I-40 is Being Widened!

I-40 is being widened between Durham and Hillsborough.  A wider I-40 likely means a noisier I-40.  It is already difficult to hear each other when we are outdoors at EWS, especially at the farm, because of interstate noise.  

An informal public meeting will be held on June 10 from 4 to 7 pm in the Southern Human Services Center at 2501 Homestead Rd. Chapel Hill, NC.  Please come to the meeting to express concerns about noise interference at the school and to request noise abatement along school property.  Please don't assume that someone else has got this covered.  Please do spread the word!  The more people who show up to express concern, the more likely it is that we will see results.  Please help us take action for a quieter, more soothing campus!

Free Tomato Seedlings

CARRBOR MARKET FARMERS PROVIDE YOUNG GARDENERS WITH TOMATO SEEDLINGS

 AT THE 9TH ANNUAL KIDS’ SEEDLING GIVEAWAY

SUPPORTED BY FIFTH SEASON GARDENING COMPANY ON APRIL 26TH

Kids start their gardens with a free tomato seedling donated by Carrboro Market farmers with potting soil and growing tips from Fifth Season Gardening Company and kids’ activities by Kidzu Children’s Museum.

April 10, 2013– Carrboro, NC – On Saturday, April 26th, beginning at 8:30 AM, the Carrboro Farmer's Market will give away farmer-grown tomato seedlings to kids.  Kids will get to pick a seedling of their choice and plant it in a cup to take home.  To help the seedlings get well on their way to a life of juicy delicious fruit bearing, Fifth Season Gardening Company will be providing organic potting soil for the pots as well as growing tips and useful information for new gardeners.

Kidzu Children’s Museum and Market volunteers will help kids decorate a label for their seedling and then help them find and thank the farmer that donated it. 

Last year over 400 young gardeners became proud owners of local tomato seedlings at this event, and it has become an annual tradition for many local families. A special thanks to Fifth Season Gardening Company for their generous support in making the Carrboro Farmers’ Market Annual Kids’ Seedling Event possible.

This event is held during the weekend of the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association’s Piedmont Farm Tour, which features many Carrboro Market farmers, making it a fun farm-filled weekend for the community.  During the Farm Tour many local farmers open their farms to the public so visitors can see where their food comes from and how it grows.  Some farms also sell farm products or have special activities for children.  For more information, visit www.carolinafarmstewards.org/pft/.

Emerson Farm Nominated as Possible Winner of Beehive, Bees and Bee Care Training!

Annallys Goodwin-Landher, our volunteer bee keeper has been keeping her bees on our property for several years, but there is a good chance that she and her bees will soon be moving.  She has nominated us to Toxic Free NC as an entry in their annual beehive giveaway. 

The community or school garden that gets the most votes will win the hive.  Help us out by checking out their contest site and clicking on the entry for Emerson Waldorf School Farm. 

Oh, and please share this link with everyone you know!

Biodynamic Stirs

Interested in learning about some of the Biodynamic preparations and how to apply them?  Come check out these two opportunities to learn about a preparation and participate in a stir at Infinity Farm with Jon Lyerly.  Bring a jar and he will let you bring some of the prep home to apply in your own garden.

October 12 (Saturday) starting @ 8am: Horn Silica preparation

 

October 27 (Sunday) starting @ 3pm: Equisetum preparation

 

 Contact Jon Lyerly at 336-263-7685 for directions to the farm and more information.

Tomato Day in Carrboro

Carrboro Farmer' Market Hosts Annual Tomato Tasting Event – TOMATO DAY on Saturday July 13^th!

Shoppers can sample a selection of the over 70 varieties of tomatoes at Market as well as tomato dishes from Acme and Pazzo!, and local businesses pitch in more than 35 prizes for a town-wide raffle in the week leading up to the event!

Saturday, July 13^th, Event starts 8:30 a.m.

Carrboro, NC – Seasonal eaters, gardeners, chefs, and farmers alike wait impatiently for the first ripe tomato of the season, and that time has finally arrived! The Carrboro Farmers’ Market offers the largest variety and abundance of local tomatoes in the Triangle, and the arrival of tomato season calls for the Market’s biggest annual celebration and tasting event, Tomato Day - scheduled for Saturday, July 13^th!  Last year over 5,000 eager tomato lovers flocked to this celebration, some even donning tomato-themed accessories and full costumes to celebrate the tasty goodness of local tomatoes.  Tomato Day is the same weekend as ACME Restaurant’s highly anticipated 11^th Annual Tomato Festival, making it a weekend of tomato goodness for the local community!

