Girl Scouts: Market, Farming and Camping Adventure!

Thanks to market shopper and Girl Scout Troop 1196 leader Janice Crawford for sharing this story and the photos. Janice brought her troop to the market last weekend for a tour and shopping time before the gang headed out to Burlington, N.C., to Clay Smith and Nancy Joyner's Redbud Farm. At the farm, they had a great time learning about sustainable farming, digging up potatoes, playing with the dogs and camping out! They earned the "Home Grown in North Carolina" patch as a result.

After touring the Western Wake Farmers' Market and talking with some of the vendors, the girls were able to shop for their donations for the Triangle Farmer Foodshare. They bought oodles of food with money they had earned doing chores during the week! Once the vendors found out they were spending their own money for donating food, many of them even gave the girls extra produce. The scouts added a significant amount to the cause!

While at the market, we purchased the sustainably grown, farm-fresh food that was our theme for the weekend. We had grass-fed beef for hamburgers from Smith Angus Farm, whole grain buns from Great Harvest Bread Co., lettuce from Farm Front Gardens, eggs from Fickle Creek Farm, apples from Godwin Farm and Orchard, cheese from Hillsborough Cheese Co., and German Johnson tomatoes from Redbud, along with potatoes and beans that the girls harvested themselves from Redbud.

After the farmers' market, we visited a nearby Harris Teeter and met with the produce manager on duty. He told the girls about some of the produce and where it came from. The girls learned that one variety of eggplant comes from Holland, another is "locally grown," which for HT means within a 6-hour drive, and the eggplant they saw for sale at the WWFM was from within a 125-mile radius. They decided that buying the one from Holland probably wasn't the best for the environment, nor the nutritional content!

Off to the Farm
After a quick stop for a picnic lunch, we headed to Redbud Farm. The girls had a blast digging for the potatoes after Clay ran the tractor over the row to loosen the dirt. They would chase after the tractor to get the exposed potatoes as if it were an Easter egg hunt! The girls were so fast that they ended up picking over 500 lbs of just the fingerling potatoes alone! They also picked a row of sweet potatoes to see the difference in how they grow (more vertical, in clusters).

Next, they were off to pick enough beans for dinner and a tour of the upper garden. They learned about planting multiple crops near each other for soil diversity, using natural pest repellents such as flowers and other bugs and what it means to grow organically.

When all the work was done, we cooked dinner. The burgers were great, but the girls did manage to leave enough room for s'mores at the campfire. After one fun slumber party with 13 girls in the loft of the cabin and breakfast, the girls toured the rest of the farm. Clay showed us his woodworking shop, where he makes furniture from the trees that grow on their property. He demonstrated how many of the tools work and how a chunk of wood can be molded into a chair.

Nancy brought the girls to her sewing room, where she showed them a surprise she is making for each of them--quilted pouches made out of Girl Scout-themed fabric. We also saw Clay's Boy Scout sash and his Eagle award, and Nancy found her Junior vest. We compared badges and pins from then and now (some haven't changed!) and saw the old merit badge and Junior handbooks from her youth.

All in all, it was a fantastic weekend. Clay and Nancy were awesome! We could not have asked for better hosts--both of them were great with the girls and took every opportunity to educate them about farming.