Posts Filtered by Month - March 2018 |
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March 31, 2018
Biodynamic Farming and Plant Medicine
By Charis Lindrooth
My dear friend and mentor Deb Soule is a biodynamic gardener and medicinal herbalist at Avena Botanicals in Rockport, Maine. She was one of the first "herbalists" I ever met and a big part of the reason I fell in love with plant medicine. Her gentle way with plants, and her intimate knowledge of their medicinal properties, their growing needs and the pollinators that visit them have inspired me over the past 20 years.
In this free class she will share how dandelion can help to balance women’s hormonal shifts, particularly through menopause, how biodynamic farming chooses the best times to plant and harvest,
why it’s valuable to use different tonic herbs in summer, fall, winter, or spring and how you can connect with a plant and enhance mind-body-spirit healing and realignment.
Curious? Join Deb for this enriching hour-long event:
RSVP here and I will see you there! You won't regret it! (class is live April 7, 1pm, but a replay is available to all registrants).
March 31, 2018
Like a Lamb
By Charis Lindrooth
If I ever saw a March come in like and lion and leave like a lamb it was this one. What an exhausting relief it was for the Farmer and son to traverse the fields all day yesterday, lifting drip tape, spreading compost and tilling fields. I watched them from the house, like orange beetles slowly crawling across a patchwork quilt. A sure sign of spring! The spring peepers, tiny frogs in the wet hollows, started their chirp this week, another herald of warmer days. And the curled brown tendrils of grass have suddenly taken on a tinge of green. I’m ready for the landscape to adopt it’s green-gold hue and wake up my heart again! I am also ready to eat some local vegetables again - for me, as local as they come! Hurrah, the Spring Share starts in 26 days!!
March 17, 2018
"Spring!" says the Robin to the Witch Hazel
A Note from the Farmer's Wife
Winter is holding on with icy fingers that sneak down my shirt collar. I shake it off determined to focus on signs that reassure me that spring will indeed arrive soon.
The cheerful racket of birds in the early morning grabs my attention first. The sound fills me with joy and relief, the way the first rays of morning sun dispel anxious worries during a sleepless night. I figure these birds have some private intelligence informing them that now is the time to make ready for warm and abundant days ahead, and this encourages me.
The sun has changed too. If I can find a sheltered spot out of the chilly wind, the renewed strength of the solar rays force me to take off a layer or even two, which I immediately regret as soon as I step out of the shelter. The nursery is fairly bursting with warmth when the sun is out and thousands of baby plants insist that the season’s change must be near. Do you remember last year? I think March and April switched places, so after an early start in March, cold winds and frosty nights damaged fruit trees and tender seedlings alike. I am hoping that paying the Chilly Piper now will pay off with a balmy, perfect April. No matter what, I am heartened to think that soon I can stop purchasing my vegetables at the grocery store and go back to “shopping” in my own back yard.
And finally the blooming Witch Hazel heralds the end of winter with it’s blazes of yellow prayer-flag blossoms. The sight makes me so happy I could kiss them. So take heart my vegetable loving friends! Soon you will have the freshest and tastiest greens back on your plate, reviving your palate and strengthening your health.
March 7, 2018
Action Steps that Support Local Farms
A Note from the Farmer's Wife

Do you value local food and want to support your local farm? Here are some simple action steps you can take to make a difference.
1.
Join a CSA - we are hoping you choose ours!
www.redearthfarm.org The CSA model offers an essential security to small farms since your early commitment allows the farmer to plant knowing his product will be consumed.
2. Recruit ONE new member for our CSA. Put your thinking cap on. Eating more vegetables is a simple and effective way to support one's health. Do you know someone who has never tried a CSA? Tell them about your experience! Break down the expense - show them that CSA can be more cost effective than shopping at the standard grocery store.
3.
Post flyers, or postcards at local businesses where potential CSA customers visit. Only 1% of the population uses a CSA, which means quite a few people have never experienced the wonder of a just-picked box of produce delivered to them. Email us if you would like us to send you postcards or flyers, or both.
4.
Leave a rave review on Google or Yelp - your honest reviews help potential customers choose our farm. To leave the Google review open
Google Maps, search Red Earth Farm, Kempton PA and click the stars and leave a comment.
5. Email us your testimonial. Let us use your words of praise to help others know that we are the real deal.
6. Send us a "Selfie Video" of you raving about your favorite aspect of the CSA - use your smart phone and make a short clip: if you do we will send an extra goodie in your first CSA box of the summer season!
7.
Like our Facebook page, follow us on
Instagram, share our posts or even better: make your own veggie loving post, or even a live video on Facebook, opening your first CSA box. It really helps!
We know we say it all the time: YOU are our best advertising! Your efforts to spread the word really make a difference. Take a step today. Thank you for your ongoing support.