Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Back from France and Happy to Begin our Third Season

Dominique and I are back from our trip to France.  All went well except that we ate way too much...

We visited friends and family in Paris, Poitiers and Lyon.  I saw a cousin and a friend I hadn't seen in 35 years!




We went on a little pilgrimage to Le Puy where my Grand Mother and Mother used to live and visited the chapel of Saint-Michel d'Aiguilhe.  Perhaps one of the most remarkable sights in France, the chapel is perched on a volcanic plug. This is the Rock of Aiguilhe, on the edge of the town of Puy en Velay, in the Auvergne region. The Chapelle Saint-Michel has stood there for 1042 years, since Bishop Gothescalk had it built in 962 on his return from a pilgrimage to Santiago del Compostella in Galicia. In 1955 workers found relics under the alter that had been there since it was built.





















From the top, we spotted what French people call "Jardins Ouvriers", the equivalent of our community gardens.





























































There we met Pierre who, after finding out that we were urban farmers, generously offered us giant beets, leeks, turnips and carrots.  Thank you Pierre, your kindness made our day the very best of our visit to France!



















Spring is here (at least for the time being!) and activities have started at the farm.  Dominique and Maria Jose' seen here mixing fresh cow dung with silica, egg shells and biodynamic preparations to create biodynamic Barrel Compost, the workhorse of biodynamic agriculture.



















Our friend Jessica took care of the farm while Dominique and I were gone.  Thank you Jesse for pampering our feathered friends, cat and baby plants!



















The propagation greenhouse is almost full already, with Kale, Chard, Mustard, Collard, Onion, Leek, Kohlrabi, Parsley, Artichoke and yes, Tomatoes!



















We'll be selling vegetable starts at the Farmers Market as early as this Saturday March 8.  

















We also have delicious eggs for sale- Chicken ($6/doz) and Duck ($8/doz).  If interested, place your order here and come get your eggs at the Farmers Market.


We Need Volunteers!

Spring time means mucho trabajo at the farm and we would love to get some extra hands to transplant seedlings and prepare the beds for planting.
Because the City still only allows us to have 2 volunteers at any one time, you need to schedule your visit with us.  Contact Dominique to get on our volunteer schedule. 

Benefits of volunteering at the farm

Get your hands in the best soil
Work outside in the fresh air
Meet cool people
Take seedlings home for your garden
Learn how to prepare beds and manipulate baby plants
Be part of a lovely community experiment 
.... and learn the art of Zen with Scrapper the Cat







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