ThankFull

I am so incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to farm in the beautiful Esopus Creek Valley for six years.  A huge thank you to the community of support that has continued to grow and blossom around me and with me.  I am humbled by the continued support as I leave my home and work and community and venture on to a new path.  The unknown has been calling me for a very long time and I am finally trusting in this process.  I know the first step is to pack up this wonderful life here responsibly, knowing that I will be supported fully on this journey.  The Rondout Valley feels like home to me but the truth is I have no itinerary for the travel nor for the return at this point.  I am blessed and privileged to be able to do this at this stage in my life.  I am graciously accepting this opportunity to explore my inner world as well as the beautiful landscape of Mother Earth…

‘To love and lose, come out unbruised, that’s as strong as hope gets.’                                                                                                                                                ~Crow Greenspun

The Gift

I got the amazing gift of feeding Martine a banana in the amazon jungle in Peru Feb 2014.

There is nothing for sale at Slow Roots Farm anymore and there is nothing being marketed for future sale.  As soon as I made that decision, writing on this website became more interesting to me.  Now this may speak to some deeper personal issues that I have yet to deal with about money and self worth or maybe I am feeling some deep truth in me.  It certainly has to do with the fact that I am not struggling to find my next meal and that I am privileged enough to be able to share my views of the ‘bigger picture.’  I believe it also has to do with my deep connection to the food that I have put into my body over the last 13 years.  As well as the incredible community of people I have met through the work I have done with agriculture and food.  I have always felt like the buying and selling of the goods is just the medium for the deeper exchange that is taking place.  Human beings need to eat food and drink water every day to thrive and that connection is so integral to who we are.  Let’s enjoy the responsibility we have of nourishing ourselves.  I want to share food with as many people as possible in my life.  I want to exchange experiences with as many people as possible in my life.  I want this sharing of food and experience to be authentic and deep and expansive.  I am taking a leave of absence from the farm and growing vegetables for sale to explore what it might be like to live in a community where food and other services are exchanged as a gift all the time.  Does this place even exist?  What would happen if we all started shifting from a market economy to a gift economy?  Freak, crazy idea!  99% of human history has been without the buying and selling of goods, look where the last 1% has taken us.  Sharing more meals in your homes and communities with food purchased from growers you know and trust is a beautiful start!                 Know Farms Know Food

What is possible when you set a table full of food that has been grown, cooked, served and shared with love?  Anything and everything, I believe…  If we were all giving and receiving with each other as human beings, would we need to take?  Food is a gift from the Earth.  In order to be in relationship with this gift we must be grateful for it and share it as such.  Oh, isn’t that like the holiday between Halloween and Christmas?  Indeed, giving thanks for every meal and every opportunity to share a meal can create a shift that the whole world can feel.

I have this crazy feeling that we are in a very critical time as human beings on this planet. Anyone want to talk about this over a meal?  Anybody else feel like we are dangerously close to destroying our own habitat?  Is this the end of an era?  It certainly feels like the beginning of a new one.  We are collectively creating this relationship to Source, Earth, One Another, Environment and Nourishment.  I am pretty excited to create new relationships…  I don’t have the answers but I like asking questions and I do feel like more and more people are excited to talk about what is really going on.  There is an infinite and expansive energy at our service, we just have to enter into the relationship.  In gratitude and love for each other and this planet I believe anything is possible.  This movement can happen very quickly.  It starts with us.

Puhpowee-  Anishinaabeg word for the force that causes mushrooms to push up from the Earth overnight

Ready, Set…

Happy Spring!  Thank you all for the support and trust in this process.  It has been a very intense start to the season and I am grateful for this community for reminding me that this is good and valuable work when I stray from my center.  I am excited to start to harvest the plants that I have been helping to grow for the last few months to help feed you and your family.  Thank you for the opportunity to do so.

It is always challenging to predict when plants will be ready to harvest so I try my best to avoid situations in which I have to.  The first CSA pickup is an exception as I actually have to tell you when to start picking up your vegetables.  I am setting the date with much shorter notice than I would have liked to but I am excited to have made a decision and to share the news with all of you.

All this to say-  Wednesday June 4, 2014 will be the start of Slow Roots Farm CSA season and for the next 19 weeks thereafter you will be getting some form of plant matter grown here for you…

The pickup location is Slow Roots Farm, 205 Hidden Valley Rd. Kingston, NY 12401 technically in Lomontville but that address will get you here.

