That high tunnel, which we had just built in September of 2010, stayed nice and warm all throughout the winter and had been a great place to grow loads of spring mix — more than 500 pounds of the stuff before the tunnel’s untimely demise.

The good news is that today, we’re finally rebuilding with the help of the NRCS Seasonal High Tunnel Initiative (which also helped fund our first tunnel). The Seasonal High Tunnel Initiative is a voluntary program that provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers to help extend the growing season for high value crops in an environmentally safe manner. Two of our partner producers are also taking advantage of this great resource!

Our new tunnel, from Atlas Manufacturing, is 20′ wide and 76′ long, and a whopping 10′ tall. While overall it’s a touch smaller than our last one, this tunnel will be significantly stronger. Steve is busy framing in the end walls with lumber and using heavy duty ‘earth anchors’ that will hopefully prevent it from blowing away in another wind storm. This tunnel will have a double layer of plastic on it that becomes inflated with a small blower to provide more insulation.

Come April, we hope to fill this tunnel with hundreds of heirloom tomatoes, so stay tuned!

Did you know our climate can also support pomegranates, figs, persimmons, kiwi, and pawpaw (aka “the poor man’s banana”), among others? And did you know that you can easily grow these fruits at home or on your farm?

Join us for a workshop on home fruit production, taught by Michael McConkey from Edible Landscaping. During this three-hour course, Michael will discuss:

• the kinds of fruit that grow well in this region, including native and exotic choices beyond typical orchard varieties.
• planning your edible yard: choosing and preparing a site, pest management, upkeep for optimal success.
• propagation techniques and future steps.

Michael will also bring plants available for purchase after class.

Diversified Fruit Production/Edible Landscaping

Date: Thursday, May 17, 2012
Time: 4 – 7 pm
Location: Maple Hill Farm, Scottsville VA
Cost: $35
RSVP: info@localfoodhub.org or (434) 286-2176

Image credit: Mullenkedheim/Creative Commons.

But, as usual, there’s also a food safety angle. Late last year, I read a report released by Food Safety News showing that 76% of all honey bought at grocery stores were treated with a process called “ultra-filtration,” which removes not only impurities like wax, but also all traces of pollen.

Ultra-filtration has its own set of issues — it’s expensive and doesn’t significantly improve shelf-life, not to mention many believe that pollen is actually beneficial to human health. But the biggest reason to avoid ultra-filtered honey is that pollen is the only sure-fire way to trace the source of honey to a geographic location. As a result ultra-filtration is often used to mask the shady origins of certain kinds of honey — especially Chinese honey, which is frequently contaminated by heavy metals and illegal antibiotics.

So, have we convinced you to check out beekpeeing yet? Are you ready to take the first step? Then join us for a Beginning Beekeeping Workshop on April 1, 2012, taught by the Central Virginia Beekeeping Association. Learn the basics like:

• Beekeeping Equipment – what and where to order and how to assemble
• Bees – how to site a colony and where to order bees and how to install
• Supplemental feeding – materials and timing
• Potential problems – mites, disease, predation

This class WILL sell out, so register today!

Beginning Beekeeping

Date: Sunday, April 1, 2012
Time: 9:00am – 3:30 pm
Location: Ivy Creek Natural Area, Charlottesville VA
Cost: $35 (attendees must also purchase The Beekeeper’s Handbook, 4th Edition before the class)
RSVP: info@localfoodhub.org or (434) 286-2176

Image credit: kpwerker/Creative Commons.

Soil (not dirt!) is literally the foundation for a healthy farm, garden, or ranch — the nutrients, microorganisms, organic matter, and structure within are what feed, nurture, and aerate your plants, keep them strong in the face of pest pressure, and ultimately lead to a bountiful, nutrient-filled harvest. Hence the old mantra, “feed the soil, not the plant.”

But how do you get started? What are they keys to interpreting the soil test results? How do you incorporate cover crops, compost, crop rotation and natural fertilizers into your system? And is this all economically sustainable?

Get answers to these questions and more at our upcoming workshop, taught by Mark Schonbeck. Drawing on more than 20 years of self-taught soil science, Mark Schonbeck is a scientist and writer with expertise in organic vegetable production and in organic soil and weed management. He also edits the highly informative Virginia Biological Farmer, available at vabf.org.

At the workshop, Mark will take a site-specific, biological approach to developing a sustainable management plan for caring for the soil. He will cover the benefits of an active soil life, practical nutrient management, cover cropping, organic mulches, compost, crop rotation, mindful tillage, and natural mineral and organic fertilizers, and more.

Sustainable Soil Management for Small Farms

Date: Thursday, March 15, 2012
Time: 4-7 pm
Location: Maple Hill Farm, Scottsville VA
Cost: $25
RSVP: info@localfoodhub.org or (434) 286-2176

Image credit: Meganpru/Creative Commons.

