Petit Jean Farm
Weekly Farm Newsletter
August 10, 2009
Dear Folks,
It is very encouraging to see how dedicated to sustainability our customers are! You are usually the highlight of the week, with your enthusiasm about the good food our hard work produces. We appreciate you!
A conversation about sustainability led to reflection on our farm this week. Sometimes it is easy to get discouraged in the midst of a national industrial food system that just seems so enormous that the little people barely make a dent. It is good to notice that there are little bits of sustainability everywhere. If you look for them, you can see hints of changing attitudes or even reminders of the sustainability (by other names) that has been a part of local culture throughout the years. Certain sustainable practices are not new at all; care of the land and feeding one’s family well is what sustained generations of Americans.
Backyard gardeners may not call their work organic, but they often have a wealth of knowledge about which vegetables to thin, when to plant to best avoid crops ripening when bugs are worst, and how to discourage deer from eating the garden. Home canners who put up jellies, relishes, and pickles often use techniques passed down from grandmothers’ grandmothers. Some of these folks may not be intentional about sustainability, but their practices may be better than those of us who are trying.
Here is your challenge for the week: look for examples of sustainability in unlikely places as you go about your regular schedule. It may be the reusable shopping bags at the checkout line at a mega-chain box-store. We know the store only says “go green” because they see opportunity for profit, but that’s great! If we can be part of the consumer voice that demonstrates environmental demand that stores respond to, it might be the most impacting thing we can do. Be on the lookout for hidden ways that people, government, or businesses are making sustainable choices, sometimes without even meaning to. Once we find them, we can support them, and anticipate what a difference that will make. I hope what you discover will be encouraging!
Don’t forget, we will not be at the farmers’ markets this weekend, August 14 and 15. We will, however, participate in the online markets: www.littlerock.locallygrown.net (ASN), www.village.locallygrown.net (Carmona Center), www.spacity.locallygrown.net (downtown Hot Springs), and www.conway.locallygrown.net (Conway). Makes sure you place your orders by the time the markets close on Tuesday night.
Happy sustainability hunting!
Your Petit Jean Farmers
Petit Jean Farm
1039 Winrock Drive
Morrilton, AR 72110
501-727-5714
www.petitjeanfarm.com
