Urban Farming – Page 18 – gregoryjoel.com

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

Fall Makes an Appearance

October 11, 2020October 11, 2020 gregoryjoel

Good Morning Everyone! I’ve been seriously lacking in updating everyone on Opal’s Farm over the last month. Fall is particularly busy this year with planting and expansion into the next 1/3 acre of the farm. We’ve made some amazing progress with the help of some dedicated, hard working volunteers and our amazing friend Charlie Blaylock with Shines Farmstand.

Fall is a special time of year at the farm. The days are a bit cooler, which makes work all the much easier (and fun!) and the changing season brings new life to dormant summer plants (the tomato pepper plants are loaded). The purple hull peas apparently produce more in the Fall than in the Spring!

The late summer plantings of cantaloupes are going to be ready this week. Jamison the Farm Dog is doing his best and working hard to keep the field mice and river rats from getting to them first.

The Fall plantings are growing and going. We took the first radishes of the season to market this Saturday. The Japanese turnips and beets should be close behind.

We may be unbelievably busy, but we always have time to enjoy the peace and wildlife Fall brings to the farm. Monarch butterflies are more frequent, the turtles sun themselves more frequently on the banks of the Trinity (unfortunately so do snakes! Don’t worry though: they stay by the river!), and the egrets are everywhere these days.

We’ve also had a beautiful pair of visitors over the last couple of weeks. Two Great Blue Herons have been frequenting the farm. They are truly majestic. They’re the largest herons in North America (and tend to make Jamison a bit curious and bark a lot…) and we feel blessed they’ve chosen to hang out at Opal’s Farm.

We’d like to take a moment to thank the Tributary Café on Race Street. We began selling okra to the café a couple of weeks ago. Last night, they asked us to set up for the Race Street night out hosted by the Riverside Business Alliance. We met some great neighbors and shared the bounty of the farm with many. We now deliver on Wednesday’s to the adjoining riverside neighborhoods for a $2 delivery fee. You can always call the farm to see what’s available and place your order. We’ll have that set up online soon.

As always – we’d love to have you come out to the farm to volunteer or just visit and say hi. You can always donate directly to Opal’s Farm by visiting our website at www.unityunlimited.org or our Facebook page.

Citizenship, Climate Change, Common Sense, Communication, Community, Down On the Farm, Environment, Faith, Fighting Poverty, Food Deserts, Food Equality, Food Insecurity, Food Justice, Food Waste, Hope, Landfills, Litter, Neighbors, Opal's Farm, Persistence, Regeneration, Service to Others, Simplicity, Social Justice, Spirituality, Transformation, Trinity River, Unity Unlimited, Inc., Urban Farming

An Important Day for All of Us

September 30, 2020 gregoryjoel

Today is a very important day — the first ever International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste! “Globally, around 14 percent of food produced is lost between harvest and retail” … “When food is lost or wasted, all the resources that were used to produce this food – including water, land, energy, labour and capital – go to waste.” In the United States, 30-40% of the food supply goes to waste, while millions of people remain food insecure. (from our friends at http://www.thefarmlinkproject.org)

We combat food waste every day at Opal’s Farm. Nothing leaves our farm unless it’s the man-made trash we collect from the Trinity River (and what the wind blows in!). Everything is either sold, donated, or composted. We collect food that would normally be thrown away from outside sources to build our compost, increase crop yields, and feed more community members.

What we do to combat waste may seem insignificant, but when it’s combined with what you do and what you do and what you do, it begins to affect overall food waste. On this first ever International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, we ask you to join the fight. We can all make a difference!

Will it be this?

Or this?

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It’s Only Two Days Away…

September 16, 2020 gregoryjoel

Honestly, I should have been posting and building up to this coming Thursday since the first of September. It’s been so busy at Opal’s Farm getting the Fall crops in that the 17^th almost flew by me! Why this important? Because this Thursday, 9-17-20, is North Texas Giving Day. It’s a special day set aside for giving to local non-profits serving the North Texas community. This year is especially important.

At Opal’s Farm our mission – Building vibrant local communities through regenerative urban farming, faithful gathering, and lasting fellowship – is even more vital during these uncertain times. Food insecurity and access to healthy, nutritious food is difficult in normal times, but the coronavirus has made life far from normal.

