She is quite a girl!

Watching the video made tears roll right down my cheeks, Johnny. She is so humble, Johnny, and I'm so proud of what she is accomplishing. I want to add that she is not alone---she has a first class man working with her to keep Vision Farms growing (pun intended) and, hopefully, expanding. I hope this story brings y'all new local volunteers to help with your mission. Congrats to all of you at Vision Farms for what you do. I know everyone is always excited on harvest day, when there is produce to harvest and distribute, but those of us here on this forum know it takes tons and tons of work and time before you can even arrive at harvest day.

She is quite a remarkable person, Johnny, but so are you! Don't you forget it either. Somehow I think your description of her as someone who gets up every morning for others also is a description of you, our Johnny, and I'm so proud to know you. Also, I couldn't help noticing your hat. Thank you so much for your service to our country. I know that our Vietnam Vets did not get the welcome home or the thank you they deserved at that time because of all the turmoil in our nation, but I hope you know how much people like me revere people like you who served our country at a time when it was not popular to do so.

Seeing this and watching the video got my day off to a great start, too, so thanks for that.

Wishing you, Jennifer, and your crew of volunteers nothing but the absolute best growing season ever and continued success with your endeavors,

Dawn

Dawn,

I wish you could meet our first employee and his family. His wife is amazing. She and her kids planted half of our 12th Street garden this Spring. She and her kids harvest and deliver to various agencies without pay of any sort. It is such a blessing and a privilege to know them.

Wish us luck. We hope to grow and donate 10,000# of fresh food this year. We sure could use a root cellar. We expect between 7,000# and 12,000# of Irish potatoes about the end of May.

Johnny

Johnny, They sound wonderful and I'm so happy your first employee has such an amazing family. They sound like such a blessing to your organization. It would be a privilege to meet them someday.

I do wish you luck and pray daily for your success.

You do need a root cellar. I wonder if a commercial cold storage facility would lease y'all enough space to store potatoes for a few months, or rent it to a non-profit like Vision Farms at a reduced rate? I don't know if Guthrie has a commercial cold storage warehouse or two, but surely OKC must. Or, maybe a regional food bank that has cold storage (if any of them do) would store your potatoes in exchange for y'all giving them a portion of the potatoes for their clientele? There ought to be a way to store the potatoes for as long as possible in order to make the harvest last for as many months as possible. It is hard enough to do this in a single family home with the harvest from a simple garden. I can't imagine trying to line up proper storage for thousands of pounds of potatoes.

Keep on keeping on! Y'all are doing great work that benefits so many people.

Dawn

Dawn,

As usual, you may be the match that starts our fire. I'll get back to you.

Johnny

You all are an inspiration! Good luck with it this year!

Johnny, I'm hoping you'll find a way to get some cold storage. If I brainstorm and come up with any other ideas I'll let you know. Otherwise, I'm terrified you'll try to can them all yourself, and I just don't think there's enough hours in the day, even for you, to can that many potatoes. Without divine intervention, one man (even a dedicated, hard-working one such as yourself) simply cannot can that many potatoes in the time frame available. I don't want you to wear yourself out trying, either.

I thought about freeze-drying but (a) none of us has a home-sized freeze-drying machine, and (b) I was worried that you'd try to freeze-dry them all yourself, which might be as time-consuming as canning them all.

Dawn

Dawn,

We will be talking to the Regional food bank soon. Also, I looked at a root cellar today in Payne county. We might be able to renovate that one.

I looked at the root cellar while I was evaluating two windmills. The ten acres at St. Francis has a pond and well with windmill on it. I want to renovate that windmill so we can irrigate, if necessary, next year.

Wish us luck.

If I don't already know I can't do it, I'll probably try to do it. That is why I went to the state capitol and started this corporation. I didn't already know I couldn't.

Johnny

Amy,

We all can plant an extra row for the needy. So many people have helped me, maybe I will live long enough to help some others.

Johnny

Johnny Coleman,

Saw you on TV. Really impressive.

authereray,

We have just been given the use of 10 acres by St. Francis of the Woods, spiritual retreat.

That will put us at 14 acres next year. I feel a little overwhelmed sometimes.

Monday morning early, we will be dismounting a medium size wind mill from its tower. We will overhaul it and replace the leathers at the bottom of the well. We will need it next year for irrigation.

Wish us luck. We need it.

Johnny

Johnny, You don't need luck, but I'll wish you luck anyway. You have a stronger power than luck on your side, and he'll provide all you need, one way or another.

14 acres is awesome! We live on 14.4 acres, and the though of having to tend a garden (you're getting into farm-size now) that big would be overwhelming. I'm grateful you have the tractor and tools that you do have. Since a large portion of our land is woodland, we don't even mow 14.4 acres, much less attempt to plow, plant, cultivate, water and harvest that much land....not to mention having to plant cover crops and compost crops to improve the soil.

I have come to know you well, I believe, through this forum, and I am confident when I say you can do this. I am at the point of believing you can do anything.

I thought of you and your root cellar issue when I was flipping through the catalog of Johnny's Selected Seeds a couple of evenings ago. They have a "thing" they sell that helps a small farmer turn an ordinary, insulated room with an AC unit into a cold storage room. Maybe something about that idea will give you some food for thought, so I'll see if I can find that page in their online catalog/webpage and link it.

Here it is:

The Coolbot

For anyone who is not familiar with Johnny's, it's main orientation is and always has been towards small farmers. They offer tools and techniques aimed at everyone from market growers to small farmers to home gardeners. Their catalog is a growing guide all by itself and I sometimes hang onto them for years as the special growing info on each type of crop is invaluable. I don't think you can buy one single gardening book that is as helpful as the JSS catalog. Their website is just as useful, but I like having the catalog in my hand....and I always find something in it that I want or need too.

Dawn

The food bank has just got their walk in fridge running. So, now we can store our fresh stuff until the next farmers market. I wish the market was open daily.

Your idea may be our best plan so far. There are some horse stalls (with concrete floor) at the farm. Maybe we can put an evaporative cooler in one for storing potatoes. We need to create the proper environment for potatoes, 50° F, 95% humidity and very dark to prevent greening and sprouting.

We only need to store them for a few months.

Johnny Coleman,

If it is shaded enough in the stalls the potatoes might keep all right with the cement floors as they will keep cool. Potatoes will keep for a long time if keep out of the light. Let the potatoes air out after digging for a while and then move them into the stall. I have kept them several months in a darkened shed with loose hay scattered over them. But they probably would keep better in a cooler.

authereray,

Thanks again for your insight. We need it.

How high can we stack them. I am concerned about damaging them which might lead to rot.

Johnny