This past week found us again with hot humid days with occasional rain storms.  The rain did help us avoid irrigation duties and provided a nice cool relief on a few occasions.

   The main news of our week was rounding out some fall planting and mowing the farm.  We planted five beds of fall brassicas that include cabbage, broccoli, kale, collards, and cauliflower.  The total amount of plants we pushed in was close to 2200!  We did have some help from Laura, thanks for coming out.  All of the transplants we put out were grown from seed that we purchased organic and many heirloom.  These seeds were started about four weeks before being planted out.  

   Mowing the farm is a necessary and sometimes overwhelming task.  There are a few reasons why it's more essential than the obvious aesthetics.  Many pests seek shelter and can overwinter in tall grasses and brush.  The electric fence is another reason because the charge 'grounds out' if grass is pushing against it.  Weeds do grow as part of our farm lawn and not having them go to seed is a good thing for us because it means less weeds spreading to our growing areas and less weeding for us!      

   Many of you know this is kind of a slow time for us harvest wise.  You'll see that we're making the grand entrance of our winter squash this week to help supplement our farm harvests.  Many of the summer fruits are nearing their end but don't get scared.  We have a lot of direct seeded crops in the ground growing more everyday and very soon the fall brassicas will be here. 

  

   We trust our in place system of checks and balances broadly termed as 'food regulators' to ensure that what arrives on our table is 'safe' food.  Recent egg companies associated with recalls are repeat offenders. This alone lets us see that there is little to no regulation.   Sources cited several past issues with labor, cleanliness, and overall flock health.  These companies are corporate businesses concerned only with how to make more money, not your health. 

   Where does this leave us?  We need to be able to see that local is the answer.  Aside from stimulating your immediate economy, local truly means getting down to knowing where your food is coming from.  Being driven to provide quality clean food is what separates us from large farms driven only by profit.  We continually strive to re-mineralize and give back to our soil so that it will give back to us in the form of healthy food. 

 

   "Greenwashing" is a broad term associated with the food movement and means to have an appearance of being 'green' or eco-conscious but is truly not.  An example would be going to a restaurant and having what you think is produce from a local farm when it's really from the grocery store.

   It seems that credit isn't always given where credit is due.  Moving into the future I believe this is going to be a serious problem.  How do you determine who is 'real' and who is not?  There is a recent article on Deborah Geering's Atlanta Magazine blog about local farmer's markets and those that are producer only vs. those that allow wholesalers or resellers in.

   But why does this matter?  The concern is that these people are seeing the profitability of being 'green' and that they have the ability to turn our great food movement into a profit driven machine that feeds only a few hands leaving out many of the farmers and selling produce from who knows where under false pretenses. 

   If you have questions about what you are buying or eating in a restaurant don't be afraid to ask.  If you can't get your questions answered directly many organizations like Georgia Organics publish guides to help steer you in the right direction. 

And, thanks for supporting Serenbe Farms and thank you for your commitment to local, organic agriculture.

 

Justin