I’d like to invite all Opal’s Farmers to come out to the 2021 Dig Deep Conference. Opal’s Farm will be talking about “Empowering Communities Through Food”. There are programs for all types of growers. We’d love to see you there.
Please join Tarrant Area Food Bank and the Tarrant County Food Policy Council for an exciting and educational event – Dig Deep: A Conference for Growers!
Growers of all kinds from all over the North Texas region are invited to attend the conference as a means to network with other growers, learn more about important aspects of growing, and participate in an event highlights the important and positive work being done in our area to help end hunger and promote a healthier community.
Tracks will be offered on Home, Community and Market growing, ensuring that there is something for every kind of grower.
Opal’s Farm is finally drying out after our first week without the heavy Spring rains. We might even get to use our new pump so graciously installed by our fantastic friends at the Tarrant regional Water District.
The tomatoes are loving the week of sunshine. Various shades of red are beginning to appear in the humungous green bushes. The vegetables have enjoyed the long, cool drink of Spring and face the summer heat with renewed strength.
The crowd at Cowtown Farmer’s Market is growing as well. Each week brings more shoppers for the fresh, locally grown food. There’s something special (and even more tasty and nutritious!) about locally grown produce. We look forward to market days!
That being said…
Opal’s Farm will not be at Cowtown Farmer’s Market this coming Saturday, June 19th. It’s Juneteenth, y’all! We’ll be walking with Ms. Opal for two-and-a-half miles, from Evans Plaza to the Tarrant County Courthouse. Afterwards, we’ll be set up at Panther Island Pavilion for the Juneteenth festivities, including live music, great vendors, and fireworks to celebrate freedom. Go to www.juneteenthftw.com to see the complete schedule and times. Come celebrate with Ms. Opal Lee and the good times marking freedom for us all…
Join Opal’s Farm and one billion people from over 193 countries in celebrating Earth Day, April 22, 2021.
Earth Day started in 1970 to increase awareness and mobilize people to address environmental issues that affect our health and well-being all around the world. Opal’s Farm is proud to be a part of the movement to make our environment, our world, and communities a better place. Earth Day is every day at Opal’s Farm!
When we began Opal’s Farm two years ago, we made a commitment to
-Building vibrant local communities through regenerative urban farming, faithful gathering, and lasting fellowship.
Why Regenerative Urban Farming?
The first component of regenerative farming is soil health. Healthy soil makes for healthy plants and healthy plants make for healthy people. Soil rich in nutrients means plants richer in nutrients – not to mention the flavor is so much better than those raised with industrial farming methods. Building the soil health is the foundation for the other components or regenerative agriculture – biodiversity, water and cleanliness, and soil carbon sequestration.
My name is Greg Joel. I’m the Farm Manager here at Opal’s Farm. People often ask if we practice “sustainable” farming. The answer is a resounding no! We practice regenerative farming. There’s a huge difference!
“Sustainable” implies keeping things (in our case, the soil) the way they are – to keep them from deteriorating and saving them for future generations to use.
“Regenerative” goes beyond merely preservation of the existing environment. It means to leave it better than you found it – building resources for future generations!
Opal’s never uses chemical pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers. These all degrade soil health over time. That’s why so much land has become non-productive. That’s also why many of the vegetables we love have lost the true flavor we love them for.
Texas soil requires amendments such as compost, other organic matter, and organic fertilizers to build healthy soil and increase vegetable yields. Soil needs to be fed just like we do to be healthy and productive. The difference between soil and plain old dirt is that soil is a vibrant environment full of life – microbes, microorganisms, and bacteria that feed the soil and in turn, feed the plants that live there. Dirt is not – it’s void of the living things that make up what we call soil.
We are so grateful for the Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD) for providing our five acres for urban farming. One of the ways we show our gratitude is farm organically. The last thing we want to do is use substances that run-off into our beloved Trinity River and contaminate the water we all depend on.
This week of Earth Day celebration reminds us of the responsibility we have as good stewards of the land we’ve been given. We’ll be talking more about regenerative urban farming and about the other components of our mission during the coming week.
None of what we do at Opal’s Farm – regenerative urban farming, providing access to healthy, fresh produce in neighborhoods devasted by food apartheid, and uniting the surrounding community could be accomplished without your ongoing support. The notorious February freeze may have been an obstacle for the Spring season, but we’ve come through with flying colors because of the generous support of our friends and neighbors.
