Farmers' market

The June 5 opening day of the Terre Haute Downtown Farmers' Market at Ninth and Cherry streets was a big success. We sold out of strawberries by about 10:30 a.m. and pretty well sold out of everything else by noon.

We certainly enjoyed meeting new people and answering questions about growing this and that.
Our participation in this farmers' market is very important to us. We’ve been a part of it since its inception in 2005 and we’re proud of what it has become.

Last year we were only able to have a presence once a month. But this year we’re back in FULL SWING and LOVIN’ IT! We’ll be there 8 a.m. to noon every Saturday through October sharing our pesticide- and herbicide-free vegetables and fruit and value-added products.

With such a small staff we always welcome volunteers who can help us out on Saturday mornings. Even an hour or two is appreciated. Interested? Contact Candace Minster at cminster@spsmw.org or 812-535-2935.

Hope to see you often this season!

What a busy time for this organic farm and eco-justice education center! We've had so much rain it has been crazy trying to get our more than 300 acres of certified organic crops in the ground this year. Now the hay needs cut and the vegetables are being harvested for the market today and the Sisters of Providence dining halls.

In the alpaca pastures ...
Four alpaca crias were born this spring and two more are on the way. Of our about 65 alpacas many of them are for sale ... about 18 or so. Click on Alpacas at www.whiteviolet.org to see our sales list.

In the gardens ...
Our Weekly Wednesday Farmers' Market at the Woods (3-6 p.m.) is in full swing. The tasty organic vegetables offered this week are turnips, lettuce, radishes, and green tomatoes. We'll also have herbs and cut flowers. (We might have some carrots, green beans and potatoes.) In addition to the vegetables, we always have homemade lip balm made from our own beeswax; Royer Family Farm beef, lamb and pork; Swiss Connection cheese and ice cream; and fair trade coffees, teas and chocolate bars.

In the orchards ...
We've been dealing with some fire blight and such this year. The garden manager applied a clay spray this week.

In the Classified Forest ...
We now have an 18 year plan for the 320 acres of Classified Forest at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods owned by the Sisters of Providence. Read more about our recent DNR statistical survey under Agriculture at www.whiteviolet.org.

This is one of our busiest times of year! We couldn't do it without our fabulous volunteers and intern. A big thank you to you all!