Projects, WP Migration
Bracing for stormy weather!
We have the BEST CSA MEMBERS EVER and are thrilled to have had so many CSA members help make the Killing Frost Celebration a HUGE SUCCESS! We had amazing live music performed by the Barefoot Movement. Christopher and Meagan came through, arriving early, and helped make excellent salads, pizza sauces, clean up the barn apartment for guests and finally spent the entire day keeping the pizza oven fire hot so that we could crank out nearly 58 pizzas. Betty and Dave helped prep pizza toppings. Susan, Charlie, Anna and Liam all helped keep the pizza line going in making excellent pizzas. Josh, Melanie and Mathew took photographs. Not to mention, we had the most BEAUTIFUL WEATHER for our Killing Frost Celebration, because today as I write this journal entry only the following Sunday after our celebration, it is COLD AND RAINY!
This is our annual celebration of earth and life. Earth, which is the foundation for growing/raising the food, in providing the nutrients to the crops/animals while it is being grown/raised. We celebrate the water used for keeping the crops/critters alive (Meadow Fork Creek), the farmers’ who have worked so hard growing/raising the food and the people who eat the bounty from this farms soil. Western North Carolina is blessed with great soil, farmers’ and folks who support a local food economy. THANKS to all the folks by eating LOCAL and SEASONALLY, you are making a choice to eat more sustainably, and you are voting with your dollars for a greener economy and a healthier environment in not having your food shipped here from across the country. Not to mention, eating fresh from the farm is more nutritious.
As I write this journal entry, the Killing Frost hasn’t yet arrived in our valley, and we have harvested a lot of peppers over the past couple weeks anticipating a frost. This is the furthest into fall that we can remember our peppers surviving. We are expecting very cold weather early in the week, and although we would like a little down time today since we haven’t had any Sunday’s off recently, we will harvest early for the CSA with the anticipation of freezing temperatures here in our valley on our normal harvest day. We also spent time covering crops with hopes that they will survive the snow. At this point, the forecast for Tuesday is a high of 34 degrees and a blanket of snow, which is too cold to harvest. We’ve never harvested a few days ahead because for the past decade, during our fall season, the temperatures have warmed up enough by mid morning to pick greens and lettuce. In the past, our fields have been frosted over on fall harvest days, but normally we can wait until the frost burns off then harvest, and still supply SUPER FRESH veggies to our CSA.
