Spring – Page 7 – gregoryjoel.com

Bad Weather, Community, Conservation, Creation, Donations, Down On the Farm, Environment, Faith, Fighting Poverty, Food Deserts, Food Equality, Food Insecurity, Food Justice, Gardening, Gratitude, Non-Profits, Nutrition, Opal's Farm, Preparation, Regeneration, Seasons, Service Organizations, Service to Others, Spirituality, Spring, Tarrant Regional Water District, Transformation, Trinity River, Unity Unlimited, Inc., Urban Farming, Volunteers, What Can I Do

Rain, Rain…eh…

February 20, 2020 gregoryjoel

Down On the Farm: I’d love to wish you all a good morning from the farm, but it will have to be from the desk instead. We had a night of downpours, so I get to greet you all from the warmth of my office. We’re always thankful for the rain. Last month was the second wettest January on record and February is on a similar track.

Rain is often a trade-off for Opal’s Farm. It’s slowed down our Spring planting but all the onions and most of the potatoes are in. The remaining preparations for Spring – spreading compost, bed preparation, etc. – have come to a standstill because it’s too wet to work at the farm. It doesn’t mean work stops. It just stops outside…

It’s that time of year when there is a long “to-do” list, but the weather is so erratic that some needed tasks get put on the back burner until it’s dry enough to work. If you’ve signed up on our volunteer schedule you may wish to call the farm if it has rained the day before you’re coming out to be safe. I’ll be happy to shuttle volunteers from the entrance gate. Every now and then it gets a little too muddy for an automobile.

We recently had an issue with the volunteer sign on our website, www.unityunlimited.org. That has been resolved and the sign-up link is working great. We’ll be emailing each of you who were unable to sign-up because of an expired link. Please don’t hesitate to call us at 817.333.8367 if you have any questions.

A huge thank you goes out to Yvonne and Kiersten for a great day of planting. Please come join us anytime!

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Raining again!

February 12, 2020 gregoryjoel

Down On the Farm

It’s a bit quiet down on Opal’s Farm. The last three days have brought rain and cold weather, but it’s not freezing. We’re always grateful for the rain, but especially since we were able to get all our onions planted (all 3000 of them!) and fertilized before the wet weather got here. We are so grateful for our volunteers that helped get the planting done.

We’re excited that Spring planting is under way. Through our partners and donors, we’ve been able to spread compost and organic fertilizer. Building and regenerating our North Texas soil is not only crucial to increasing production, but it’s essential to being good stewards of the land the Tarrant Regional Water District blessed us with. Mom always said, “Leave it better than you found it”!

Ducks where everywhere Monday!
(by the construction entrance)

2020 promises to be a successful second year for Opal’s Farm. Last year, with virtually nothing to work with except donated seed and a few volunteers, we were able to produce over 4500 pounds of food for the food banks, neighborhoods, and Cowtown Farmer’s Market. This year we’ve been able to add composting, fertilization, and a better irrigation plan so the yields from our first acre will be even higher and more of our neighbors will be served.

We’re also working toward better weed control and soil regeneration through the extensive use of wood chips. J. Davis Tree Care Solutions has been bringing truckloads of wood chips over the last few weeks. We are thankful for their help on Opal’s Farm!

We will be expanding into our second acre this year as the Spring planting continues. We hope to be able to utilize more land when Fall planting arrives.

We wouldn’t be able to do all this without some great partners. Blue Zones Fort Worth, Healthy Tarrant Collaboration and Grow SE have been amazing. BBVA Bank worked with Grow SE to provide compost. It’s been a huge blessing to us and to them we offer a huge thank you!

Our volunteer numbers continue to grow as well as our vegetables! Thanks again to everyone who came out to help get compost spread and onions in the ground.

One More Thing…

We have one major issue going into Spring and we need to ask for your help. Our farm truck needs some work done as soon as possible in order to keep up our work on the farm. While grant monies have helped our Spring preparation and planting, they are for seed, materials, and supplies only. They don’t cover maintenance, repairs, and most importantly, salaries. We maintain a low overhead in these areas, but they are important to the continued growth and mission of Opal’s Farm.

Please donate today at www.unityunlimited.org or contact the farm directly at 817.333.8367.

As always, we appreciate your continued support in ending food insecurity and food deserts in Fort Worth. Way to go Cowtown!

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It May Be January but Spring is Here

January 29, 2020January 29, 2020 gregoryjoel

Down On the Farm

This morning’s rain chose a perfect time to stop work at Opal’s Farm for two reasons. One, I had to make a visit to the veterinarian today (a not so good reason) instead of the farm. Two, we made serious headway on planting yesterday.