But any successful farmer will tell you that a savvy business plan is just as important as a green thumb when it comes to having a profitable farming operation.

Which is why we’re excited to announce this next installment of our workshop series: Financial Management for Small Farms. Taught by veteran farmer Richard Bean of Double H Farm, this class will cover capitalization, cash flow, pricing, marketing, bookkeeping, and more. If you are a beginning, aspiring or established farmer struggling to make ends meet, or just curious about how you could improve your business and financial skills, this course is for you!

Financial Management for Small Farms

Date: Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Time: 4-7 pm
Location: Albemarle County Office Building, Lane Auditorium
Cost: $25
RSVP: info@localfoodhub.org or (434) 286-2176

Image credit L-R: photofarmer/Creative Commons and sbenoit/Creative Commons.

I can’t say I know the answer to that question…but I do know that last week we hosted our third annual Partner Producer meeting at Bundoran Farm.

This meeting is an essential part of our planning process for the new year. It’s the one time that we have a majority of our farmers together in the same place (it’s like herding cats, you guys!), and we take advantage of this special moment by having a jam-packed agenda and lots of time for networking.

This year, we started the meeting by reviewing the successes, challenges and general experiences in 2011. Some facts you might find interesting:

• 93% of our customers say they see a return on their investment in local food.
• 86% of our buyers have increased the amount of local food they buy thanks to their partnership with Local Food Hub.
• 86% of our buyers buy local because it supports the local economy and small family farms.

Right on! We also talked about the services we provide for our farmers: sales, distribution, marketing, education and more. The numbers:

• We helped our farmers sell 77% more food in 2011 than in 2010. 77%!
• 90% of our farmers said that our sales, purchasing, and distribution were the most important services we offered.
• 100% of our workshops in 2011 were sold out — and just wait til you see the lineup for 2012. Good stuff on the way.

We also spent a lot of time talking about issues like on-farm food safety (take a look at the On-Farm Food Safety Project) and GAP certification — both hot topics for small farms right now. For many farms, GAP certification can seem intimidating and expensive, but we are looking to demystify and simplify the process. More information that to come!

Finally, we concluded the meeting (after a delicious, local lunch) with a look at the coming season. Overall, things look great. We are adding new farms every day — a good thing, because the demand for local food just keeps on growing. We have a lot of exciting opportunities on the horizon!

We are anticipating another year of rapid growth, and we feel lucky that we are in a position to support Virginia’s family farms, feed our community, and contribute to our economy.

Thank you for buying local!

Part of my resistance is that I don’t like the idea of setting myself up for inevitable failure — they say more than 1/3 of resolutions are ditched by the end of January! — and most of the time, these “resolutions” are too general, too unrealistic. Yes, I’d love to learn a second language this year, buuuut I know myself and I know that’s not really going to happen.

All that being said, I am a big fan of setting goals — meaningful, personal, tangible, realistic goals — and then committing to them with an action plan, next steps, and most importantly — a support network. Maybe that support network consists of my best friend, my sister, or my fiance, or maybe it’s a big group of people all working together on the same goal. Either way, I think this part is the key to success.

The Take Back Challenge

One of the most popular New Year’s resolutions made and broken is, you guessed it: losing weight and getting in shape. Why? Lots of reasons, but I bet we’d all make more progress on this one if we set realistic, actionable goals and got ourselves a good, old-fashioned support network.

That’s why I’m psyched that Local Food Hub is participating in Charlottesville’s Take Back 30-Day Challenge! Have you heard about it? It’s really kind of perfect. For a $10 donation you get:

1. An action plan: Each day you get healthy tips, recipes and videos from local fitness gurus Tracey Webber and Ivana Kadija.
2. A support network: Not only do you get to create your own team, but you get to network with other local teams online and at events!
3. Motivation: Your participation entitles you to discounts and prizes at local shops like Relay Foods, Whole Foods, Ragged Mountain and more.
4. And a great cause: your $10 donation goes to support a group of local non profits working on food and nutrition issues.

So, how do you get started?

First, register for the program to join the community and start getting nutrition and exercise support, and discounts (don’t forget the Facebook page!). Then, spread the word and build your team! Each week you’ll receive advice and support from two nutrition coaches to help you reach your goals.

A kick-off event is scheduled for January 7, 2012 at EAT! from 1-4. Saturday, January 7, 2012. You can meet the sponsors, get more information, find others who are creating a team, and maybe even win some prizes.

See what I mean? If you’ve set a New Year’s goal to lose weight, get healthy, and start exercising, this is is a great way to jump-start 2012. The challenge may only last for 30 days, but the advice and support you receive will take you through the entire year. Can’t argue with that!

Are you participating in the Take Back Challenge? Let us know!

Image credit: hnau/Creative Commons