Category: Service Organizations

Choices, Community, Down On the Farm, Education, Faith, Farmers Markets, Food Insecurity, Food Justice, Gardening, Health, Neighbors, Non-Profits, Opal's Farm, Public Policy, Quotes, Service Organizations, Service to Others, Social Justice, Spirituality, Spring, Unity Unlimited, Inc., Urban Farming, What Can I Do

Buy Local – Now More Than Ever

gregoryjoel

I apologize for not posting regularly over the last couple of months. Opal’s Farm is going through several changes right now – most notably in staff. Recent cuts to USDA funding and January resignations have left the farm work to myself, my Volunteer Coordinator, Stacey Harwood, and a small number of volunteers. We are still on track for all our Spring planting and looking forward to a great harvest.

The bipolar Texas weather hasn’t helped even though it has kept things interesting. The freezing weather one week and in the eighties the next caused some of the winter crops to bolt. That was followed by seventy-two hours of sub-freezing weather and the plants took it much harder than the first round of freezes. The good news is that it looks like we’ve had our last hard freeze. Tomatoes are coming on the 17th and the rest of Spring planting is underway. We’re looking forward to bringing the Spring harvest to market!

I would also like to take a moment to talk about the many non-profit organizations working in agriculture and food systems. They have endured financial hardships due to the recent changes at the USDA. Some programs that aid farmers and farm organizations have been shut down indefinitely as funding has been frozen or eliminated entirely. Economic uncertainty faces us all.

The average age of a farmer in Texas is sixty-two. Part of our mission is to incubate new farms and train new farmers. American Farmland Trust has a slogan that says it all: “No farms. No food”. Please consider the importance of our local farmers, the healthy fresh produce they bring to our community, and the education they bring to the next generation of farmers, both urban and rural.

I’ve spent the last two months with our “Taste the C.U.R.E.” students and seen the interest and willingness to be part of the grower’s community. Not only do they want healthy food for themselves, but they want to feed their neighbors. Urban agriculture is a growing alternative to high food prices and the ultra-processed food found at the big grocery stores. We hope the movement continues to grow and that you can become a part of it.

You can support your local farmers and food system through financial donations, calling your elected representatives, volunteering at a local farm, or simply shopping local at your local farmers market or farm stand. Not only is local produce healthier, it ensures that food access is available to your community. Food access is not a “DEI” issue. It should be available to all of us. Healthy food is a basic human right. Your local farmers are working long hours to feed us all. Buy local and support your local farm!

Community, Down On the Farm, Faith, Food Insecurity, Food Justice, Gratitude, Neighbors, Opal's Farm, Quotes, Regeneration, Seasons, Service Organizations, Social Justice, Spirituality, Texas, Unity Unlimited, Inc., Urban Farming

There’s a Shadow Here

gregoryjoel

Happy Groundhog Day! I’m not sure about that furry little creature in Pennsylvania but a groundhog would see his shadow here in Fort Worth. We’re having a false Spring with sunny weather and Spring-like temperatures approaching eighty degrees for the first week of February. Don’t be deceived though. It is a false Spring. February and early March lie ahead and this is Texas. Need I say more.

We’ll be planting onions and potatoes this week but little else despite the warm weather. Bed preparation moves full steam ahead. Our “Taste the C.U.R.E.” students are making amazing progress on their plots. Seeing their diligence and desire reinvigorates us the have the best Spring yet!

The Texas Organic Famers and Gardeners Association 2025 conference is completed. It was great to see folks from all around the state I only get to see once or twice a year. I would like to say a huge thank you to the TOFGA Board for inviting me to speak at one of the workshops this year. I appreciate everyone who attended and look forward to seeing you again soon.

I haven’t posted much for the last month. My wife, Margaret, has been in the hospital for two weeks and only came home a week and a half ago. Thank you for your prayers and phone calls. It’s been hectic with Margaret, work travel, and all that comes with a home, four dogs, and grandkids. Going to work is like a vacation!

I also said goodbye to Joey Hughes, my Assistant Manager. Joey is going to be managing and expanding the educational opportunities at the Ridglea Giving Garden, as well as working with the North Texas School Garden Network and Hollow Trace Farm part-time. I appreciate all the work Joey put into growing our biointensive learning garden and kids’ educational curriculum for the field trips we host.

Speaking of which, Spring is the perfect time to bring kids of all ages (and as Ms. Opal likes to remind me, “You’re all kids if you’re not ninety-eight years old”) to the farm for a tour or field trip. You can book your tour or field trip at Delve Experiences, but hurry as Spring dates will be filling up fast.

Community, Connection, Creation, Down On the Farm, Environment, Faith, God's Economics, Gratitude, Neighbors, Non-Profits, Opal's Farm, Regeneration, Relationships, Service Organizations, Service to Others, Simplicity, Spirituality, Thoughts From the Porch, Urban Farming

The Gang is Back

gregoryjoel

July is almost over, and this may well be only the second time I’ve posted this month. We’ve been unseasonably cool (and wet!) off and on this summer. We are below our twenty-four triple digit days average. We’re enjoying the cooler weather, since August is right around the corner. It’s the hottest month of the year here so anytime it’s below a hundred degrees it’s a pleasant cool summer day…

The national news and the upcoming General Election have garnered the public’s attention over the last couple of weeks. I’d love to chime in on that front, but lately I’ve found I simply need to concentrate on what’s right in front of me and turn off the political noise that surrounds me – for my own sanity. I still plan to exercise my civic duty and vote – which I hope each one of you does – but I need to step back, turn on the music instead of National Public Radio, and spend my days working and enjoying the beauty of the farm, friends, and family.

