Planting the hoophouse already. Market in Springville this week.

Greetings shareholders and friends,

Tomorrow's market is in Springville, 9:00 until 11:00.  We have a new location this week, the United Methodist Church community room.  The church is at 169 Broadway, just a block south of the Community Center where we usually are.  I'll be bringing eggs.  Several other vendors will be bringing the usual assortment.  And there will be harp music!  Hope it's not icy.

I planted the hoophouse last Saturday and have been irrigating it this week.  The soil is still quite cold, so cold that even the weeds haven't started to germinate.  But as soon as the sun stays out long enough to warm the surface, things are going to pop.  I expect to have radishes, lettuce, arugula, and chois sometime in March. 

Jackie Martin, some gardening friends, and I are working on organizing a vegetable gardening club in Mt. Vernon.  Our kickoff event will be Tuesday, February 21, 7:00, in the Community Center auditorium.  We're going to show the movie, "Fresh", swap some seeds, and measure the interest in organizing a club.  Our idea is for a gardening group that is open to everybody, no matter what experience level or what size garden, where people teach each other by touring gardens around town.  Every gardener has something to learn and something to teach; all we want to do is get everybody together.  To see where we got our inspiration for the group, check out this talk by Roger Doiron, the founder of Kitchen Gardens International.  I agree with him that we can have fun, save money, be subversive, eat better, meet people, teach kids, and improve the planet by growing some food in our own yards.  And a vegetable gardening club might make it a little easier to give it a try.  (But don't quit the CSA, OK?)  

Hope to see you Saturday,

Laura