Humble Pie Farm

We attended the MOSES Organic Farming Conference in La Crosse this weekend. It was wonderful as usual. So much inspiration. So many like-minded people doing meaningful, super cool work to feed and beautify and make things better. Prairie Garden Farm presented a workshop on flower farming that was inspiring and informative. It made me feel more sure that we really can make this our successful family business. We connected with our awesome buyers, including the Co-ops, Birchwood Cafe, and Whole Foods. We connected with many old friends, and made some new ones too. AND, many of our farmer friends now have children too, and we had a swimming morning at the hotel pool. It was great. We have a wonderful farm community, and now Earl does too.

And then there was our MOSES Mentor Program meeting. Oh to be in this room with so many AMAZING farmers! As a benefit of the Land Stewardship Project Journeyperson Program, we're also a part of the MOSES Farmer-to-Farmer Mentor Program.

Please meet our amazing flower farmer mentor, Martha Smart. She has a flower farm in Conrath, Wisconsin. She brings twenty years of flower farming experience to share with us. So excited. We've had a few phone conversations, talking flowers, flowers, flowers, and now were able to meet in person and of course, talk flowers. So fun! And informative, and helpful. Looking forward to a long and productive relationship with this wise woman.

Meanwhile on the home front...just look at these craspedia babies. They are growing like the rock stars they are. Linda, GOE farm manager, took good care of all the little seedlings while we traveled. It's so astonishing to see how much they grow in a few days. 

And there's the lisianthus. Look closely, it's up. These teeny tiny sweet babies take so long to grow (6 months) and they're so picky. Most flower farmers buy plugs. We haven't wised up yet and this is our third year trying to germinate and grow our own from seed. I keep saying, "Earl, this is your college education!" :) We'll see but each year our germination and survival rates are better. 

We had a busy, fabulous weekend. Our two-year-old weathered it all like a pro, and put on purt near five miles on Friday just running around checking stuff out and riding the escalator. We all slept well last night, at home, snug in our beds. Thanks to the MOSES staff for all their hard work!

xo

J,M&E