We faced many challenges on many fronts this summer that affected our work on our Haiti agriculture project in Arizona. The reasons are unimportant. The fact is, after planting 2,400 linear feet by the end of May with Armenian cucumbers to okra to squash to melons, and everything in between, we realized zero harvest excluding a pair of watermelons and a summer squash.
We are not discouraged. As our friends battle far worse situations in Haiti, we remain committed to growing and selling vegetables on their behalf in Arizona to fund our Barefoot School and the thousands of meals we provide five days each week. Even though school has yet to commence, we manage to operate our kitchen to feed the children most in need.
As the seasons change, we plowed and prepared 600 linear feet this week. While I worked the plow, Mrs. tVM seeded 700 lettuce plants in the hoop house, and this morning, she planted 50 kale seedlings gifted to our project by our friend farmer James. Meanwhile, Dwight and his able assistant Halen are performing much-needed maintenance on our old Deere tractor. We are busy.
Last winter, we learned that planting seeds in our hoop house beyond November is fruitless; we won’t repeat that mistake. We also learned that leafy greens like lettuce thrive in the cool Arizona temperatures, so we’ll focus on our lettuce through the late fall and winter.
Mitakuye Oyasin