The Open Gate Farm
October 29, 2009
Of Wind and Beans and Beauty and Learning at The Open Gate Farm
Dear Friends of the Farm:
The report from the Hoop House is that it still is waiting for a good windstorm. This last one we thought was a dandy. Wind speeds of 38 MPH seemed pretty good. Went out in the morning to see what the wind had done and found a grape still on the vine but with no skin. You would have thought that a wind strong enough to blow the skin off a grape would have gotten the Hoop House’s attention. Naw…it’s still there in all its Conestoga wagon glory, waiting for a real blast.
Well, the best thing to do with a mistake is to admit it, ask for forgiveness, and press on. For several years we have raised a bean and thought it to be a “Cranberry Bean”. Our son got the seeds from Seed Savers Exchange and gave us a handful. After visiting the Seed Savers Exchange web site and chatting with them on the telephone, we’ve determined we made a mistake. They are not Cranberry Beans. They are "Lina Sisco's Egg Beans". These beans were brought to
Tall or short…at the end of the day we are going to package these prolific babies up and sell the seeds for your planting pleasure next Spring! This may be the launch product of The Open Gate Farm Seed Company! Stay tuned for as the winter wears on and plans get plotted and dreams get designed, there may be more of this sort of thing. We just need to get the right name on the envelope for these maroon, white and tan beans first.
Have you been able to slow down lately and see the beauty around us? The sky, the sun, the moon and stars, the little flowers whose bright colors attract the bees? It is incredible! What a gift we have been given to see so much and to learn. If you come by the stand, take a long look at the grapes and see how the dusty “bloom” on the fruit is thinner where the fruit attaches to the stem and how the deep colors come through there.
Or grab an apple from the basket and look at the pattern of reds and greens and yellows and shades and blendings. Why is one apple red and another green? What is the purpose of all those little spots on an apple anyhow? And the McIntosh on my desk from our tree has a lovely layer of pure yellow behind the red skin. And then there is that other one whose inside is whiter than a
In these hard times for our country, when we sense powerful forces of good and evil struggling in a battle in which the common man is the casualty, it may be helpful to slow down and look. Look at the red apple in your hand, at a yellow leaf on the ground, at the deep brown earth which gives us life. Pause in the pain and look at the life and maybe, just maybe, you’ll be a better person for it. And the gratitude and wonder you launch may last you a long time and carry you more easily over these waves of discontent and disorder we all are facing.
There are many ways to respond to these trying times. Eating locally is one, for it helps to tie us into a community in new and stronger ways which can anchor us when doubts want to run us on the reef of despair. Another is to learn something new. It is odd that when we learn more about anything, we gain resiliency to handle the ups and downs of life.
It is in this spirit that recently 4 families who home school their children have asked us to teach them how to farm. Remember, gardening is for your pleasure, farming is so we can feed others and make a living doing so. Others have told me they have friends who would love to do so as well as soon as we announce a class.
Overwhelmed? Naw, not us chipmunks! We’re startled someone thinks we know anything, but hey, we’ll give this a go too! We’re breaking it into bite sized chunks of fun. Three groups…smaller people (aka “primary”), larger people (aka “secondary”), then adults. But if a whole family wants to do this together and will ante up the bucks, we’ll certainly consider that as well.
One afternoon a month for 6 months. The curriculum is rapidly falling into place and will cover everything from soils to marketing, from finances to finding a good place to farm. At the end of the class, the attendees will have gotten a good overview of the reality and the reasons to become a farmer. They will have learned it is not always easy but it is always interesting if approached with open eyes and a mind of inquiry. They will have considered what might be done to feed the nation in a post carbon world…you know, the one without petroleum which some think is not far over the horizon.
And bonus points to anyone who actually raises something and sells it! That is the other side of the bonus you get when you come to a stand such as ours. They will have put their hands in the soil and found peace and place. Their customers will have found better food at a great price and supported the local economy. Everyone will be the richer for it.
While the pricing for the classes is not finished, it is for the grapes and apples and pie pumpkins and cornstalks and lettuce and squash and arugula and more which will be on the stand this Saturday. Come by!
Come by and don’t hesitate to tell us what you think we should teach about farming. What would you like to see in a class? For after all, we are persuaded by personal experience that a couple of middle aged chipmunks can have a great life on 2 acres on a little island in the big
Besides, if you do come by, we will all learn something.
Happy Hoeing,
Jon and Elaine the ever wondering farmers, Snickers the digging dog, Mystery the hearth ornament cat, Jerry and Harley and their girls who chase grapes when they can, Parson Dudley Brown, DD, Quackers, Cheese, and Margaret, the rain dancing ducks, all of whom live at…
The Open Gate Farm
360-387-4449
Email: tsgjon@aol.com
Blog: www.theopengatefarm.blogspot.com/
Website: http://www.localharvest.org/farms/M19128
Open Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to dusk until September 19 or so. Or by appointment if you call 360-387-4449 first.
