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Production
Several major weather events have strained production at Sprouting Farms in February. Thankfully, the crew took things in stride and things just slowed down a bit, rather than any major crop loss. We are still largely focused on cold season crops: head lettuce, baby lettuces, kale, etc. and initial preparation of our outdoor fields. We are, however, transitioning toward spring and have begun sowing some of our spring and early summer crops. In the greenhouse, we are waiting for our second plantings of tomatoes and peppers to germinate. Soon we will also be starting eggplant, summer squash, and basil.
— Lucas, Production Manager, lucas@sproutingfarms.org
Community
Sprouting Farms went to the Small Farm Conference in Charleston, WV last month. After holding an informational booth with our friends from Refresh Appalachia, we participated in the Winter Blues Market on the last day of the conference. Turnrow represented several farmers and organizations’ local products at the Winter Blues Market. Sprouting Farms’ veggies were on display along with Refresh Appalachia’s meat options, Jeff’s bread, local fruits, microgreens, potatoes, and more. Sprouting Farms even put together a ready to eat salad mix for shoppers to eat on the go!
Turnrow hosted a Community Dinner at the Greenbrier Valley Brewing Company in Lewisburg, WV. We had over 100 people join us! We had a chili dinner made from local ingredients and prepared by the Sprouting Farms and Turnrow crew. Live music was playing, while the kids’ enjoyed several game options found at the brewing company. We reached people who had never heard of us and it was a great opportunity to talk to new people.
Anyone who has a child, grandchild, or niece/nephew is welcome to Sprouting Farms Kids’ Cooking Class coming up April 27th! Come join us and learn how to prepare a healthy meal as a family. If you wish to register for the event message us on Facebook or email Beth at beth@sproutingfarms.org.
— Beth, Community Outreach Coordinator
Education
March 1st started with the completion of Turnrow’s Farmer Trainings. These trainings included topics such as wholesale management, food safety, and cold chain practices. The event was great and we had a great group of farmers eager to learn! This workshop presented resources for future farmers to envision scaling up their production plans and creating a food safety plan for their farm.
Sprouting Farms is currently working on creating educational workshops for our staff that will be open to the public. This will include classes in using farm equipment, seeding, and transplanting. One of Sprouting Farms’ goals is to support the local farm community!
On April 2nd Sprouting Farms will be hosting a potluck and workshop about the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). This a great program that landowners and farmers could greatly benefit from. Peg Kohring, from The Conservation Fund, will be presenting information about federal programs that provide cost sharing for high tunnels, irrigation, etc. In addition to the workshop/potluck on April 2nd, Peg, the EQIP representative, will be visiting local farmers sites on April 3rd to assess which, and how programs can be implemented on your land. For more information check out their website at nrcs.usda.gov and please register for the event at eqip.eventbrite.com.
April 13th Ruby Daniels, an incubator farmer/education coordinator at Sprouting Farms, will be teaching an herbal preparation class at the Wildflower Festival at the Yew Mountain Center in Hillsboro, WV. 9494 Lobelia Road, Hillsboro, WV 24946.
Stay tuned for future education workshops and events!
— Ruby, Education Coordinator, ruby@sproutingfarms.org
