucky and spend the holiday with my family. Stacey Harwood, our Volunteer Coordinator, looked after Opal’s Farm in my absence and did a stellar job. Our Opal’s volunteers and our Grow SE apprentices got plenty of fresh produce to the community.
I spent this afternoon sorting tomatoes – I’m through the first four hundred pounds – and checking the progress of our Fall crops. I can’t wait to see you all at Cowtown Farmers Market this Saturday morning!
I can’t believe we still haven’t had our first freeze here in Fort Worth. The near freeze Thanksgiving night killed off some of the weaker tomato and pepper plants, but the bulk of the plants are still blooming and loaded once again. I never dreamed we’d be bringing fresh tomatoes in December! We’ll also have purple top turnips, bak choi, lettuces, spinach, mustard greens, and winter squash. Come on out and load your baskets!
I also want to remind everyone that Tuesday is the International Day of Giving – Giving Tuesday. The first Tuesday after Thanksgiving has become a time to come together and support local non-profits during the holiday season. It gives us each the chance to practice radical generosity.
The ice storm in February and fifteen inches of rain in May affected our Spring production. We need you more than ever to continue our work bringing fresh, healthy produce to underserved and neglected communities. You can donate through our website, www.unityunlimited.org, through our Opal’s Farm Facebook page, or at Cowtown Farmers Market on Saturday mornings (I know – it’s not Tuesday but…).
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