We get to see some beautiful birds at the farm. A Great Blue Heron couple has made their nest somewhere on the overgrown sandbar south of the farm. Snowy Egrets frequent the banks of the Trinity looking for fish and small marine animals. We have a Cooper’s Hawks that lives close by (that eliminates the bird threat to our tomatoes) and even a Bald Eagle that comes around (although extremely infrequently).

Twice a year, usually during Spring and Fall planting, the Cattle Egrets, the Cowbirds as we always called them, drop in to eat the small insects that preparing for planting and turning beds usually brings out. They are much smaller than their Snowy brothers, and always come in groups – sometimes three or four groups on different areas of the farm and they’re always entertaining. Their little tan mohawk pops up and their jowls vibrate every time I come close.

Inevitably, there is always one outlier, one whose curiosity outweighs his fear, and always sticks around when the rest of the flock (which seems to be more like a gang!) flies away. He’ll follow me to see what’s going on and often looks at me as if saying “What’s up?”. I am under no illusion – I anthropomorphize our feathery friends – and it’s probably all in my imagination, but hey, I worked alone at the farm for a long time before Joey, Greg, and the guys came. I found my community amongst my wild feathery and furry friends.

One of the things I love about Opal’s Farm is the relationship we have with the wildlife on and around the farm. I take pride in knowing that our animal friends fit right into the environment we labor in. Each has an important place in how the farm operates – even what most consider to be pests. Don’t get me wrong: a pest is a problem, but nature has a way of dealing with them if we just let it take its course.

We have a ton of field mice at the farm. Most are field rats, but I call them mice because that’s what our volunteers would rather hear. There’s nothing more frustrating than picking a gorgeous watermelon or cantaloupe and finding a large hole in the bottom where a mouse had dinner. However, we lose more melons to two-legged predators than we do to mice and rats because we have coyotes, bobcats, rat snakes, and hawks that keep the rodent population manageable. When the ecosystem is in balance it takes care of itself.

We choose regenerative agriculture precisely for this reason. Nature does a far better job of keeping things in check than any chemical pest or weed control can ever do. It doesn’t have negative consequences either. Most of all, I get to enjoy it every day and be thankful to a creator that already took care of any problems I have in this regard. What a way to live life.

I’m getting ready to head to the farm again. I’m grateful for the rain we’ve had in July, but the reality is that it just isn’t enough during any North Texas summer. I’ll run the irrigation, prep a couple of beds, and hope my Egret friends drop by…

(An important aside – my wife’s father passed away on Friday. I’ll most likely be gone a couple of days this week. If you’re a praying person, please offer some prayers for my wife, Margaret, and her family.)

Community, Connection, Down On the Farm, Education, Emotional Health, Family, Health, Juneteenth, News, Opal's Farm, Service Organizations, Summer, Trinity River, Unity Unlimited, Inc., Urban Farming

Empowering You

gregoryjoel

I hope everyone is staying hydrated and healthy now that summer seems to have started in earnest. We’re hanging in there and keeping the summer crops watered to keep bringing you fresh, healthy, LOCAL produce (you can’t get much more local when you’re right next to downtown!).

We have so much to pass on to you all. June has been an amazing month already and Juneteenth is right around the corner. One of the Juneteenth events you shouldn’t miss is the Empowering You – Education, Health, and Job Fair to be held tomorrow and Saturday at the Trinity River Campus of Tarrant County College. See the attached flyer for details and while you’re there, come see us at the Opal’s Farmstand.

Activism, Choices, Community, Events, Faith, Food Equality, Food Insecurity, Food Justice, Marginalized, Neighbors, Non-Profits, Opal's Farm, Public Policy, Service Organizations, Social Justice, Thoughts From the Porch, Unity Unlimited, Inc., Urban Farming

Rain, Rain, Don’t Go Away – Just Come Less Frequently

gregoryjoel

It’s raining once again so that means it must be Sunday. I am so grateful for the rain – the plants at the farm love it – but it can be a mixed blessing. I have the rest of the Spring planting to do before it gets too hot! Then again, I got to take a nap this afternoon…

This has been another great week at Opal’s Farm. We’d love to thank the Bank of America volunteers that came out Wednesday. I was in Fayetteville, Arkansas for the Growing Hope conference and was amazed when I came home to see the work that had been done. Thanks to Stacey and Joey for all their hard work and making the volunteer event a great day.

As I mentioned, I was at the Growing Hope conference hosted by the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) in Fayetteville this week. It was an excellent conference reminding (and teaching) us of the importance of what we do as farmers and folks trying to change our local food systems.

I toured two different non-profit farms, Cobblestone Farms and Apple Seeds, and learned of our common mission to fight food insecurity and educate others – especially our kids – about healthy growing and real nutrition.

I also spoke with an amazing group of farmers and activists about the fight for food justice – not just food access and food security – but the justice that gives everyone a seat at the table (both literally and figuratively) to create safe, equitable local food systems. I’d love to give a shout out to all the folks at NCAT who put the conference together. It was one of the best conferences I’ve had the privilege of attending – full of new ideas and re-energizing me for the fight for food justice and equity.