On Saturday, July 13^th, starting at 8:30am, the Market’s volunteer team will serve up an assortment of sliced tomato samples selected from over 70 different tomato varieties. Shoppers can experience the taste of local favorites like Sungolds, Romas, and Big Beefs, alongside truly unique varieties like Nebraska Wedding, Green Zebra, Black Krim, Lady Bug, Lemon Boy, and San Marzano - many of which can only be found at the Carrboro Farmers’ Market. The fresh slices will be paired alongside local breads, fresh cheeses and special tomato themed dishes prepared by Chef Kevin Callaghan of ACME and Seth Kingsbury of Pazzo! The Market will be calling on customers to tell us what they love best about local tomatoes; after sampling, shoppers will have a chance to share what word best describes their tomato tasting experience.

This year’s event will also include a town-wide raffle with over 35 awesome prizes from local businesses! The Market encourages shoppers to stop by participating local businesses July 7^th through 12^th and pick up free raffle tickets for chances to win prizes including dinner at Lantern Restaurant, a camping getaway courtesy of Townsend Bertram & Company, a $75 gift certificate to Back Alley Bikes, appetizers from Elaine’s on Franklin, dinner at the Spotted Dog, gift certificates from the Clean Machine, and much more! Other participating businesses include The Arts Center, Auto Logic, Balloons & Tunes, Beer Study, Carrboro Coffee Roasters, Carrburritos, Club Nova, NC Crafts Gallery, Neal’s Deli, Provence, Open Eye Café, Sandwhich, Tyler’s Taproom, Venable, Vespertine, Vimala’s Curryblossom Café, and more.  Raffle tickets should be turned in at Market on Tomato Day, and shoppers get extra tickets for every purchase at Market that day!

“Nothing says summer like a ripe juicy tomato,” says Market Assistant Manager Margaret Krome-Lukens. “Tomato Day is such a fun way to celebrate summertime, delicious food, and most importantly the wonderful community we’re lucky to share with each other.  We love the community’s enthusiasm for Tomato Day each year, and we can’t wait to see everyone out shopping locally and tasting fresh tomatoes this July!”

Additional festivities include live music by Craig Thompson, face painting, a photo display from Kidzu Children’s Museum recapping April’s Tomato Seedling Giveaway, recipes and more! Tomato Day takes place at Market from 8:30am-Noon on Saturday, July 13^th. Tastings will be offered while supplies last.

Printing for Tomato Day is generously donated by the Market’s Big Beef Sponsor, Laser Image Printing and Marketing! www.laserimagenc.com

In other Market News, we are delighted to announce that UNC Health Care has renewed their Healthy Food Incentives Sponsorship that enables the Carrboro Farmers’ Market to match the first $5 of customers’ EBT, WIC, and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program Benefits.  The Market looks forward to continuing and expanding this exciting program, and thanks UNC Health Care for making healthy food incentives possible at Market!

Homeschool Days

Last Wednesday was our first ever homeschool day.  Izabella and her mother came out to the farm to learn about weeds and what they tell us about a piece of land, its health and history.  They also learned, and taught me, some things about what some weeds are good for.  We learned why weeding is so important and even found some time to paint the chicken tractor.

Please come join us on Wednesdays, June 26, July 10 and July 17  

(note that we do not meet on July 3).  You do not need to be a homeschooler to join us, but this is a parent and child experience for children of all ages so do plan to stick around and learn something too.  Participation is free.  Please contact me (mmueller@emersonwaldorf.org) so that I know how many people to expect.  Next week we will be learning about insects and the roles they play in the garden.

Do you like tomatoes? Check this out...

Fourth Annual Great Tomato Festival, Saturday July 20^th, 2013

Family fun, Farm tours, Musicians, tomato cooking contest, Taste 40+ tomato varieties

8 AM – Noon at University Farm at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University

• Short seminars with expert advice on which varieties to plant
• Information on caring for tomatoes in the garden.
• Great ways to cook tomatoes. 
• Tours of University Farm research plots.
• Activities for children. 

Admission: $5 per person
Children under 10 and tomato cook-off entrants FREE.

Click here, then scroll down to the bottom of the list for a map of the farm location.  NCAT&T is located in Greensboro.

NC Organic Cotton Tour

While all of the products offered by TS Designs are not 100% organic, they are working with organic cotton growers in NC to offer more locally grown organic cotton products which is a good thing as conventionally grown cotton can use a lot of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. The tour described below is focused on their organic cotton fields.

Invite your friends and family to spend the day with TS Designs and explore where their Cotton of the Carolinas t-shirt begins! You can also meet farmer, Ronnie Burleson, along with everyone who makes this special t-shirt a reality.  Price – $12/person – includes local lunch.

Location:  Rolling Hills Gin, 29107 Kendalls Church Rd, New London, North Carolina
Phone:  (704) 984-6800

RSVP by October 10th to Eric Henry (eric@tsdesigns.com)

Agenda:
10 am – meet up at Rolling Hills Cotton Gin
10-10:30 – introduction of the Cotton of the Carolinas
10:30-11:30 – tour of cotton gin with Wes Morgan
11:30 – out to the cotton field
12-1 – lunch at the farm, bad weather we eat at a church
1-2 – harvest cotton!
2-3 – Q&A, wrap-up and head home

Annual Pepper Festival

This festival is sponsored by the same people that we get our sweet potato slips from every spring.  It is supposed to be amazing.  Come check it out!

