Greetings from Opal’s Farm. We will not be at Cowtown Farmers Market this week. The busy Spring planting season came to a bit of a halt this morning. The rain that came in overnight has been great for the farm and not so great for “being under the weather” physically. We will be there next Saturday morning and hate missing the Spring Festival this weekend. Bring your umbrellas and join the fun at Cowtown Farmers Market today!
I can’t stand to miss our family and friends at the market. Over the last five years, Cowtown Farmers Market has truly become family. It’s the highlight of my week. There’s something special about our market and the farmers and vendors who come each week to bring fresh local produce, meats, honey, and all kinds of other local products. I’ve learned so much from the knowledge freely shared by the farmers and friends there.
I grew up in Fort Worth but spent many days at my Uncle Carl’s ranch in South Texas or my Uncle Roof’s dairy farm up towards Boyd. I tend to be more of a carnivore when it comes to diet. That remained the case until I came to Cowtown. You see, Cowtown is unlike the way most folks shop for groceries. People actually stop and talk to one another. No avoiding hurried and harried people with shopping carts and frustration with checkout lines. You won’t find one self-checkout stand at the market; although people may line up because one of our farmers has something special that week (especially when peaches, tomatoes, and blueberries come in).
I’m no vegetarian, nor am I knocking those who are. I still love meat, but Cowtown helped me broaden my food experience. Customers have shared their many ways to cook the fresh produce we bring to market each week and I’ve tried them all (well, most of them anyway). I’ve incorporated many of their recipes into my diet. I even like greens now (except for kale – you all like it so we’ll keep growing it for you – I’m not there yet…).
I hope you will all head out to Cowtown Farmers Market on Saturday mornings. Get to know our local farmers and vendors. Cowtown is a producer-only market. All the farms are within a 150-mile radius of Fort Worth. Everything is truly local. No one is a reseller – getting their produce from a distributor or wholesaler. In other words, we don’t have field tomatoes in January or Brussell Sprouts in August. Learning to eat what’s in season is not only respecting the Earth’s rhythms but benefits overall health as well.
Food is one thing we all have in common. It is to be savored and enjoyed by family and friends and so should shopping for it!
What a week it’s been. We’ve had a gorgeous week of upper sixties and seventy-plus degree weather followed by a weekend of rain. We’d love to thank everyone who braved the elements to come out to Cowtown Farmers Market on Saturday morning. I spoke with one of our customers who said, “I can’t not be here. I can’t eat that stuff they sell at the store”. I love you! People like you are our best ambassadors! Once you’ve had local it’s hard to have anything else.
I appreciate the commitment to fresh, local, and extremely healthy produce that so many of you have. It really becomes evident on days like yesterday. I enjoy the families that bring their children and teach them the importance of healthy eating. I get excited when the kids point to a bunch of turnips or kale and ask if Mom and Dad can buy that for them. That’s the highlight of my day.
We started bee hives with the help of Brent Bennett from Green Hands Farm almost two years ago. Brent is a Master Beekeeper and has helped us reach the point where we had our first honey harvest a couple of weeks ago. Opal’s honey is not only local (which is essential for allergy help), raw, and unfiltered, it’s some of the best honey available in Fort Worth.
We plant a lot of buckwheat in the Spring. We use it between rows to attract beneficial insects as part of our integrated pest management. It’s also a favorite of our bees who bring that wonderful buckwheat taste to our honey. Come on out to Cowtown Farmers Market next Saturday and try some.
We’re working with Brent to start beekeeping classes in the Spring. Please keep an eye out for the details and sign-up site to come!
Thanks again to one and all for your support of Opal’s Farm and our local farmers markets.
The scene beyond my window is rather drab. A blast of cold Arctic air exploded across North Texas yesterday afternoon. It brought with it the cutting icy North wind that plagues the Southern plains every winter. The “feels like” temperatures this morning were in the single digits and they’re predicting eighty-plus hours below freezing and sleet for this evening. Folks in these parts are understandably nervous. Ice brings out the worst in Texas drivers and the memory of Winter Storm Uri in 2021 is still fresh to anyone who lived here then. The power grid crashed, Texans went for days without power and water, and 246 people died from storm-related issues.
Last year saw a major ice storm at the end of January. We were at the Texas Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association Conference in Dallas and left early because of the roads. One of our employees ended up staying at the motel that night. One night turned into a week. Texans do not do well in cold weather. It doesn’t storm often but when it does look out!
Fortunately, we’ve had ample time to prepare for this Arctic visitor. Store shelves are empty of non-perishables and bottled water. Gas tanks are full and homes lucky enough to have a generator are standing by. People take the weather forecast a bit more seriously since the winter of ’21.