On this special North Texas Giving Day you have an opportunity to make a difference right here in Fort Worth. Your donation to Unity Unlimited, Inc/Opal’s Farm on North Texas Giving Day will be matched dollar for dollar; providing fresh, locally grown produce for more of your neighbors. Please give what you can this Thursday, 9-17-20.

Go to www.northtexasgivingday.org and look for Unity Unlimited, Inc to donate. Early giving is now open. Thank you for supporting Unity Unlimited, Inc. and Opal’s Farm!

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Be Like Chuck

September 10, 2020 gregoryjoel

This is a difficult update to write today. Yesterday we learned that our friend, Chuck Briant, passed away unexpectedly on Monday. We are heartbroken by his passing. Chuck was a huge supporter and advocate for Opal’s Farm and I’m proud to call him my friend. Our prayers are with his family during this difficult time.

Chuck and I met early last summer. Our mutual friend, Harrison had brought him out to the farm. Chuck fell in love with Opal’s Farm right away. He made it a point to stop by the farm frequently, even during the extreme heat of the Texas summer and the blustery chill of winter. He helped harvest, prepare beds for Spring, and keep everyone in line. The only time we didn’t see him was when he went out of town to visit his kids and grandkids.

During the lean times of our first year it was Chuck that helped us through. More than once it was his words that kept me from giving up when it seemed impossible to make our dream of an urban farm a reality. He had an uncanny ability to say just the right thing at just the right time. I can’t tell you how much his encouragement and wisdom helped me grow as not only the Farm Manager, but as a person.

He had an incredible servant’s heart – particularly when it came to making sure everyone had food, healthy food, on the table. His passion was contagious. Most importantly, he served with a humble spirit, often asking to remain anonymous in matters of service. He gave freely – something we should all aspire to.

I think we were all in shock yesterday when we heard the news. Today was a mix of tears and “Chuck stories”. It’s fitting that I was watering in new seed when I got the call yesterday. Chuck was always intent on watering everything in good – sometimes to a fault. He’d always ask if I needed to get some water down. “Those plants look like they need some water”. I could never convince him that they were going to be okay (especially since I’d watered earlier in the day. As I worked the tomato beds today, I could see him standing there with hose in hand.

We’re convinced that Chuck knew everyone. His network of friends was unbelievable, which isn’t surprising given who Chuck was. We used to joke that when we all get to heaven Chuck will be deep in conversation with Jesus and somebody will walk by and ask who that is over there talking to Chuck…

Chuck touched each one of us who knew him in a unique way and helped us all be better people. He is missed more than words can say. We wish everyone could “be like Chuck”. We’d all be better for it.

Community, Creation, Donations, Down On the Farm, Environment, Faith, Fighting Poverty, Food Deserts, Food Equality, Food Insecurity, Food Justice, Gardening, Gratitude, Neighbors, Non-Profits, Nutrition, Opal's Farm, Prayer, Regeneration, Service Organizations, Service to Others, Simplicity, Social Justice, Spirituality, Summer, Tarrant Regional Water District, Trinity River, Uncategorized, Unity Unlimited, Inc., Urban Farming, Volunteers, What Can I Do

It’s Getting Hot!

July 12, 2020 gregoryjoel

The “feels like” (heat index) reached 116 degrees yesterday. July has definitely arrived in North Texas. Daily irrigation is a must at Opal’s Farm, so I’ll be heading down there shortly. Before I do though, I needed to give a shout out to our volunteers who have braved last week’s heat. We had an amazing amount of vegetables to bring to market, both for Cowtown Farmers Market and the neighborhood market, and donate to food banks this week.

A huge shout out to Stacey Harwood, our Volunteer Coordinator, Ethan, for leading the way for all our volunteers this week. We’re still harvesting tomatoes, peppers (several varieties), cucumbers, spaghetti squash, and the okra (both the heirloom and the spineless varieties), summer squash and purple hull peas are coming in strong. Texas 1015 sweet onions are still available but going fast. We’ll be taking the first cantaloupes of the season this week and little watermelons are appearing all over the watermelon patch.

Just a reminder that we’ll be at 4409 Sycamore School Rd on this Thursday between 9 AM and 11 AM with the Cowtown Neighborhood Market. Please come by and see us!

We’ve also had several people make requests for bushel amounts of produce, especially purple hull peas and tomatoes. If you have a special request or simply can’t be at any of our farmers markets, please feel free to stop by the farm or call us at 817.333.8367. You can also reach us through our Facebook page, opalsfarm, or our website at www.unityunlimited.org.