The Floyd County Farmer’s Market opened on May 28th! We are almost three weeks in to market season and we are so happy to be back with all the other vendors and community members. So far we have been able to bring our famous hot sauce (both recipes), red onions, snap peas, strawberries and lettuce to market. This coming week, we will also have garlic! Our three summer interns: Cody, Ricky and Austin have attended both weeks and have been jumping right in to their internship this summer! We have a great group of interns and are so appreciative of the time and energy they have been investing in our garden thus far. It is going to be a fantastic summer working alongside such great guys.
The interns’ first few garden work days have been spent “cleaning up” our garden. The last two weeks of school were spent focused on graduation and end of the year school activities and our garden was a bit neglected. Luckily yesterday, the interns and I (Jann) were able to spend several hours solely devoted to weeding, trellising and transplanting. I was able to teach each of them the Florida Weave for tomatoes, how to prune properly and how to successful weed with a hoe. Cody and Ricky both have family gardens, but have always done things a bit different. Austin is learning some of these skills for the first time. It is truly a gift getting to spend time discussing techniques and watching them learn new skills. All three interns are eager to learn and even more eager to work. I am excited to see all that will be accomplished under their care.
On June 6th, Cody, Kat Johns (Principal) and I attended the SOAR Innovation Summit in Pikeville, Kentucky. We were lucky enough to see some of our Grow Appalachia community members, along with any other Appalachian food enthusiasts. It was an amazing opportunity for the school and its garden program. We are so thankful to have been invited to have a booth and get a chance to share our story. It was enlightening to learn about other initiatives in the area and how we can potentially help one another. Having a strong community support is so important!
I look forward to keeping the GA community updated as the summer progresses. Stay tuned!
It was awesome to hang out with you all yesterday! Keep up the great work!! 🙂