Pickup Time is from 4-8pm every Wednesday Evening

Thursday is an option for pickup if necessary but notice must be given in advance of 7pm on Wednesday.  Email and phone will work with a text being the best way to notify.         Cell phone is 315-717-9080.  Email slowrootsfarm@gmail.com

 

Pull down the gravel road, past the board and batten home and park in front of the barn, vegetables will be under the overhang behind the garage.  I will be there to say hello and walk everyone through the process.  I am almost always nearby on Wednesdays but sometimes slip out to the field later in pickup to catch some late evening work.  I am always available on the phone for questions or feel free to walk out to say hello to me.  If you need someone else to pick up your share on any week that is totally fine and the better the instructions you can give the easier the process will be.

I think that covers it.. I hope you all enjoy the start to this season and feel free to provide feedback to me as you see fit.

In Gratitude

Jacob Diaz

Love Your Mother

Saturday May 10, 2014, 5pm and beyond…

Come gather rain or shine in the relatively new barn on the land located at:                             Slow Roots Farm, 205 Hidden Valley Rd, Kingston, NY 12401

What are we celebrating?  The marvel of now…

Food, beverages, friends, musical instruments, voices, stories, strangers, smiles and Spirits are all welcome and we will have some already here to share. Everyone is welcome to join in gathering and celebrating especially children but please leave dogs at home due to the animals and plants that already reside here.

Food and Drink all night or until it is gone.  Music from The Breath Collective starting around 7:30 or so.  Connections forever…

There is space to camp and you are welcome to do so if you bring the gear you need.

Join us if you can, when you can, no need to RSVP.

With Love and Gratitude

Jacob and Susie                                                                                                                                 cell-315-717-9080

Potential Experience

We seem to be in the heart of winter right now… That is a nice way of saying it is totally freezing out.  I have been doing lots of visioning and reflecting in this ‘off ‘ season while chipping away at projects around the farm.  There are lots of exciting things happening in the Rondout Valley with the announcement of a farm hub on the Hurley flats and all the potential that comes along with this project.  I am excited to see where we as a community can move to and the incubator component is really exciting to me.  What do we want to incubate?  Anything is possible…

Slow Roots Farm continues to evolve in it’s own way.  I am fully stepping into the role of conductor in the symphony of this living organism.  I don’t make the instruments, the hands that play them or the music that resonates from them.  I can help unify the performers, set the tempo, direct the musical performance and share the sound.  I am also getting weirder…  I am playing with the idea of the farm as an experience and exploring the idea of creating a fuller, richer experience for all living organisms.  I was on a path of growing the business for the last 3 years and I am now thinking I would actually prefer to grow.  Money seems to get in the way of the experience for me and I thought about not making any this year, weird right?  I settled on a slightly more conservative (sane) approach and I want to experiment with the idea of donation based business.

The CSA will be a 20 week season and I have lowered the base price from last year.  The $500 initial price will cover the cost of growing your food and I am asking members to evaluate at the end of the year what the food and experience was worth to them.  If you feel that it was worth more than I ask you to contribute in a way that is possible for you.  If you feel that I didn’t live up to the promises of the CSA I will refund the amount that you see fit.  The third option being that $500 was right on the mark. There is an additional greens option for $100 that can be added to a farm share. The idea that $500 is the same to everyone is simply false and I am willing to exchange in a number of ways for those that have a hard time coming up with the money.  Please send any inquiries my way.

Check http://slowrootsfarm.com/csa-info/ for more details.

I have been very privileged to be in a position in which I can put trust in this process and I feel it would be a disservice to all if I didn’t… I am happy to be exploring, experiencing and experimenting and would love you to join in.  See you when the greens return!

~Jacob Diaz

Set and Setting

Thank you to everyone who participated in the CSA this season.  I am humbled by and grateful for all the energy that was exchanged in the past 25 weeks.  The spring and summer seasons have set on Slow Roots Farm and the Fall CSA rises up this Wednesday October 23.  The shares are filled for the fall season and the vegetables are ready to be shared.  There are five more weeks of exchange concluding November 20.  Pickups are every Wednesday 4-8 and the lights will be lit to help facilitate pickups after dark.

I am enjoying the wonderful autumn we are having here in the Rondout Valley and I am looking forward to slower times on the farm for quiet reflection and hopeful visioning. Stay tuned for the next chapter in the evolution of this farm organism that includes all of the amazing people in this community.  Thank you once again for the continued support.

