Notes on the Garden Tour

• WeatherUnderground forecasts an Excessive Heat Watch beginning Saturday afternoon (July 16).  Garden Tour here at the Farm is 10am-noon (in the time leading up to the Excessive Heat Watch). Our Garden is in the Sun.  We will talk part of the time from the comfort of chairs in a shaded area.  Please come with ample protection:  Make sure you are hydrated, bring water (we'll have water too), wear a hat, consider bringing an umbrella (like the Old Timers did), protect that skin. My favorite summer apparel when I am in the Sun is a broad brimmed hat and loose fitting lightweight and light colored cotton clothing. And of course, we will look out for ourselves and for each other, making adjustments as needed.
• And if you know heat is likely to be too much for you, then stay home.  The Garden Tour at our Farm will come around again, just maybe not for you this season.
• The Garden Tour is intended to be "Garden Conversation".  Yes, we 3 C's will share what we have learned these past 5 gardening seasons here in northeast Missouri. The learning curve has been steep.  You won't see perfection here, but you will see a family committed toward learning to grow our own Food.  Every person who comes to the gathering will have things to share,  questions and solutions to their own challenges.  We invite you to share those teachings along your path.
• "Gardeners rock."  It is a privilege to get Gardeners together and see where we go. Our collective knowledge is growing, yet we have so much more to learn.  We take comfort in knowing that we 3 C's are not alone.   
• Nature offers us a time to ponder heat's effects on Plants and what Gardeners can do to maximize benefits. It is also a time to ponder the narrow range of conditions on this Planet that support Life. We don't want to interfere with that.
• The focus will be on Organic Food Production. We 3 C's are trying to follow a "Natural Systems Approach" to maximize potential for growth and success.
• Please park along Frontier Lane and walk down the drive to the house.  This will lessen impacts on the Land.  Those heavy Cars compact the Soil.  If that request is a stretch for you in terms of walking, then you may certainly drive in. Please do not park on the Lawn.
• We ask that you carpool if at all possible.  Walking, biking, hitching up your horse are also possibilities. This will lessen our "Carbon Footprint" and contribution to Global Warming. While we 3 C's choose to grow our own Food in part because it is healthier for us, we also do it to minimize our "Carbon Footprint" on this beautiful Planet with which we were entrusted.  Instead of eating Food transported 1500 miles (with considerable Fossil Fuel inputs), ours is 100 feet away.  That Food gets to the house on our own 2 feet.
• When you are here, remember this is a small Farm set in the Country.  You will see Butterflies, Birds, Bees, Prairie Grasses and Flowers.  You may even see a Turtle or a Snake.  They are all part of the mix.
• We believe that returning to an Agrarian Lifestyle is a celebration of the possibilities open to the Human Experience.  We are richly blessed to live at a time when this is possible and to be surrounded by so many other People who are seeking something similar in their own way.