The Hottest, yet Sweetest place to be on October 14th!

http://theabundancefoundation.org/events/pepper-festival

Who:  Everyone interested in local food and sustainable agriculture and having fun and eating in Central NC.

Who Else:  Abundance Foundation & Piedmont Biofarm's seed saving research division + 35 + Chefs, Brewers, Food Artisans, Non-Profits focusing on sustainability, Sponsors, Musicians, Bubble Blowers, Acrobatic people, Vegetable Circus, etc etc.

When:  Sunday, October 14th 3-7pm 

Where:  Briar Chapel's Park (16 Windy Knoll Circle, Chapel Hill, NC)

What:  A celebration of the Piedmont's sustainable agriculture, local food, our community and all things Pepper!

Why? This began 5 years ago when Farmer Doug needed data about his 100+ varieties of peppers that he grows and 40 friends and family came by to taste and submit data.  It turned into quite the festival that has people pleased as punch!  

Coffee and Composting Workshop

This Wednesday, October 3rd from 6-7:30 pm

Learn about Coffee Farming, Soil and

Organic Agriculture 

with Counter Culture Coffee

Location:  SEEDS
                   706 Gilbert St.
                   Durham, NC
 

 Counter Culture's Sustainability Manager, Kim Elena Ionescu will lead a workshop on organic agriculture as it relates to coffee farming and home composting methods. Students will learn about SEEDS composting techniques and the inner tidbits of natural fertilizers. Kim will utilize an organic certified farm, Nueva Armenia in Huehuetenango, Guatemala, as a case study. Meanwhile, we will be tasting delicious coffee from Counter Culture Coffee. As much about agriculture as it is about coffee, Coffee Farming, Soil, and Organic Agriculture is a great workshop for those in the coffee industry, but you don't have to be a coffee person to attend. Gardeners, foodies, agriculture scholars, and organic activists are encouraged to participate!

The class will start promptly at 6pm and last until 7:30 pm.
The suggested donation is $10 for participants.

To pre-register, please contact Alexis Mastromichalis
at amastromichalis@seedsnc.org  or sign up on our facebook invite.

Interested in Starting a Pollinator Garden?

These Pollinator Conservation Workshop and Garden Tours were offered on the Growing Small Farms listserve.  Check it out:

Registration deadline is Monday Sept. 24!

Note: I have had several requests for an early afternoon garden tour for folks coming in from far outside the county, so here it is!

If you want to attract more pollinators to your farm or garden, or if you just want to expand your perennial garden and provide resources for pollinators and other wildlife, then Chatham County Cooperative Extension has a workshop just for you, and just in time for the fall planting season! Learn how to create a pollinator paradise like the one found at Extension’s pollinator garden at Chatham Marketplace in Pittsboro: http://bit.ly/95ZS1C

September 26 (Wednesday): Pollinator Conservation Workshop and Garden Tour from 5:30-7:30 pm

September 29 (Saturday): Pollinator Conservation Workshop and Garden Tour from 2:00-4:00 pm

(Same workshop offered twice to keep class size low and accommodate different schedules so please choose one)

The Chatham County Center of North Carolina Cooperative Extension will offer a pollinator conservation workshop and garden tour as part of its Enhancing Sustainability Series on Wednesday, September 26, 2012 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. and Saturday, September 29 from 2:00-4:00 pm. in the auditorium of the Agriculture Building in Pittsboro. Chatham County Agricultural Extension Agent Debbie Roos will give an overview of North Carolina pollinators and discuss the role of native bees and managed bees in crop pollination. Participants will learn about the principles of planting a pollinator garden and - just in time for fall planting - how to select trees, shrubs, herbaceous perennials, herbs, vines, and grasses to attract a diversity of pollinators. Debbie will emphasize native plants but also include a few other plants that provide good resources. The workshop will include a tour of Cooperative Extension's demonstration pollinator garden at Chatham Marketplace, about half a mile from the Agriculture Building (see http://bit.ly/95ZS1C). The garden is comprised of ~140 different species and cultivars, 85% of which are native to the piedmont of North Carolina.

The deadline for registration is September 24. Registration forms must be RECEIVED by the deadline. Space is limited so please register early to reserve your spot. The cost of the workshop is $15 and includes a CD of resources. Call 919-542-8202 or email debbie_roos@ncsu.edu for more information. Visit the Growing Small Farms website at http://bit.ly/qb7UB to download a registration form.

I hope to see you there!

Debbie

Debbie Roos
Agricultural Extension Agent
Chatham County Center

North Carolina Cooperative Extension
919.542.8202
debbie_roos@ncsu.edu

www.growingsmallfarms.org

www.facebook.com/debbie.roos.nc

www.twitter.com/GrowSmallFarms

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