Up To Date

 

The Spring CSA season has come and gone.  The Summer CSA is underway and filled up for the season.  The fall crops are being seeded and cared for along with the summer ones.  There are some spots left for the Fall CSA so secure your share of the harvest.   $125 for 5 weeks of greens, roots and fruits…

The weather of late has been delicious and I am happy with how things are progressing.  Did I actually say that?  It is true, for now…

If you aren’t receiving weekly pickups look for Slow Roots Farm vegetables at the High Falls Food Co-Op, Saugerties Farmers Market on Saturdays 10-2 or through a multi-farm buying club called Rondout Valley Organics.  For more information, check: http://www.farmtocity.org/Home.asp?mname=Rondout+Valley+Organics                           I hope to have garlic at Davenport’s Farm stand in Stone Ridge by mid-July as well, with more roots added later in the season.

 

Spring Time

With a little help from some plastic and steel the vegetables got pushed forward a little.  Their blankets came off today and this is what was under there.  Spring CSA will start Wednesday May 1st… The first week is sold out but I will take inquiries for a prorated late start as I see where the progress of the field vegetables are.  Summer and Fall CSA shares still available.  Happy Spring!

Fresh

Winter is generally a quieter time for a vegetable farmer, this winter has been filled with a little more action than usual.  The last six months have brought a lot of changes to Slow Roots Farm, big, beautiful, changes.  A home, a greenhouse, a barn and more have been added in this very short time… This will be my fifth season on this land though it feels like a new beginning in many ways.  The new construction will enhance the work that goes on here and help to make it a more enjoyable place to live, visit, and eat from.

Is anyone else just a little excited about eating fresh produce again?  I will be in the greenhouse next week seeding for the Spring CSA, I am excited about that.  I anticipate the first distribution to be the first week in May so it isn’t that far away.  I am ready for payments for the coming season and very little has changed in the format or pricing for 2013.  All the details can be found in the CSA 2013 Page.

Spring CSA 5 weeks $125

Summer 20 Weeks $525

Fall CSA 5 Weeks $125

Full Season 30 weeks for discounted $750

Saugerties Summer CSA 20 weeks $550

There will also be an Egg CSA option.  The eggs will not be from here this year but from my good friend Ryan at Fitzgerald Farm.  The chickens are fed grain from a VT family owned company and are housed and pastured in Accord.  The cost for a dozen/eggs a week  is $150 for all 30 weeks and are available for each season (Spring,Fall $25 each, Summer $100).  You can get as many shares as you would like and the eggs will be here for you each Wednesday at the farm.

*Payments in full for the egg and vegetable CSA will be due before the first distribution. $200 deposit secures a spot for you for the full season CSA. Checks Payable to:

Slow Roots Farm

205 Hidden Valley Rd

Kingston, NY 12401

I look forward to hearing from you and seeing you soon.  Thanks for the support.  Look for a ground breaking gathering this spring…  Send any questions or comments my way.  Enjoy the rest of your winter.              

Jacob Diaz                                                                                                                                             slowrootsfarm@gmail.com

Common Ground

This Wednesday October 10 marks the last summer pickup at the farm but the harvest will continue for a while as the fall share begins next week.  I wanted to thank all of you for participating in this summer season and for handling the assortment of  produce with openness and grace.  I know it takes special people to open a weird basement door and be surprised each week with what you’ll be eating.   I hope you enjoyed being creative and were able to avoid some trips to the grocery store, a much weirder place, as  a result.  Please know that you are a huge part of how I make a living and that this relationship is so vital to the way Slow Roots Farm operates.  Stay in touch, I hope to see all of you soon.

On a related note there is a community event this Sunday October 14 in Stone Ridge from 11-6 called Common Ground Celebration.  Come and experience the beauty of this area through people, food, music, art, cultivation and togetherness.  We live in a pretty special place and I think that will be easy to experience this Sunday.        http://www.hudsonvalleybounty.com/ulster/rondout-valley-common-ground-celebration

The Rondout Valley Growers Association will have a presence there and will be set up at the High Meadow School.  I am a board member for the RVGA and have seen first hand the impact they have on this community.  The Rondout Valley is still an agricultural region and the goal of RVGA is to maintain, expand and improve farming and farm health in the area.  This is no small task for a variety of reasons…  The New World Foundation has been generous enough to offer the RVGA a challenge grant, in which they will match each dollar we raise.  We have to raise $25,000 in order for them to match that figure.  We are on our way but I am asking all of you to contribute to this cause if you are able.  I will have a jar in the cooler this Wednesday and any amount you can give is greatly appreciated.  $5 gets you an RVGA bumper sticker.  Checks can be made out to Open Space Institute/RVGA which is holding the monies for this challenge grant.  For more information: http://rondoutvalleygrowers.org/rondout_valley_growers_news.cfm                             Thanks for your consideration.