What’s been going on! 

We want to thank everyone who left kind notes and comments, bottles of wine and other good things last week as well as emails and other communications.  For those who were confused (or didn’t read close enough) about if it was our last market ever the answer is no, just for this season and 2020, we will be back in January for what we do intend to be our last season.

People ask “But what about the tomatoes!?!”  Yes there are tomatoes left on the vines and we are picking them as usual but now what is left are going to four restaurants, friends and family and to a food bank.  This planting of tomatoes will produce for about another 3 weeks, maybe 4, to the end of the month but the volume and quality slowly drops off to nothing.  Already the Cherokee Purples and Greens are near the end of their fruiting.  There will be plenty of tomatoes at market, you will just have to find your new favorite producer.

“But what will you do with all your time?”  As Betsy likes to point out we have 26 acres, 4 main buildings and 6 more outbuildings- there are always things to work on, maintain and enjoy.  This summer and fall we have a few large projects including painting the house roof, working on the greenhouse roof, some small projects around the house to go along with cover cropping and soil maintenance, getting the tunnels ready for next season and the endless mowing.

The one thing we won’t be doing much of, we are sad to say, is travel.  We hadn’t planned to do any big trips until after the election in November as we both, but primarily Betsy, are very involved in the local campaigns as we have to get the current bozos out of office, then we can go away with some confidence.  We cannot say too often or too loudly you all must VOTE! And you have to get everyone you know to vote.  On top of that you need to contribute money, volunteer and we are recommending everyone apply for an absentee/mail in ballot.  With Covid-19 it will take some pressure off of the local precincts and be a safer alternative.

It has been possibly the best six months we have ever had business wise.  The warm winter and generally good and long spring led to consistent crops with very few failures or waste.  Combine that with the incredible demand, driven by all of the change to people’s lifestyles because of Covid-19 and it has been a remarkable half a year even if it was a strain physically and mentally.  We sincerely hope that all of the people new to the Farmers’ Market and purchasing local food will continue their new and improved buying habits and not just revert to Food Lion or Costco for all of their produce and meats as the pandemic eases.  We know that a lot will slip back to those old habits but we encourage you to think about how important it is to you, your health and the health of the local food system and economy.

Finally to update our fundraising to contribute to Campaign Zero to help end police violence in America, we ended an impressive month helped with yet more large donations from Ellie and Jim, Jean, Lydia and others.  The final total for the month was $1397 and we rounded it up and have donated $1500!  Thank you all, you have been amazing but don’t stop there in the fight for racial equality!

This pandemic is going to be with us for a long time yet, many months at least and well into next year I am afraid.  We all need to do our part, you know the three W’s, to get this mess under control.  We are pretty much self-isolating for a few weeks and then will begin to have people over for socially distant visits.  We may show up at market to do some shopping but we plan to spend large parts of everyday in what Betsy refers to as the Summer Palace and you can visualize us there, reading, working and enjoying the beauty of the place.

Picture of the week

Betsy’s hammock is ready on the screen porch, the grill and chairs set on the deck, the creek is babbling away below and the wine is poured!

What’s going to be at Market?

Not us and we will be radio silent for the most part but expect a newsletter from time to time.

Stay safe and well and we hope to see you all at the market!

Alex and Betsy

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