Welcome to the first day of meteorological Spring! I’ve always considered myself a more astronomical Spring kind of guy but given that this has been one of the hottest winters on record for North Texas I’ll claim this as the first day of Spring 2026. The two-week forecast carries beyond the last predicted frost date so I’m going to gamble with some Spring planting before the rain finally comes. It’s also been one of the driest winters on record so I’m loving the rainy forecast for the latter half of this week.
Opal’s Farm has only been able to make a couple of market dates in February because of some freezing damage to our winter crops earlier in the month. The greens and root crops have started coming back and new plants are about ready to harvest. We’re hoping to have a great selection of veggies for the Grand Opening of Opal’s Farm Stand at Rosedale and Evans later this month.
We also started the Taste the C.U.R.E. program at the end of January, so I’m now taking two Saturdays to teach the growing portion of the program for our Fort Worth folks (we’ve expanded the program to include Stephenville this year!). We have some great students this year and they’re hard at work on their garden plots so we can begin planting this month.
Unfortunately, new growth and expansion also created unexpected problems – mainly staffing of both classes, market stands, and volunteers on Saturday morning. I can’t be in two places at once so Opal’s will be hiring a new Saturday market person in the next month. I’m still working on the details of the new position and will open applications in the next couple of weeks. Thanks to Texas Health Community Hope for making that financially possible for us!
Texas Health Community Hope (formerly known as Blue Zones Fort Worth) has been a sponsor of Opal’s Farm since day one. They’ve helped Opal’s in more ways than I can count. Their support has taken many forms; grants, community farm tours, volunteer days, marketing, and the Double-Up Bucks programs. I hope they know how blessed and how grateful Opal’s Farm is to have them as a partner and supporter. I couldn’t do this every day without them.
We Love Our Volunteers
Yesterday, I also had one of our other incredible partners out for a Volunteer Day – Fidelity Investments. Fidelity started volunteering with Opal’s two years ago and the volunteers have come back over and over again to work at the farm. They also set up monthly volunteer Saturdays for the remainder of the year! I had such a great group yesterday. They mulched most of the bio-intensive section, weeded, and planted onions (My back loves them!). I’m looking forward to seeing everyone in a couple of weeks.
If you’d like to volunteer at Opal’s Farm, please sign up on our website (www.unityunlimited org/opalsfarm or call the farm at 817.602.8225. If you’re looking for group volunteer days, please hurry as Spring dates are going fast!
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