First, I would like to thank my best friend, who is my first follower. Yay, Linda. Leave me a comment and I'll buy you lunch next week.
And on to business: We are hosting our first "event" at the Market House (106 E. Apache/Aquarium Pl. - Jenks has just changed the street name). On March 24, we will offer a free plasticulture demonstration. It's a method of growing vegetables that uses less water. Yeah, kind of a special niche group event. It's actually just us having a pasticulture garden planted and making it available as a demonstration to interested people, namely Master Gardeners, our Great Gardeners program members and the attendees of Tulsa Garden Center's Vegetable Symposium the week before.
The demonstration takes place on the afternoon of an annual Southwood event of which I'm particularly proud - Plant a Row for the Hungry. Primarily, it's a food drive for the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma. People bring non-perishable foods, and in exchange they will receive a free 3-pack of tomato plants per donated item. We also let them know that if they harvest more fruits or vegetables than they need, they can bring the extras to the Food Bank for distribution. We always get a great response, and it's a fun and community-oriented way to start the spring season.
So hopefully between the Southwood event and our selective marketing effort to people who are already engaged in vegetable gardens, we'll get the information about our project out, and a few people will come out and watch the demonstration. We're going to treat it as a mini-open house, with the house's history that I put together on the wall, and some information about our plans. I might even tell people about my new blog. Maybe.
On the farm itself, we're still working on some basic infrastructure, which is important but not very exciting. First, starting next week, the water line will be laid into the property, and then we'll get going on the fencing. We're still working on a plan for the remodel of the house - what we're leaning towards is a bunk house for people who work on the farm (essentially a caretakers' residence) with a staging area for workers to meet in the morning, and a break area for them to have lunch. Also this year, we are going to plant watermelons and pumpkins out there, to see how they do.
Spring planting season is coming up - hopefully Southwood will be busy this year!
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Friday, February 24, 2012
What's in a Blog?
If you're reading this blog at some point near the time it was written (note to self: find some readers) you may notice that it is, in fact, ugly. It is a very basic layout with no pictures or visual interest. The main reason it looks this way is that I am not a visual person. Maybe it's because I am almost legally blind without my contacts (which is true) or maybe it's just the workings of my brain. I have no interest in Pinterest. Not my thing.
What is my thing is words. I've always loved reading and listening to stuff that other people have written. I am a devourer - and sometime regurgitator - of words. As a true testament to my obsession: I just spent several minutes pondering if what I just wrote about regurgitating is part of some weird etymology of "bookworm." Not enough to look it up (Wiki-Worthy), but it still went through my head.
And for as long as I can remember I have been writing - articles and stories and poems and letters and emails and diaries and journals and status updates and anonymous political comments on websites. In high school and college and my first big-girl job, I was a journalist, and I loved it. Seeing my name in print was the coolest thing I could imagine in my little word-nerdy world. And then it stopped.
The break wasn't entirely a bad thing - I think I needed it in order to make a transition from the writings of a child to the writings of an adult. The words were there, but the messages didn't have a lot of depth to them. During that time, I had to climb over a few hurdles in life. If those hurdles give me the ability to put more depth and heart and gravitas into my words, they will be worth having staggered over.
Another reason for the no-effort-whatsoever look of this blog is that it's "temporary" - not that I plan to stop, because I don't. I won't. But I wanted to take some time figuring out what I wanted this blog to say, and what I hoped to accomplish with it. First and foremost, I want to talk about the farm and market project, and there are sub-categories of goals there which I'm not going to discuss now. What I really needed to identify was how personal I wanted to make this, and how much of my deep-seated freaky issues I'm going to reveal.
This blog marks my first foray into public writing (okay, semi-public right now, but I'm hoping to actually attract some readers, and if necessary I will start begging my friends and family) since 2001. I mentioned in my last entry that I had suffered from depression, and one of the many things that illness took from me was the ability to believe I had something to say. I For 10 years, I could not feel that my talent and passion for words were worth sharing.
I didn't stop writing in those years. In fact, I wrote more than ever, but all of my writing was either in a private journal, online anonymous, or representative of someone else (primarily my Dad, as his administrative assistant, and as Southwood in a marketing capacity). In this blog, I'm going to be fully present, and the views here will be mine, not Southwood's.
