Dear community. We love you.
In this time of pandemic, we are more aware then ever before of how important it is to have strong community food systems and webs of connection to support each other as we navigate these challenging times.
We are fortunate to have a lot of seed-starting and plant-growing infrastructure on our farm. And we are feeling grateful that we already were in the middle of our big seed-starting and plant growing operation when COVID-19 started spreading across the US. We are committed to using the resources we have here for mutual aid in our community, supporting as many people as possible in growing food this year.
We are working to figure out how we can get as many seeds and plants out to people as possible as safely and quickly as possible during these uncertain times.
Things are changing rapidly, but here is what we know right now:
About money:
Every year, we invest a lot of money up front on soil ingredients, seeds, labor, pots, and other costs to be able to sell plants to gardeners. This year we hope to recoup some of the money we've spent, but we are also committed to sharing what we have with our community and supporting people in growing food.
Plants and seeds are precious. The heirloom plants we gardeners have now exist because generations of gardeners saved and passed down seeds during hard times and good times, from one person to another. We believe it is our responsibility to share this gift with each other now. We are committed to sharing what we have in the safest and most equitable way possible.
We believe that community connections, caring relationships, and mutual aid are the most critical resources we need to move through this time. Our resiliency as a community is dependent on our ability to care for each other and support each other through crisis. We are deeply grateful for our connections with you and the strength of the web of community networks here in WNC.
We hope you and your loved ones, neighbors, friends, and families are as well as possible during this time and that you have what you need to sustain yourselves and each other. We are holding a vision of our communities thriving and growing stronger and stronger through this challenge, all of us together, like tiny plants pushing up into the light.
In this time of pandemic, we are more aware then ever before of how important it is to have strong community food systems and webs of connection to support each other as we navigate these challenging times.
We are fortunate to have a lot of seed-starting and plant-growing infrastructure on our farm. And we are feeling grateful that we already were in the middle of our big seed-starting and plant growing operation when COVID-19 started spreading across the US. We are committed to using the resources we have here for mutual aid in our community, supporting as many people as possible in growing food this year.
We are working to figure out how we can get as many seeds and plants out to people as possible as safely and quickly as possible during these uncertain times.
Things are changing rapidly, but here is what we know right now:
- We will do everything we can to get plants and seeds out into gardens this spring to support you in growing food and medicine.
- We are planting thousands of seeds in our hoophouses and we expect to have plants ready for gardens by mid- to late April. Depending on how long our plant inventory lasts, we are anticipating selling plants over the course of a few weeks to a month starting in mid- to late April.
- We are also inventorying seeds and anticipate having a free seed table set up for people to self-serve with sanitary precautions.
- We are assuming there will be no big public plant sales at the WNC farmers market this year (including the Herb Fest). Farms and farmers markets will likely still be able to stay open even under shelter-in-place orders.
- We are working on getting an online store set up so that people can buy plants from us online.
- We are working on plans to sell plants here on our farm using strict safety measures.
- We are also working on a delivery system to deliver plants to you for a small fee.
- We will have roughly the same plant varieties for sale as we had last year. We don't have a catalog for this year's varieties yet, but here is a link to last year's catalog: http://www.redwingfarm.net/uploads/2/9/2/9/2929259/2019_catalog.pdf
About money:
Every year, we invest a lot of money up front on soil ingredients, seeds, labor, pots, and other costs to be able to sell plants to gardeners. This year we hope to recoup some of the money we've spent, but we are also committed to sharing what we have with our community and supporting people in growing food.
- If money is a barrier for you, please let us know and we can find a way for you to get plants regardless of money.
- If you still have steady income or financial resources and you would like to donate to a fund for people who can't afford to pay for plants this year, we will have a donate link on our online store.
- If you are working with a community or neighborhood garden or other community food security efforts and need plants or seeds, please let us know. We intend to donate whatever plants and seeds remain after we finish selling plants this year.
Plants and seeds are precious. The heirloom plants we gardeners have now exist because generations of gardeners saved and passed down seeds during hard times and good times, from one person to another. We believe it is our responsibility to share this gift with each other now. We are committed to sharing what we have in the safest and most equitable way possible.
We believe that community connections, caring relationships, and mutual aid are the most critical resources we need to move through this time. Our resiliency as a community is dependent on our ability to care for each other and support each other through crisis. We are deeply grateful for our connections with you and the strength of the web of community networks here in WNC.
We hope you and your loved ones, neighbors, friends, and families are as well as possible during this time and that you have what you need to sustain yourselves and each other. We are holding a vision of our communities thriving and growing stronger and stronger through this challenge, all of us together, like tiny plants pushing up into the light.
Sweet pepper seedlings in the greenhouse today - grow babies grow!