( Opal’s Farm and the frozen Trinity River February 2021 )
Personally, I haven’t had much time to prepare our house. I still must make a run to Home Depot. My neighbor said they had some outdoor faucet covers hidden in the back of the store. Information like that is like finding gold. We try to take care of each other in our neighborhood. I have, however, taken steps to prepare Opal’s Farm the best we can to save our winter crops. Frost cloth has been double-spread on the bio-intensive section and several of the hundred-foot rows. Prayers have been said, fingers have been crossed, and if I had a rabbit’s foot, I’m sure I’d be holding it close. We’ll keep you posted…
On a lighter, and somewhat warmer note (it was cool but warmer yesterday), we moved Opal’s Farm Stand hours to Saturday afternoons from 1:30 PM to 4:00 PM. We found his to be more convenient for our neighbors and the traffic on Sylvania isn’t rushing between jobs. We had several customers yesterday afternoon. This complements our mornings at Cowtown Farmers Market and our delivery for Hao’s Grocery and Café. We can harvest once a week to bring quality fresh produce to our community.
Anyway…
My fur-babies don’t seem to be bothered by the single-digit temperatures. They are out running around and playing as I sit here. Sitting here watching them got me to thinking about this blog. I’ve always called it “Thoughts From the Porch” because that was the place my thoughts and coffee ran freely since this journey began. I no longer spend my mornings on the front porch. It’s not because it’s cold. When you smoke it really doesn’t matter if it’s the summer Texas heat or the winter freeze, you’re driven to suffer outside.
However, that changed on November 1st of last year. That’s the day I quit smoking. I’ve been cigarette-less since then. The cravings have become less severe most of the time. The operative word being “most”. Other days – not so much. Staying off the porch has been a good move so here I sit. I still get a good view of the world through the patio door next to my office. It’s a constant reminder of God’s goodness and grace in our lives.
Maybe it’s time to find another name for this? Let me know your thoughts!
Please stay warm and safe through this cold snap. Stay inside, make it a family day or a day of introspection. Enjoy the time and pray the lights don’t go out…
My inbox has been filled with “Best of 2023” lists from the various writers and organizations I follow. As 2023 winds down I find myself thinking about all the wonderful things that have happened at Opal’s Farm and the ups and downs of the past year I’ve encountered personally. So, with that in mind I present to you the Best of 2023 for Opal’s Farm.
Ms. Opal
The biggest happening at the farm is always Ms. Opal herself. Each passing year reminds me of the blessing of her presence. Her love for others, her stamina and exhortations to become a “committee of one”, and her tireless work for our community revitalize us daily to make the farm the place to come for food, education, and the promise of food justice. She constantly reminds us that the walk toward equality and justice is one step and often with one person at a time. Our energy is always revitalized by her leadership.
Tomorrow my wife and I will celebrate New Year’s Day the way we have since I started at Opal’s Farm. At two in the afternoon, we’ll be present for her New Year’s Day dinner – along with a couple of hundred others! When we received the RSVP invitation it listed her accomplishments in 2023 so I’ll share them here:
Texas Senate portrait reveal – hers is only the second woman’s portrait to hang in the Texas Senate Chamber. The other is Congresswoman Barbara Jordan.
Three honorary doctorates
Two events with Cynt Marshall of the Dallas Mavericks
Several assemblies at schools with young people
Conversation with Brian Stevenson for the National Juneteenth Museum
Several visits to the White House
Visit with the Governor to talk about the National Juneteenth Museum
Reveal of portrait for the National Art Gallery
Inducted into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame
Received two EMMY Awards – both the Governor’s Award and the Award for best documentary
New Awareness
Ms. Opal also visited the USDA People’s Garden in Washington DC and was featured in a national article for the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). Both our Executive Director, Dione Sims, and I were invited to a roundtable discussion with Congressman Marc Veasy and US Department of Agriculture, Xochitl Torres Small along with a small group of local non-profits and City Council members.
The USDA is beginning to take a serious look at both local and urban farms and our food system. They opened their Urban Farm office in Dallas this year – one of ten cities to have one. Opal’s is by no means the only urban farm in Fort Worth, but we have had the privilege of hosting the NRCS staff for our area several times as they learn and extend their work to urban agriculture.
NRCS engineers have given us new plans and specifications for better irrigation at the farm. We are changing our irrigation over the winter months so we can grow more food for our community.
