The online farm shop has had a big restock, as more variety is becoming available with the longer days and things growing again. Locally grown and organic salad mix, rocket, kohlrabi and kale are all back and available for ordering. Some are only available in small quantities though, so may sell out quickly.
Exciting times are ahead in the garden, with Sally and Patrick over doubling their greenhouse capacity this week. If you take a look toward the market garden, you will see not one, but two greenhouses set up and getting ready for spring and summer planting. In this part of the world, a greenhouse can get you at least two months extra productive growing time, which means we will see those summer veg like tomato and eggplant arriving earlier and hanging around longer than if they were grown outdoors. Hooray!
In other news, we had a valuable reminder about the importance of always questioning the provenance of food after a regular customer picked up a box of medjool dates in the store, which are imported from Israel, and asked if we knew where in Israel they had come from. The dates are certified organic and we order them from the organic fresh produce wholesaler in Perth, but hadn’t thought to question this further until Ned mentioned it.
To their credit, the cooperative who organise the exporting of organic dates from Israel include information on the farms where the dates were sourced from and using this info we were able to find out that the dates we have been selling were grown on a farm in disputed territory. For this reason, we will no longer supply these dates and are now on the hunt for a new supply. It’s not about punishing farmers, but the high likelihood that conflict and displacement would have been associated with the land these dates are grown on. It makes me think of a Jane Goodall quote:
“But consumers, at least if they’re not living in poverty, have an enormous role to play, too. If you don’t like the way the business does its business, don’t buy their products. This is beginning to create change. People should think about the consequences of the little choices they make each day.”
Never underestimate the power of where you choose to spend your dollars. By purchasing food that is produced ethically and in an environmentally responsible way, you are not only getting the best quality food for yourself and your family, but also doing a little environmental and political activism at the same time.
The first Australian wood ducklings have appeared on the farm. You know warm weather isn’t far away when these little fluffballs appear. Fingers crossed this batch escape the foxes.
