Speaking of triumpant returns, it's time for Shockoe Tomato

The typical, oppressive summer heat-and-humidity combo may be holding off for the time being, but one July tradition is upon us - Shockoe Tomato Festival at 17th St Farmers Market.

This Saturday (7/11) from 11-5, head down to the Bottom for all things red, ripe and wonderful. Admission and parking are free and there are kids' activities and face-painting all day. The New Oldz will be playing and there's a Tastiest Tomato competition at 2 and the nearly-world-famous Hot Tomato Talent Contest at 4. If you've never seen the Hot Tomato Contest, you've never really lived. Email the staff at the market to sign up to compete.

Me, I love Shockoe Tomato and wouldn't miss it for the world.

Our triumphant return!

After nearly a month with no farmers market or craft show appearances and no online ordering, Wild Heaven Farm is pickled tink to announce we will be at Williamsburg Farmers Market this Saturday, July 4th from 8-12 and back at 17th St Farmers Market every Thursday morning. Thank you for your patience during the down time, especially our CSA customers.

As always, check our calender for a complete list of upcoming events.


Why do I always say 'we'? It's just me. Maybe it's the royal We, I dunno.

Do you RSS?

So I says to my sister the other day, I says, "Yeah, ever since Alan taught me what an RSS reader is, I follow, like, 160 blogs."

"I don't know what that is," my sister said.

In basic terms, an RSS reader brings you updates from your favorite websites and blogs, as long as they post in an RSS feed, which everyone worth their salt does.

"How does one get an RSS reader?" you may be asking yourself. It's pretty much a lock that you already have one on your web browser. Here are some tutorial videos on following RSS feeds.

Firefox:

IE:


Google Reader:
(Of course, if you're using Google Reader, you probably didn't need this video.)

I can't think of a better way to test your newfound RSS prowess than by subscribing to our feed. Go ahead, give it a shot!

Last events before the shut-down

For those wishing to purchase product or a CSA share (membership) in person before we temporarily close up shop, your last opportunities will be Thursday and Saturday of this week, both at 17th St Farmers Market. Thursday is a regular market day, 9-2, give or take, and I'll have my doeling Prieka with me.

Saturday is a fun event called Animalia, 11-4.
Grab the dog and the kids (or just the dog) and come on out. There's a Greyest Muzzle beauty pagent, petting zoo, Niftiest Pet contest, and of course it's free! For Animalia, I'll also be dragging our beautiful, if shy, Nubian buckling Ford along too.

Remember, Saturday 6/6 during Animalia is your last chance to purchase CSA shares. Drop me an email if you have any questions at all.

A funny exchange

Tilling an 85' by 45' garden with a flower bed-sized tiller had been an arduous task at best. Ever so badly, I wanted to rent a great big, self-propelled tiller, but they have to be moved on a trailer and I don't have one. Thankfully, the counter man at the United Rental mentioned off-hand that trailers are only $15 a day to rent. If only someone had told me that when I called to check prices three weeks earlier!

That rented tiller absolutely devoured the garden plot, turning over the dirt for me in about an hour and half. As the counter man was processing the equipment return, he started to make small talk.

Counterman: So, you're putting in a vegetable garden?

Me: Yeah, for us and to take the surplus with to 17th St Farmers Market when I'm selling my soaps.

A Loader, leaning against the counter: No, she's putting in a meat garden. What else would it be?

Counter: Well...c'mon now, you know what I mean.

Me: Actually, we're fattening some pigs for the family this year and they'll be eating from the garden, so it kind of is a meat garden.

Loader: Are they eating everything from the garden?

Me (seeing where he's going with this): I'm made of meat.

Loader: Yeah, but you're more water than the pigs are.

Me (wow, this guy's dedicated to his point): I'll have to look that up. I know anatomically-speaking, we're very similar.

Thankfully, just then, a receipt came across the counter for me to sign. Goodness knows where the debate would have gone from there. :)

It's official - we're closing.

They don't call these things inevitable for nothing.

Wild Heaven Farm will be halting all sales, in person and online, effective June 6 after Animalia. That will be the last day for buying CSA shares (memberships), which are also conveniently available on our website. We sincerely hope to be out of commission for no more than a month, but we don't really know at this point.

If you have any questions about the CSA, please don't hesitate to email me.

Soap CSA: back-story and update

The muddy season is nearly over as the dusty season hovers in our peripheral vision. This is normally the time of year when the big spring craft shows are over and we coast through the summer with bi-weekly appearances at the better area farmers markets. Pre-season production begins with whatever modicum of supplies still remains after the last craft show in mid-December. I make a small quantity of soaps and other products and sell them to get money for slightly more supplies. I make slightly more soap, which I sell to get money to buy even more supplies, and it grows from there. This year, however, due to a number of causes (the slower economy, the costs involved with the dying goat, good ol' fashioned bum luck, etc) the soap-supplies-soap cycle got smaller instead of bigger. Instead of building momentum, things began to grind to a halt. In short order, I had to skip the higher earning Saturday markets for lack of product, which would certainly not help the situation.

To put a fine point on it, we are officially in danger of closing, at least for the summer if not for the rest of the year. That is why, in an effort known to business types as bootstrapping, we have begun a CSA (see last week's post for full details).

This week's updates:

• We've already sold $400 worth of shares - go team! There are still $600 worth of shares available, so don't sit and fret that they may be gone, buy yours today.

• Which brings me to the second update, CSA shares are now available for purchase on our website.

Please don't hesitate to email us with any questions you have regarding the CSA or our products.