Our middle fur baby, Maggie, came in from her morning duties outside with her right eye swollen shut. A couple of hours later the swelling had taken over the right side of her face. A huge shout out to Penny Paws Vet Clinic in Richland Hills for seeing her so quickly. It turns out it was an allergic reaction to either a spider bite or bee sting. She’s well on her way to recovery.

There’s not much worse than seeing your kids hurt. Pet parents know what I mean. Margaret and I have grown kids. We love them more than we can say, but hey, they don’t keep us warm at night…

Spring Planting has officially begun!

Although the target date was February 15^th, we were able to kick off the Spring planting early. Big thanks go to Charlie Blaylock at Shines Farmstand for the onion sets (all 2,000 of them) and to our volunteers, Brenda and Kiersten, for helping get the first two beds planted. All those little green shoots are drinking in today’s rain, Jameson the Farm Dog is on pest control duty, and all is well down on the farm…

Thank you to all the people that called following the news story on NBC5 offering to volunteer at Opal’s Farm. We’re busy getting our volunteer sign-up and schedule for Spring. We can’t wait to see you and play in the dirt together!

I also would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to Blue Zones Project Fort Worth for the basket from The Table Market and Culinary Studio (the spicy carrots are amazing!). You are truly a blessing!

From The Table at Dickson Jenkins Plaza, 120 St. Louis, Suite 1038, Fort Worth

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Always Remember

June 8, 2019 gregoryjoel

It’s a brilliant, sunny late Spring day here in North Texas. Soon I’ll head off to Opal’s Farm. It’s been incredibly busy. Our first harvest of French Breakfast Radishes came in. We have about a hundred pounds bundled for sale and another hundreds pounds still to harvest. The beans and peas are in full bloom and squash is getting almost big enough to pick.

I haven’t had a great deal of time to write this last week with all the goings on. This week marked the 75th anniversary of the Normandy invasion that turned the tide in the Allies favor during World War Two. Those who know me might find it peculiar I’m memorializing warfare. My faith calls me to be a non-violent peacemaker. Still, I know my calling is not shared by everyone and I honor the veterans who fought for their beliefs and each other.

Tom Brokaw coined the term “the greatest generation” when speaking of my parents peers. As a history student I was always intrigued by the men who fought so gallantly during “The War” as it came to be known. I grew up on the great epic movies about WWII- “Patton”, “The Battle of the Bulge”, Guns of Navarrone”, John Wayne and “The Fighting Seabees” and so forth. I saw “The Great Escape” at the long since demolished Gateway Theater twice a day on three successive Saturday matinees (for 50 cents admission I might add). Steve McQueen was my hero…

Things changed and I grew past the illusions I was taught. After all, “history is written by the victors” and subsequent wars proved to be void of morality. It’s no longer about defense but about gain. War is usually started by men who have never served. They were wealthy or powerful enough to worm their way out of military service. They’re quite content to let your young men fight for their wants while they talk about how patriotic they are; but enough said or I’ll get started…

Still, those WWII vets always held a special place of honor above all others. Perhaps its because of my father and my uncle’s (one of whom died at Anzio, Italy) service. It’s a way I hang onto them as well. They never spoke of their service. They did what they were called to do and now they’re gone, like so many of their generation. I miss them.

There are only 1.7 million WWII vets alive today. Their time is growing short. The “greatest generation” will pass away and become memory. That’s why it’s so important (for me anyway) to cherish the time I’m given with some of the men who served. They’re more likely to share about it today if you ask. I encourage you to ask. Not only will you be riveted to their stories, you’ll pay them honor and respect as well.

This is my small tribute to those men that leapt of the boats at Normandy seventy-five years ago. Thank you for being part of my life and sharing your stories.

“I cherish the memories of a question my grandson asked me the other day when he said, ‘Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?’ Grandpa said, ‘No, but I served in a company of heroes.'” —Major Richard Winters

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Easter People…

April 22, 2019 gregoryjoel

Thoughts From the Porch: Another beautiful Spring Day here in Fort Worth so it’s off to the farm. No time to write this morning. Before I go, I just wanted to say I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. We did here at the Joel household! Any time you spend you get to spend a whole weekend with close friends it’s a great weekend!

“Our prayers are answered not when we are given what we ask but when we are challenged to be what we can be.” — Morris Alder

“Easter says to us that despite everything to the contrary, his will for us will prevail, love will prevail over hate, justice over injustice and oppression, peace over exploitation and bitterness.” — Desmond Tutu

Easter symbolizes resurrection and rebirth. May we all live as Easter people today.