New and Old People
The Spring growing season was a time of transition for Opal’s Farm. Our previous Assistant Farm Manager, Amber Carr, helped build the infrastructure for our bio-intensive third-of-an-acre. She left the farm in July, and we were blessed to have Joseph (Joey) Hughes step in this Fall to take over our bio-intensive section. Joey came to us from World Hunger Relief in Waco and has an extensive background in education and urban agriculture. We’ve extended our programs to include agrotourism and educational programs for the community. We’ve also partnered with Delve Experience to a make tours and education more accessible through their website https://delveexperiences.com/ .
We’ve continued to build our partnership with Tarleton State University. In the coming year two new programs for both the community and previously incarcerated individuals will begin. We are presently finishing the curriculum and the final details. We’re excited to share this with you as 2024 begins (more to come!).
On Friday, December 22nd, we held our first-ever farmstand at the corner of Sylvania and LaSalle near the entrance to the farm. We are now able to support a regular farmstand on a weekly basis for the United Riverside neighborhood of which we are proud to be a part of (you don’t have to be a neighbor to come!). We are presently open from 10 AM to 2 PM but this might change as we get more input from our neighbors.
We’ve long hoped to be able to have our own farm stand and the final incentive came in November when we became authorized to accept SNAP benefits. This has been a game-changer for meeting our community goals. Please feel free to come by and check us out. You can tour Opal’s Farm while you’re there.
We’ve had some awesome volunteers this year and particularly this Fall. Stacey Harwood returned from medical leave as our Volunteer Coordinator in September and has done an amazing job getting some big projects done. We’ve had more time this Fall to plant more hundred-foot beds and expand our biointensive beds. We could not have done it without our volunteers and Stacey’s help. We want you to know how treasured and appreciate our volunteers are. You make the farm complete!
There have been so many things that have made 2023 a successful and major growth year at the farm. I have no doubt I’ve left some significant moments out. What I can tell you is that donors really stepped up this year to make 2023 and the coming year special. We’d like to thank the Enterprise Foundation with Enterprise Car Rental and the Stewart Family Foundation for the special awards that will keep Opal’s Farm expanding through 2024. We’d also like to thank KPMG Inc. and JP Morgan Chase for their continued support!
I cannot finish the “Best of” list without a thanks to our Executive Director, Dione Sims. We are a program of Unity Unlimited, Inc. and Unity’s support and belief in Opal’s Farm is what drives us. Dione spends many hours with all the various programs Unity does throughout the year, but she always has time for the farm. Thank you, Dione, for being an awesome leader, a friend, and a mentor!
On a personal note…
This past year has been incredibly hectic. It’s often difficult to “stop and smell the roses”. I, for one, have learned the value of tasking time to count God’s blessings. I am one of the most fortunate people I know. I get to go play in the dirt – to do what I truly love and am passionate about – and I get to do it every day.
Any kind of farming, whether it be urban or rural, is hard, but rewarding work. On the 110 degree days in August I ask the same question – why do I do this stuff? Then, I go to the markets we attend, and I get to see and know the people we serve. You all have made the year wonderful.
I hope and pray that 2024 brings you all joy, peace, and happiness. Thank you for being part of the Opal’s Farm family.
It’s Christmas Eve morning and the rain is falling outside the window of my humble home office. God provided a wonderful Christmas present for Opal’s Farm this year (He always does!). Even after some earlier Fall rains we’ve remained in various stages of drought. We got an inch-and-a-half on Thursday and it looks like another inch or two today!
We had our first farm stand market on Friday from 10 AM to 2 PM. It was a great success and we’re looking forward to being there on Friday’s starting after the first of the year. We can accept SNAP benefits as well. We’re excited! We’ll continue to be at Cowtown Farmers Market on Saturday mornings but serving our neighborhood – United Riverside – is what we’ve worked toward since the farm began.
Joey, Hao and I on our first farm stand day!
We didn’t have a lot of customers as this was our first day, but the customers we did have made it a tremendously successful day. One of the neighborhood members stopped and purchased for themselves and then bought several bags of truly local produce to pass out to his neighbors! What a Christmas present!
We also had the privilege of meeting Hao Tran Friday. Many of you may know about Hao’s Grocery and Café. We’re so excited to have Hao as one of our supporters and customers. She is bringing fresh, LOCAL, produce to Fort Worth and teaching the importance of fresh produce as well as how to prepare it (She’s a culinary instructor at Trimble Tech High School as well.
The Fall and overwinter crops are booming! Please come out to see us next week at Cowtown Farmers Market and then stop by our farm stand the following Friday and visit Opal’s Farm as well!
From all of us at Opal’s Farm and Unity Unlimited, Inc. – have a wonderful holiday and keep family and friends close.
gregoryjoel.com 