We are now beginning our 3rd season, our first winter! Things look quite different from before...cabbages, lots of leafy greens, fennel bulbs and underground goodies like radishes & carrots. We have lots of broccoli plants that have been growing beautifully and also climbing Malabar spinach...we cannot wait to see their final result...keep your fingers crossed! No more cucumbers, eggplants nor peppers from our small plot. We are hoping that our friend farmer, Fello from Moca, can continue supplying us with these warm-loving items.
I have been invited to attend the first ever forum for local organic farmers by the Department of Agriculture. It is a 3 -day event in the town of Corozal, starting today. It is inspiring to see that finally, the Dept. of Agriculture has developed an Organic Farming Development Program in Puerto Rico!!! I am hoping to hear that they have some sort of an educational plan for local, conventional farmers to make a transition to organic and also education for the public/consumer in general and children of public schools...wish us luck!
As for us in Aibonito, we are trying out a mini-route with 2 local sponsors for 6 weeks. Their local delivery will be on Wednesdays and their assortment will be different from that for the Rincón Route: they will receive most of our "samples" and/or varieties that exists in very small quantities, usually left off from larger productions.
As for our participation in the Rincón Agro-Ecological Farmer's Market, we are considering taking a break from participating for a while. Our goods simply suffer a lot from the 48 hour wait between harvest on Fridays and sales on Sunday. It's also too costly to make double trips to Rincón on market weeks...so, we'll let you know of our decision soon. Regardless, we will continue to support and assist the market in whichever way we can for it's a beautiful endeavour and it's been a great experience for us!
We welcome our winter sponsors with great appreciation! Looking forward to seeing you all on Saturday!
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