We’ve been mighty busy in the past month or so, but now it’s finally time for our next full-scale, in-town mob! Join us at Gaia Gardens on the 27th for some mobbin’ fun while the weather is gorgeous. It’s right in Decatur, so it can’t get much more convenient than that!

Plus, with the Georgia Organics conference behind us, the beginnings of another group in the making and a SpeakEasy under our belts by then, we’ll have a lot to discuss! We’re working on arranging something fun on the food front…but you’re bound to be fed well no matter what.

Spring’s the perfect time for mobbing, so bring a friend! And remember we’ll be posting to the new Crop Mob Georgia site (thanks Rationally Creative!) so check there for all our increasingly frequent updates! Crop Mob is growing faster than kudzu, and we love having y’all’s input as we develop. See you at Gaia Gardens!

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Image credit: bensonkua

Yeeeaaaahhh, it’s a little late notice, but we’re going to have a micro-mob this Sunday at Greg’s GreenLeaf Farms in Barnesville. Y’all all know how hard we’ve worked to help Greg get through this tough stretch, and we’re not quitting now! He’s going into the hospital for a procedure next week, so we want to help him get as much squared away on the farm as possible beforehand. Since it’s all last minute and stuff, you may want to just pack a lunch, or we can do the ol’ potluck plan and bring enough of whatever we’ve got to share.

We only need a handful of folks, but don’t worry – we’ll be having lots of these little impromptu gatherings at Greg’s to help him keep the farm going strong even when he’s on the mend.

It’s about an hour outside the city, so let’s try to carpool and plan on getting there around 9:30-10. See you there!

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We’ve got some pretty exciting news. As lots of you know, the Georgia Organics Conference will be taking place in Savannah March 11th & 12th. Not only will Crop Mob have a table in the expo, but we’ll also be having a mob at Downtown Savannah’s Avondale Farm. Sound familiar? Avondale Farm is Chef Matt Roher’s farm, and Chef Matt is none other than the executive chef at Savannah’s well-loved farm-to-table restaurant Cha-Bella. In fact, Chef Matt will be leading the charge to feed over 1,000 excited conference-goers at the legendary Farmer’s Feast.

Image source: savannahnow.com

Sometimes the people who brighten your day each time you see them need your help. Many of you know farmer Greg Brown from GreenLeaf Farms in Barnesville, GA. Whether you’ve purchased enormous produce from him (he is, after all, the compost master) at one of the city’s farmer’s markets or have had the fortune to learn from him, Greg has an amazing ability to make everyone around him happy, at ease, and better educated about sustainable growth.

But now Greg needs our help. He has a health condition that has not only resulted in some very high medical bills, it’s also taken him out of commission on the farm for a bit. One of the risks sustainable farmers take to provide the rest of us with clean food is forgoing any sort of benefits package, so when the hard times hit, sometimes they hit very hard.

That’s why we’re trying to raise money to help Greg keep GreenLeaf Farms. Whether you know Greg personally, have enjoyed his delicious produce or simply want to make sure that our sustainable farmers like him have the help they deserve when they need it most, please consider donating $10 — or whatever you can.

As many of you know, it’s hard to endure any sort of physical ailment that keeps you from doing what you love. But sadly, in Greg’s case, being unable to do what you love means it may no longer be there once you’re recovered and able. That’s why we’re all pitching in, both financially and physically, to help one of our favorite local, sustainable farmers when he needs it most. As a dedicated member of Crop Mob Atlanta, as well as an outstanding friend to farmers and consumers alike, Greg is always there for others. We’re happy to repay the favor.

Please join us in helping Greg. For more info — or if you’d be interested in helping on the farm — please contact Mike at mike@cropmobatl.com

A few weeks ago, a handful of us were lucky enough to head up to Blairsville to help Biodynamic guru Hugh Lovel get the UAI farm in good shape. How does it get better than working beside and learning from a guy who’s so full of knowledge about the soil that you just want to write down everything he says? By staying at Birds Nest with Hugh’s wife Shabari Bird (whose late husband, Christopher Bird, wrote “The Secret Life of Plants” and “Secrets of the Soil”) who not only put us up in awesome accommodations — I, for one, had a bed suspended from the ceiling — but fed us like kings and taught us dowsing and all sorts of interesting stuff.

After a full day of cleaning out the barn and farmhouse (just ask us at the next mob about the treasures we found), clearing a bunch of bamboo, and finishing a bunch of other tasks we all got the chance to settle in and really get to know each other over dinner and drinks…including, of course, Mike’s famous homebrew. Following that, Hugh gave a fantastic talk about learning to read weeds and what they’re saying about your soil. The big takeaway is your land will let you know exactly what it needs if you learn to speak its language, but Hugh explained the chemical makeup of the weeds, what they need, what they produce, and how it affects their physical structure. It was pretty awesome to say the least.

We (mostly) behaved and got to bed (relatively) early so that we were ready to roll the next morning. A little more barn cleaning, and a wood chopping session later, we had a fantastic lunch and sadly headed back to the city. Luckily Shabari told me she just might need help with a few more things in the next several months, so we might just have a chance to head back up there and let more mobbers enjoy Birds Nest and UAI.

But in the meantime, we *might* have a full size mob later this month (still working on that one) – but we do have some work for a few of you who are itching to get dirty. We’re looking for about 5 or 6 people to help out Paula of Heirloom Gardens (if you’ve been to Peachtree Road Farmer’s Market, you know who she is) with her lily field on the 20th. I guess this qualifies as our first micro-mob! She’ll be providing some seriously tasty sounding Chicken and Okra Gumbo as well as a few sides — certainly worth a trip to Cumming and some time digging in the lilies. Figure about 9:30 ’til lunch?

More updates soon if a larger mob will come together this month…if so, it’ll be on the 27th, so keep your calender clear! Plus updates on Crop Mob’s involvement in the Georgia Organics Conference; there are some exciting things afoot!

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Image credit: mike lowe