WE DID IT!!! By WE I need to introduce two very important members of the team that have been here crushing it all season long. This has been much more than just Snarf and I. We not just Snarf have been putting in the work and now we’re stocked for the winter. As most of you know me (Micha) and Snarf (the boss dog) yet there is more to the farm. So I’d like to introduce to you my mom (Georgia); the canning expert behind the scenes making magic happen in the kitchen. She’s allowed us to take this to the next level of sustainability. Then there is my old friend and business partner Keith, which I met while volunteering at a local non-profit urban farm over a decade ago. He’s been here putting in blood, sweat and beyond this whole season. Neither are much for the light of social media so they have been in the shadows but it’s fitting they get some praise for their dedication over the season. Without both of them none of this would be possible!
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About this time last year the wheels started to turn on the 2020 plan and what we wanted to make of this farm moving forward. While hemp got us back into growing on a large scale its slowing become part of the system an not the totality of the mission. The goal isn’t to solely grow hemp but to build self-reliance through farming. This means building ecosystems and poly cultures, not just to benefit hemp for profit but also to medicate us though nutrient dense food not available in the normal greed of the corporate world. By averting from the norm of monoculture we sought out to build our own market garden this season, not to sell but to stock our pantry, and share the abundance when it presented its self to those close to us. We’ve learned so much and now we are planning for next year. We now have an idea of what it takes to fill the freezers and shelves. The plan for next year is already forming on what food crops we need to add in the rotation and exactly what sq footage it will take to provide us though winter.
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1000 jars canned for the season; holy shit!!! We’re not done either!! This is a mix of pints and quarts; total jar count combine. This isn’t just for food security or safety; we eat off of this daily and that will intensify as the cooler nights roll in and there is more time for cooking as the sun sets earlier. Not only did we can the veggies that we grew but also mixed in meat from the local butcher shop to balance the meals out. Hopefully by this time next year we will have raise 2 pigs and 100 chickens to be that much closer to self sustainability but for now these are the building blocks, small steps to the over all goal.
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Thank you to everyone out there; it’s been a pleasure to share this adventure with all! It’s been amazing to build relationships with new people. Thank You to all the customers that have started to support our product that supports us! Most important of all it’s been humbling to set aside ideology on a personal level and look at the grand scheme from all walks of life. I’ve found more inspiration and ideas though this open-minded process then ever before in my life while refining my own ideals in the very system that we are building. We’re all in this together; we all suffer from the same oppressive force of the human condition. Be kind, do the work, reek the reward, share the abundance, repeat!
