Greetings from Rancho Alegre Farm!  As the weather gets warmer, our farm is really springing to life with events, field trips, pony parties, planting, and even more.
Despite being so busy, we were able to spend quite a bit of time outside planting in the garden during Spring Break. We're planting heirloom and hybrid tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers of all colors, cucumbers, broccoli, corn, beans, squash, zucchini, eggplant, carrots, potatoes, beets, melons, several variety of herbs, blueberry and raspberry bushes, and a fig tree. We are planning to let people come out and pick some of fresh produce once it comes to fruition. Later we'll even be dehydrating some crops and providing things like sun-dried tomatoes (mmm, they are so good in a pasta with pesto!). We've been impressed by how over the years we've only used our own compost, manure, and worms to accomplish all this. And we can't wait to sell our fresh goods through the Gwinnett Locally Grown market, which is an online market with pick up at our farm on Tuesday evenings beginning in late May or early June. We're currently recruiting farmers and growers to be a part of Gwinnett Locally Grown, which is being modeled after Athens and Atlanta Locally Grown. For more information or to become a grower, simply go here and create an account.
We've also been updating our website so take a few minutes to visit it and check out our new blog.
For the latest updates and reminders from Rancho Alegre Farm, become a fan of our Facebook page.
Hope you had a happy Earth Day this week!
Fresh wishes,
Pilar Quintero, Owner |
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The Business Side of Farming 
Many people like to imagine farming as totally removed from the daily hassles of hectic life that revolve around bottom lines and returns on investments, but today's farmers, including myself, will tell you that couldn't be further from the truth. As charming and picturesque as farm life is, at the end of the day, farming is also a business. And one that is most definitely governed by the marketplace. Marketing is a necessary and significant aspect for a farm these days and can determine whether or not a farm "sinks or swims." Even Rancho Alegre, a non-commercial family farm, is proof of the importance of marketing. We spend so much of our time making sure our presence in the community is noticeable from attending festivals to having events to using online sources like our newsletter, website, Facebook,and Twitter. Small farms and commercial ones alike have to be aware of competition in the marketplace and how to compete by being both efficient and effective in their operations. Read more of this article . . .
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Scoop from the Chicken Coop
 We've gotten more chickens that continue to roam around all over the farm. We recently clipped some of their wings, moved them around, and have been observing their behavior. We now have a broody chicken, and we have given her extra eggs to hatch. This is a new project for us as we learn all the different stages a hen goes through to have chicks. We can't wait to see them all hatched and following momma around! There will be plenty of photos and updates on our new blog, Facebook, and Picasa. |
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COMMUNITY EVENTS
Upcoming Events:
* Girl Scout Event on Saturday, April 24th - Rancho Alegre is proud to host the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta again this Saturday.
* Be on the look out for upcoming workshops about milling your own grains, making bread, and making cheese on the event calendar on our website. We're also trying to form a discussion and networking group for community members to gather at the farm once a month to discuss the idea of community farming/land sharing and various natural and holistic lifestyle practices. If you have an idea you want to share or would just like to attend, email us.
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Recent Events: * A warm and gracious thank you to Alexis Ayala and Anthony Stokes for coordinating the screening of the film Food Matters this past Saturday. It was well attended. The potluck dinner before was full of scrumptious and diverse dishes with more than enough for everyone.
* I was excited and honored to attend the Earth Day Fun Festival held by the Green Youth Foundation at Brookwood Elementary this past Saturday. We had the wonderful opportunity to teach kids about building compost, increasing the number of worms, and about the benefits of having worms in the soil and garden. We even brought our baby Japanese Bantam chicks, which were a huge hit.
* We also had a wonderful weather and a great turnout for the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta Hispanic Initiative for Gwinnett and Dekalb. The girls had the chance to experience a true, working farm, enjoy a hay ride, interact with our animals, and ride a pony.
Stay up to date about our practices, upcoming events, and workshops by visiting our website. |
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 Dacula Farmer's Market
The Dacula Farmer's Market hosted at the farm on Saturdays is really flourishing with handmade granola, raw goat's milk, certified organic produce, biscotti, grass-fed beef and pork, and so much more! The market is held from 10AM-2PM on Saturdays rain or shine, but in May (next week), we will move to our summer hours of 8:30AM-12PM.
We're excited to share that the market has been approved to accept EBT. I'm so passionate about the community aspect of the farmer's market. I hope that Gwinnett Locally Grown will widen and strengthen the community we're growing here.
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Dacula Natural Buyer's Club
Bringing affordable organic and naturally grown foods to you
Updates: Please take a few moments to fill out the Dacula Natural Buyer's Club customer satisfaction survey, and become a fan of our Facebook page to stay aware of last-minute updates and info. By doing either, you will be entered for a chance to win a free box of produce, a month of farm fresh eggs, a month of milk, and Rancho Alegre gift certificates.
The Dacula Natural Buyer's Club would like to make you aware that this is a transition time for harvesting crops. Therefore, there is a gap in a supply from Georgia and Florida. The gap will decrease over the next few days as more crops become ready to be harvested. This explains why many products will be in short supply, and pricing will be up. The good news is that this happens to some degree every year, and it is a short-lived problem followed by some delicious fresh organic fruits and vegetables at excellent prices.
The next produce order will be Tuesday April 27th, and pick up will be Saturday, May 1st. Email here or call (770) 339-3065 to place your order. Large boxes are $50, and small boxes are $30.
Click here for complete FAQ's.
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 Grains-N-More
We are excited to partner with Grains-N-More, an organic grain resource, to bring you grains, beans, seeds, and more. Take a look at the list of products here, and then call Daniel at (678)-982 4098 or email him to place your order for May.
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 Johnston Family Milk comes to us from a small, grass-based, family dairy in Newborn GA. The milk is lightly pasteurized to preserve flavor & nutrients, milk is never homogenized.
Orders are placed and picked up through
The Dacula Natural Buyer's Club.
Click here for the product list & prices. |
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2225 Givens Road
Dacula, 30019
| | Join our Facebook page for updates and reminders |
RIDE
at Rancho Alegre
Learn more about Horses and Riding! Janice Gardner is one of the instructors who teaches riding lesson here at Rancho Alegre. She is also a certified stherapeutic instructor and can teach anyone with special needs. Please contact Janice for any questions or to schedule a lesson at (678) 316-4756 or Bachfan@aol.com. |
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GATHER
at Rancho Alegre 
Don't forget that Rancho Alegre Events, Inc. can host birthday parties, wedding receptions, business events, family reunions at our newly renovated 3,000-sq. foot rental facility or our two picnic pavilions.
For pricing and more information, visit our website. Then contact me by email or calling (770)-339-3065 to schedule an event.
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LEARN
at Rancho Alegre
Rancho Alegre will offer Farm Camp & Horseback Riding Camp from June-July, Monday-Friday 8AM-2PM. Campers will learn self confidence, how to work as a team, and how to care for animals and the environment all while having unforgettable FUN. Your children won't be able to stop talking about their camp experiences!
Online registration is now available on our website.
Please keep us in mind for educational field trips and church trips also. |
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