Q&A: how does a Food Forest do a Pandemic?

A young family plants a baby Kentucky coffeetree by the parking lot.

Q: Can I visit still? 
A: yes, definitely.  This is a two acre field and you ought to be able to keep VERY far away from other family groups here.  Please be respectful: whoever has highest degree of concern is to set the tone for any interactions.  Your kids can come, but be aware that they will need to stay away from other kids, which might require some tactical actions on your part.  

Q: Do you have any sanitizer on site? 
A: It’s coming.  We’re working on a schedule of decontamination of tools and toys but please ALSO bring your own sanitizer and decontaminate as you go.  Studies indicate the virus lives longest on plastic, followed by metal.  Yes, you may bring your own tools.  Of the options, we like bleach the least.  Other sanitizers are much safer for the soil critters.  
Q: Do you need help? 
A: Yes!  Definitely.  There are plenty of weeds to pull and it’s never a bad idea to turn the compost.  In general, specific requests (like the current “please help weed the strawberry patches”) are listed in our group on Facebook and on Instagram.  If you really aren’t a social media person but would like some way to be outside and helpful, by all means send an email. 

Q: Is the water on?
A: it was, but now we’re looking at a string of nights in the 20s, so it may go back off.  Bring water bottles just in case.  

Q: What about the Forager workshop series? 
A: Good news!  These are moving to an online format.  We will be doing videos that center on what a person can forage and ideas for what can be happening in your home gardens, with periodic expansions to talk about how to prepare certain items for eating (cuz raw dandelion roots are not tasty).  The goal is to create a YouTube channel with both our videos and helpful playlists of other videos.  We’ll link things on Facebook and Instagram, and then include those links in these “monthly” emails, too.  

Strawberry leaves are starting to green up amongst the brown leaf litter mulch.

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