It’s a sidewalk party! Celebrating everyone who made the farm more accessible in 2019.

One of our goals this year is to keep you better informed of what exactly it is we do at E.A.T. South. In February, what might have been a wet, dreary month, was full of programs and adventures.

To kick off February, we had a party for a sidewalk-complete with cupcakes. Really, it was a celebration of all of the time and energy volunteers, city workers, students and others contributed to making the farm a more welcoming, accessible place. Nate Brewer’s Eagle project brought out the heavy machinery that excavated an extension for our driveway and connecting sidewalks. He and his friends moved piles of gravel and rocks. Nate also worked with the City to pour a sidewalk hours before the new year. Now you can travel on a level, paved surface from the parking lot to the chicken coop. We don’t take sidewalks for granted any more. We are grateful for that path every single day on the farm.

Eagle Scouts building the first of several new garden beds.

Brothers Joseph and Jeremiah Croskey earned their Eagle awards by redesigning and rebuilding our compost bins and expanding our fruit growing space. Our four bin compost system is bigger and better than ever and made from materials that would otherwise have ended up in the landfill. Thanks to three new garden beds, kiwis and more muscadines will be coming to the garden soon.

Volunteer groups from Maxwell Air Force Base, Trinity Presbyterian Church, AUM, and Alabama Christian Academy weeded, planted, picked up the trash that is always washing down the hill, and helped us get ready for Seedy Saturday. Officers in training replaced the rotten boards on the caboose porch and consolidated all of our probably-useful-someday junk piles. At least twelve of our loyal, regular volunteers helped organize and staff Seedy Saturday. Buckwheat cover crop, tiny carrots, radishes, lettuce, peas, and spinach are sprouting in the garden and tomatoes are in the greenhouse because volunteer made it so!

Making butterfly masks & learning about invertebrates

As we watched the river rise and created a chicken evacuation plan, we also hosted our monthly educational programs. Gardeners from Therapeutic Recreation Center harvested lettuce and carrots. February Community Project volunteers learned about early spring vegetables and planted radishes, lettuce, English peas, nasturtiums and carrots. Students from E.D. Nixon and Highland Gardens Community Centers returned for our spring session of Can You Dig It (CYDI) After School. CYDI is a weekly program, and so far our fourth graders have learned about pollinators (and rain) while making butterfly masks, chickens (and rain), and garden planning (dry inside the Center while the rain poured outside) while coloring their own garden plans. We also welcomed our first Good Food Day Field Trip of 2020 on one of the few non-rainy days!

Farmer Amanda admires her oyster mushrooms.

Oh, we learned stuff, too. If it’s about soil ecosystems, mycelium, compost, farm animals, cover crops, heirloom vegetables, unusual seeds, ok, really just about anything connected to sustainable farming, we’re there! Farmer Amanda toured Fungi Farm in Dadeville and brought back an oyster mushroom starter kit, and Farmer Caylor, Farmer Amanda, Chef Kisha, Former Intern Dee, and Beekeeper Gene traveled to White Oak Pastures in Bluffton, GA, to learn more about their pastured animals and integrated farm businesses. They strive to reduce waste and use all parts of their animals making candles, body care products, leather goods in addition to selling jerky and various cuts of meat. These trips help us better understand our regional food system, make us better educators, and inspire us in our work.

On yet another rainy day, Farmer Caylor shared information about E.A.T. South with the Autauga County Master Gardeners. She was also honored to be on two different conference panels about urban farming: one at Tuskegee University’s 128th Annual Farmers Conference and the other at the state conference of the Alabama Dietetic Association.

Finally, somehow, we managed to plan our big February events on the only sunny days in February. Whew! Maybe we’re living right. Our mushroom log workshop was a blast, a small forest of innoculated logs went home with participants, and Farmer Amanda turned her oyster mushrooms into fries for us all. Then there was Seedy Saturday. More than 100 people stopped by the farm to swap seeds, learn about seeds, meet garden neighbors and eat seedy snacks. It was a wonderful day!

At E.A.T. South, we strive to create fun, farm-y learning opportunities for our whole community. Please join us in person or on the blog as our adventures continue.

Wow, what a February!