Farm Fresh News - January 2013 |
 A bench on The Farm becomes the signature image for HLN's show American Journey. |
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In this issue:
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| Hi Friends, Thank you so much for your time, attention and interest in our community. Leaving 2012 behind, I am intrigued by the symbolism of transition and change, feeling those shifts inside myself and in the greater world, as we all look toward the future. The Farm's much anticipated appearance on CNN last month came across as an intelligent analysis of the benefits, the challenges and complexity of life in community. It expressed the joy and connection of family and had many beautiful images and strong statements. I was able to get in a word about our nonprofit work when I did a live interview on Dec. 26th, relevant information that was not included in the show. Far from utopia, life in community is an opportunity; an opportunity to create a lifestyle that is rich in life experience and in more alignment with your ideals. It was fun to shout it out on national television. If you haven't seen the show or want to share it with friends, here's a link to watch it online: http://vimeo.com/56621772 The national exposure means we have been contactedby people from all across the country who are inspired to visit us and see what The Farm has to offer. A visit can be for an afternoon, three days...or maybe the rest of your life. There is infinite potential in how personal contact with an alternative example can influence your life path, and help you see more possibilities, what we call the School of Change. I hope to hear from you about your plans to visit. I wish you well in your quest for community, wherever you are. Peace, Douglas For activities and events, check out: The Farm Community calendar Green Life Retreat Calendar More to come! Send us your suggestions!
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| Farm Experience Retreats and Workshops | |
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| Farm Experience Weekends: The best overview of the green life, providing the inspiration you need to
fulfill your life goals and live your dreams. Learn more... |
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| Farm Experience: February Saturday afternoon will feature a cooking workshop. Whether a confirmed vegan or simply seeking new recipes to better health, you'll find yummy new foods, easy gourmet recipes. |
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| Farm Experience March Spring is our favorite times of year, and attracts our largest number of participants. |
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| Farm Experience: The Land April In addition to our regular Experience Weekend activities and tours, on Saturday afternoon we'll hike to a waterfall in the 1475 acre Big Swan Headwaters Preserve. The Saturday night dinner and entertainment will be a fundraiser for Swan Trust. |
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| The Farm School Family Fest May Music, Tours, Hikes, Games, More! |
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| Community & Sustainability Conference Memorial Day Weekend in May Your opportunity to explore the connection between lifestyle and intention.. |
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| Organic Gardening Intensive June A week (or weekend) of hands-on gardening as well as garden tours on and 0ff-The Farm to visit Shiitake operations, a bamboo nursery and more...more |
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| End of Summer Family Retreats July We'll spend the week swimming, hiking, listening to and playing music, enjoying really great food and each others company. Special beginner and advanced Tai Chi workshops. www.greenliferetreats.com |
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| September Don't miss Fall on The Farm, the crisp, cooler temperatures are always a special time of year! |
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| Now it's up to you. Register today! | |
| Midwifery Workshops: www.midwiferyworkshops.org/ |
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| Swan Trust Activities & Hikes Contact: foreverwild@swantrust.org |
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| Permaculture Apprenticeships: Learn straw, cob, earthbag, turf roofs, bamboo, thatch, clay plaster, adobe, alis, and food self-reliance at the Farm community. |
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A New Office for the Fellowship of Intentional CommunitiesThe Fellowship of Intentional Communities (FIC) has been
promoting cooperative culture for 25 years, publishing a quarterly magazine, a directory of communities, a fantastic and informative web site, along with participation in events such as my conference on Community and Sustainability over Memorial Day Weekend in May.
You can help the communities movement grow and continue the FIC's good work, by joining me in making a contribution to their green building campaign. To learn learn more, watch their video, and become a part of this effort by visiting their campaign web page: http://www.indiegogo.com/FICgreenoffice |
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The Fall Garden - Carrots!This my third attempt at growing carrots, and each time they do a little better. The heavy, clay soil in our area is not conducive to carrots, which turn out short, stubby and twisted as they struggle to penetrate the dirt.To compensate, I have constructed raised beds out of naturally rot resistant cedar boards I purchased from a local Amish mill. The beds are approximately 3 feet by 5 feet, the same width and length of a roll of steel hardware cloth purchased from a hardware store. I placed hardware cloth on the bottom of each raised bed to prevent intrusion from carrot munching voles, the larger, veggie eating cousin of the mole. |
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| I filled each bed with 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 compost, a 5 gallon bucket of sand, topping it off with regular dirt and mixed it all together. The beds are about a foot deep. I find I have to add more compost and peat moss each year as the mixture settles in order to maintain the depth.
I also threw in a few shovel scoops of vermiculite, a substance often used in potting soils to aerate the soil and help it hold on to moisture. Carrots should be spaced about 3 inches apart, a task that is made much easier by purchasing clay coated seeds. |
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| Individual carrot seeds are tiny and it can be nearly impossible to keep from planting them too thick when pouring them from the seed packet. You can purchase clay coated or pelletted seeds from a catalog called Johnny's. Although you'll spend a little more, the ease of planting and end results are worth it.
I tried planting from uncoated seeds, and what came up was a carrot hedge! I followed the suggestion of using scissors to cut away the green tops of the extra seedlings to get the proper spacing, but found it difficult to tell when I was down to a single plant. The multiple carrots wrapped around each other as they grew and eventually I got a few that were large enough to use. |
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| The properly spaced, clay coated seeds produced carrots that were beautiful, long, fat and sweet.
You can plant carrots in both the spring and fall, but the ones that mature during cooler temperatures of fall and winter are by far the sweetest! Here in Tennessee we can plant in late August or early September, The carrots stay in the beds with the plants uncovered throughout the winter months, even with temperatures down into the low 20's! I simply harvest as needed. It has been really nice to go out each evening and pull up a carrot, adding it to our salad or a stir fry. Fresh is best! |
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Vegan Carrot Salad
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| Available from www.farmcatalog.com | ||
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| Voices from The Farm | This Season's People | Spiritual Midwifery |
| Thank you for your time and attention! | Can't wait to read more? Check out the Farm Fresh Library. |
Green Life Retreats
A division of Village Media Services
PO Box 259
Summertown, TN 38483
931-964-2590 - office
931-626-4035 - cell
Douglas@villagemedia.com
www.villagemedia.com
www.greenliferetreats.com
Douglas@thefarmcommunity.com