Spring has blossomed at Opal’s Farm and we need your support more than ever. Please give to our work with your donation to Opal’s Farm at www.unityunlimited.org/opalsfarm
Join us tomorrow as we get closer to Earth Day 2021!
Ah, the last day of February. Tomorrow is meteorological Spring. While it’s not the official (i.e. – the Vernal Solstice or Saturday March 20th) first day of Spring, it’s a reminder that warmer days are just around the corner.
It’s hard to believe that a mere two weeks ago we were huddled around a space heater with no water in a 30-degree house. I was out on the porch this morning for my meditation time. Shorts, a t-shirt, and flip flops were all that was needed to be comfortable.
We were blessed to have a generator to power the space heater and a coffee pot. Others were not so lucky. There are still folks without water as I write this. Please pray for relief so the disaster recovery can begin.
Opal’s Farm took a beating. We may still be able to salvage some onions and spinach. I had to replant cilantro, beets, turnips, snow peas, and snap peas. I’m glad to have gotten them in before the rain this weekend. We have potatoes to plant when it dries up and more onions are coming to replace what was lost to the freeze.
They had just started putting out
It has been a busy week here at the farm – replanting, plowing, and irrigation repair. We lost a couple of hundred feet of PVC pipe to the cold. There’s much to catch up on so if you have a little free time and want some dirt therapy go email us at opalvolunteers@gmail.com or opalsfarm@unityunlimited.org. We’ll get you going!
We had our annual membership meeting for Cowtown Farmers Market yesterday. We are pleased to be a part of such a dynamic group of farmers and vendors that believe in bringing fresh, local food to our community. We will be continuing the SNAP and Double-Up Food Bucks through April 1st as well. Please come see us and enjoy the best fruits and vegetables in Fort Worth! We’d appreciate the support for our local farmers.
February, especially this year, was an opportunity to reflect on where we’ve been and where we’re going. The freeze was a major obstacle to a successful 2021. The produce we would normally take to market was lost, cutting our revenue for the next few weeks. This is a huge blow to our budget for this year. We are currently seeking assistance from a couple of disaster recovery resources, but so many farmers suffered losses this month that it may be months if we receive financial assistance.
We nearly doubled our yield over 2019 last year and we hope to do so again in 2021. Our soil health has drastically improved with the amendments we were able to have last year (Thank you Sliver Creek Materials and Microlife/San Jacinto Environmental!). We’ve expanded our production area by another acre. We are excited by the possibilities even with the hardship that came from the deep freeze.
We’re also aware of how blessed we are to be a part of the community and all our friends. While your thoughts, prayers, and volunteering are appreciated more than you know, we are asking for financial help to whether this setback. If you’re able to give, please go to www.unityunlimited.org/opalsfarm and click donate. You can also donate through Facebook, or even drop by the farm.
We have an exciting Spring and Summer planned and we’d love for you to be a part. Thank you for all each of you do. Thank you for being part of Opal’s Farm!
“It’s frigging cold!” I used to laugh it at my neighbors who complained about the cold in in Texas. We’ve had above-average temperatures this year. Fifty degrees is not cold folks. Today? “It’s frigging cold!”
We’ve haven’t gotten above freezing for the last couple of weeks. The high temperatures are only projected to drop for the next few days. The forecast calls for a possible three inches of snow over the weekend and more later in the week. Much of the country is in the deep freeze so we’re not alone. It just doesn’t happen here often, so this is a major “weather event” for us. There was a 133 car pile-up on I-35 yesterday with six fatalities and 80-plus people sent to the hospital…
Opal’s Farm has come to a bit of a stopping point in our late winter planting because of the weather. It didn’t stop the Tarrant Regional Water District though. The started on the infrastructure for our new pump and irrigation this week and are almost finished. I’ve been doing the “Happy Dance” all week. TRWD is so good to Opal’s Farm. The best way I know to show them gratitude is to grow lots of food for our neighbors. TRWD has always believed in Opal’s Farm’s mission and their support has been invaluable.
Please keep us in your prayers as we go through this week and freezing temperatures. We planted all our onions (around 6,000 of them!) in the week before we knew about this coming in. Onions are hearty plants but so many freezing days in a row will inevitably hurt some of them.
I was once asked what our “Plan B” was in the event of a flood or other disaster. It’s simple – we replant! The farm is a great example of what to do in life – replant. Life throws out some hard lessons. Sometimes you just have to replant and go on from there…
I know this has been a tough year on everyone. If you are able, please consider a donation to Opal’s Farm today. You can donate securely at www.unityunlimited.org/opalsfarm.
gregoryjoel.com 