I graduated from Michigan State in 2010 with strong passions for local organic food, community development, and a healthy (or maybe unhealthy) fear of not making enough money in the career path that I would eventually be forced to choose. The looming decision often weighed on me heavily as my inner self struggled to put a value on working with my passions vs. working for a salary. Towards the end of my college career, I spent weeks toiling over the situation. After contracting shingles and likely straining many of my interpersonal relationships, I still felt as if I had not made any progress in terms of knowing what was right. I eventually decided that I would “sacrifice” a year in order to pursue work that I really loved before zeroing in on a more lucrative desk job. I was lucky enough to find a dream job in my hometown of Ann Arbor working for Avalon Housing in coordination with Growing Hope on gardening and nutrition education for low-income Ann Arbor residents. I loved my wo...
This article was written by Ken King, Frog Holler's founder. Although Ken passed away in 2009, his vision continues to inform and guide. Measuring Up to Mother Nature, by Ken King (First written in 1980, republished for the People's Food Coop "Connection," January 1990) (PFC Connection Editor’s Note: The following essay originally appeared in the January 1980 issue of The Alchemist, a now-defunct local Ann Arbor publication whose content and design could be described as falling somewhere between The Observer and The Agenda, two current area publications. Ken King is a local organic grower who has had a long working relationship with PFC. He and his family have artistic interests as well – some of you may remember them performing at the last PFC meeting along with other musicians. Although first published ten years ago this month, the following could easily seem to have been written within the last few weeks. Ken’s statements are as appropriate at the beginning of ...
From the wheelbarrow of soil (Frog Log 3/5) to the tower of seeds (Frog Log 3/10), we now have little seedlings starting to fill the flats. Here is the beginning of our salad mix; these are all flats of baby lettuce seedlings. A few nights ago I woke up with the words "grow dead grow" running through my mind. Kind of ominous when I write it, but I really didn't feel too bothered at the time. It was a weird night, but it reminded me of our very first greenhouse at the farm. We took the side off the old south-facing chicken coop and tried to figure out how to give the plants a head start. We probably didn't have much in the way of heat; I can't really remember - it was so long ago and I was so clueless about the growing process. We weren't really based on the farm much in those days -- still trying to pay for it by working in town. So, not surprisingly, a cool night came along in early spring and we either didn't notice or weren't around to place the p...
That's alot of mulch! Whee! Two strawberry patches? Oh, I can't wait.
ReplyDeleteWait a minute! I was I supposed to much my garlic patch? Oh-oh.
ReplyDelete