| | EggsPress Newsletter Jun 2020 |
| | Dear Farm Friends, Nevin here, and I am feeling great! Healing well from a totally unexpected health issue. Check out my smile (just below) and read all about our spring on the farm. Never a dull moment, but we are all feeling happy, grateful and wanting to see you. |
| | So just to back up, this certainly has been an interesting year so far. Flamig Farm was on the trajectory economically for the best year ever! Then March 13 happened, and all of our school class and summer camp enrollments came to a screeching halt. Our bills however for food, animals, insurance, taxes, lights and everything else didn’t slow down one bit. Things did not look good. With help from some friends we set up a go fund me page to bring in some money to keep this place rolling, and it was an astounding success.
We also received many various other donations not through go fund me but directly from people in the community that wanted to help out.
The community's outpouring of financial and emotional support was phenomenal and made it possible to pay some of the ongoing expenses. Julie also got some guidance on how to apply for some of the government money available and that has also helped.
As we were not allowed to have visitors, Julie and I started doing some videos to post on Facebook and try to help keep some of our friends entertained. They turned out to be an incredible success and were seen by thousands of people.
Later - just to add to the fun - on April 7 I (Farmer Nevin) while helping to wrestle cows for their spring vaccination shots, had a stroke which put me out of commission and landed me in the hospital for a while. Chadam and Pete were thrown headlong into doing everything on the farm. Poor Julie’s stress level trying to keep it all together was extreme to say the least.
The crazy and conflicting information regarding Covid did not make life easy to plan for. We changed our Earth Day date, and now we’ve decided to entirely cancel it for this year. We may try to do a big celebration in the fall to thank everyone in the community who was so generous and loving to help us out in our time of need.
We had to cancel our spring classes, and we were on the verge of canceling our summer farm adventure camp. We have managed, however, to receive a special permit, and we will be able to follow the guidelines to have a safe and fun experience for everyone involved. We are inviting families to learn more about our safety precautions and consider sending the kids. We’re going to have a great time! Some weeks still have openings.
Another idea that came up during the Covid adventures was to set up a place on the website so people can go in to sponsor an animal. It’s up and running so go check it out.
Our petting zoo is now open every day from nine until five. At this point we ask if you want to come into the store we require you to wear a mask. But out in the zoo there is plenty of room for social distancing and depending on your comfort level you can choose to wear or not wear a mask. It's really beautiful to see smiling faces on people walking around visiting the animals and soaking in the vitamin D3 from the sunshine which tends to chase away viruses.
We are allowed to do pony rides (Sat & Sun 11 – 3 ) as long as we can find a pony walker that is willing to wear a mask, and if the pony rider needs help getting on the pony a family member or someone from their group must lift the child on. We are also wiping off the horn of the saddle with alcohol between each use.
If you have your heart set on a pony ride for a certain day we recommend you call first to make sure we are doing them as we will not put our workers at risk by forcing them to wear masks in extremely hot and humid weather.
People have asked if we will be doing Halloweeen Hayrides and at this point the answer is we just don’t know.
Thank you all for your love and support. Please know that our thoughts and prayers are heading your way, to you and your family in hopes that we all get through these very interesting times and that all works out in a positive way.
Most sincerely,
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Guess what?
There is a relatively simple solution to a HUGE problem.
Everything plastic can be made from biodegradable Hemp!
The current rate of plastic production is about one billion tons in three years. That is what a 2016 article in ScienceDaily says, quoting a University of Leicester study. Plastic is inert and hard to degrade. So it becomes a toxic techno-waste that has severe polluting effects on the earth’s biodiversity.
National Geographic reports that plastic kills millions of marine and land animals every year. Experts have found that we are all consuming microplastics. The effects of these microplastics in the food supply may cause damage to our digestive and reproductive systems and eventually lead to an early death.
Mother Nature has provided a simple solution to this menace: The Hemp Plant.
Hemp: A Victim of Human Folly
Hemp, or industrial hemp, is one of the earliest plants that our ancestors cultivated and used. Archeologists have found evidence of the use of hemp fiber some 10,000 years ago. Experts estimate that hemp cultivation began about 8,000 years ago.
The many benefits of hemp have been available to human beings for centuries. But its cultivation and use were banned in most countries across the globe in the 20th century. The only crime of the plant is that it belongs to the same species, Cannabis Sativa, as marijuana.
But there is a significant distinction between hemp and marijuana. That is in the concentration levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the component that gives marijuana its psychoactive properties. Marijuana can contain up to 30% of THC per dry weight.
Hemp, in contrast, contains 0.3% THC per dry weight. It does not have the psychoactive potential to get people high. Hemp got banned because this vital difference got overlooked.
The 21st century has, at last, brought a realization of this mistake. Many countries across the globe have now legalized hemp farming and the production of hemp derivatives fully or partially.
With the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Farm Bill 2018), hemp is now legal across the USA. It is also legal in the EU countries as long as the THC content is 0.2%. It is now legal in Australia, Canada and several other European and South American countries.
Henry Ford produced the original Model T Ford in 1941 using hemp plastic panels. This plastic was 10 times stronger than steel in withstanding the impact of a hit without denting!!
Substituting synthetic plastic with 100% biodegradable hemp plastic will be a blessing for our planet!
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10 Top Gardening Tips for Beginners
1. Site it right.
Starting a garden is just like real estate it's all about location. Place your garden in a part of your yard where you'll see it regularly (out of sight, out of mind definitely applies to gardening). That way, you'll be much more likely to spend time in it.2. Follow the sun.
Misjudging sunlight is a common pitfall when you're first learning to garden. Pay attention to how sunlight plays through your yard before choosing a spot for your garden. Most edible plants, including many vegetables, herbs, and fruits, need at least 6 hours of sun in order to thrive.
3. Stay close to water.
One of the best gardening tips you'll ever get is to plan your new garden near a water source. Make sure you can run a hose to your garden site, so you don't have to lug water to it each time your plants get thirsty. The best way to tell if plants need watering is to push a finger an inch down into the soil (that's about one knuckle deep). If it's dry, it's time to water.
4. Start with great soil.
When starting a garden, one of the top pieces of advice is to invest in soil that is nutrient-rich and well-drained. And apply a layer of mulch that's 2 to 3 inches deep around each plant. This will help reduce weeds by blocking out the sun, and reduce moisture loss through evaporation, so you have to water less. 5. Choose the right plants.
It's important to select plants that match your growing conditions. This means putting sun-loving plants into a sunny spot, choosing heat-tolerant plants in warm climates, and giving ground-gobbling vines like pumpkins and melons ample elbow room (or a trellis to climb). Do your homework and pick varieties that will grow well where you live and in the space you have.
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| Sponsoring any of our animals helps us give them happy and healthy lives on our farm. Sponsors receive a digital certificate of appreciation, and email updates about any animal they sponsored. Certificates can be gifted to another name and email address after checkout. To sponsor an animal, VISIT WWW.FLAMIGFARM.COM and click on Sponsor an Animal. You can sponsor from a number of categories including: -chickens and peafowl -cats -dogs -bunnies -donkeys -cows -goats -pigs -llamas and alpacas -horses -ponies -sheep |
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| | Flamig Farm Adventure Camp is going to happen this summer. We have taken steps, following Connecticut State guidelines, to make it safe for our campers. There is still room to enroll your child. Visit www.FlamigFarm.com for more information.
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Please join us for summer fun! |
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