The Common Market hosted a Crop Mob at our farm, and it was a great collaboration! Thank you, Alexis and The Common Market Education and Outreach Department for organizing the event. The mob helped with so many jobs that I started feeling downright pampered by the end of the event. They even did the job of writing up a summary, so my blog entry is taken care of. Along with The Common Market’s write-up, there is a nice article in The Frederick News Post.
View the story on The Frederick News Post web page by clicking here or pasting this into your browser: http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/art_life/display_features.htm?StoryID=120718
I am including The Common Market’s write-up here, written by the great education and outreach staff at the market, but I encourage you to click on their link to see their nice collage of photos from the event: on The Common Market’s website.
The Co-op’s First Crop Mob: Story from the Field
The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after all our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal is our only hope
-Wendell Berry
Its official; our first Crop Mob
was an enormous success!
A HUGE thank you goes out to everyone who participated in our Mob and to Phil, Ilene, Noah, and Jonah for being wonderful Crop Mob Hosts! Mobbers ranged in age from 2 – 60+ years proving that Crop Mobs are truly for everyone! Our Mob included House in the Woods CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) members, Common Market employees, shoppers and Owners, a Frederick Community Action Agency employee and even a few folks who just found out about the event on the internet. We were fortunate to have had not only a beautiful day, but enthusiastic participants who came prepared to help out and to learn a thing or two about organic farming from real life farmers. Participants got a chance to have their hand in growing food that will be sold at the Co-op, included in the weekly shares of House in the Woods CSA members, and enjoyed by those members of our community who utilize the Frederick Food Bank. Look for more Common Market sponsored Crop Mobs in the future – I can assure you this is not our last Crop Mob!
Not only did we raise money to provide fresh vegetables for the Frederick Food Bank, we also completed a commendable amount of tasks including:
-weeded the entire garlic patch
-weeded the onions
-transplanted eggplant seedlings in the hoop house
-transplanted bok choy seedlings in the field
-transplanted cabbage seedlings in the field
-prepared beds for planting by spreading the landscaping plastic over them
-planted bean seeds
-transplanted herbs into the herb garden
-filled dirt bags to use as row cover weights
-raised money to purchase CSA shares for the food bank
-mixed up a batch of potting mix
-pre-loaded trays of small pots with potting mix for seedlings
-erected the pea / tomato trellis
-grinded corn for chicken feed
-watered all the seedlings in the hoop house
Frederick Countys first crop mob was also featured in the Frederick News Post. View the story on their web page by clicking here: http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/art_life/display_features.htm?StoryID=120718