So I guess I've answered my question: What's in a blog? I am. It will be loosely affiliated with the market/farm project, but it's going to be from my perspective. I will do my best not to embarrass my mom and kids (everybody else, not so much) but my life, my politics, my experiences, my insanities - I'm going to spill it out there. *Tries to resist urge to close this paragraph with sentence using the word mop. And fails.
What is my thing is words. I've always loved reading and listening to stuff that other people have written. I am a devourer - and sometime regurgitator - of words. As a true testament to my obsession: I just spent several minutes pondering if what I just wrote about regurgitating is part of some weird etymology of "bookworm." Not enough to look it up (Wiki-Worthy), but it still went through my head.
And for as long as I can remember I have been writing - articles and stories and poems and letters and emails and diaries and journals and status updates and anonymous political comments on websites. In high school and college and my first big-girl job, I was a journalist, and I loved it. Seeing my name in print was the coolest thing I could imagine in my little word-nerdy world. And then it stopped.
The break wasn't entirely a bad thing - I think I needed it in order to make a transition from the writings of a child to the writings of an adult. The words were there, but the messages didn't have a lot of depth to them. During that time, I had to climb over a few hurdles in life. If those hurdles give me the ability to put more depth and heart and gravitas into my words, they will be worth having staggered over.
Another reason for the no-effort-whatsoever look of this blog is that it's "temporary" - not that I plan to stop, because I don't. I won't. But I wanted to take some time figuring out what I wanted this blog to say, and what I hoped to accomplish with it. First and foremost, I want to talk about the farm and market project, and there are sub-categories of goals there which I'm not going to discuss now. What I really needed to identify was how personal I wanted to make this, and how much of my deep-seated freaky issues I'm going to reveal.
This blog marks my first foray into public writing (okay, semi-public right now, but I'm hoping to actually attract some readers, and if necessary I will start begging my friends and family) since 2001. I mentioned in my last entry that I had suffered from depression, and one of the many things that illness took from me was the ability to believe I had something to say. I For 10 years, I could not feel that my talent and passion for words were worth sharing.
I didn't stop writing in those years. In fact, I wrote more than ever, but all of my writing was either in a private journal, online anonymous, or representative of someone else (primarily my Dad, as his administrative assistant, and as Southwood in a marketing capacity). In this blog, I'm going to be fully present, and the views here will be mine, not Southwood's.
So I guess I've answered my question: What's in a blog? I am. It will be loosely affiliated with the market/farm project, but it's going to be from my perspective. I will do my best not to embarrass my mom and kids (everybody else, not so much) but my life, my politics, my experiences, my insanities - I'm going to spill it out there. *Tries to resist urge to close this paragraph with sentence using the word mop. And fails.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Now It's Personal
I haven't posted in a couple weeks, because I've just been through a round of illness at my house. One of the fun ones, where everybody is miserable and we're all kind of walking around in a fog of antihistamines and antibiotics and acetaminophen trying not to breathe on each other. Having run the washing machine solidly for the past 48 hours, and thankfully we've been able to open the windows and air out the house, I think we're all better.
But this leads me to my personal reason for really wanting to bring this project to fruition: I want my family to be healthier. I want to envelop our lives in healthy activities and foods, in such a way that the healthiest choice is also the most natural and obvious option on the menu.
It's not that my family is patently unhealthy. I'll admit to carrying around more weight than I should, so this something that I personally need. And having suffered a couple of bouts of depression, I would like to better explore the nutritional methods of managing mental illness, rather than resigning myself to daily pills to regulate my seratonin for the rest of my life. Plus, Joe's family history of heart disease requires extreme vigilance as well, to ward off a lifetime of adventures in pharmaceuticals.
So far, though, our children have gotten off to a good start. Joe and I have made every attempt to set them on a road of eating fruits and vegetables every day, drinking water and milk instead of sugar-juice or soda, and leading active lives. But still they are bombarded by bad choices, with a constant supply of sweets and nutritionally void junk foods being given to them at school and social activities.
Raising kids today, it's damn near impossible to avoid screen time, and with that comes the marketing messages. Some of that's getting better - thankfully, the junk food merchandising industry wonks have finally realized that they're effectively killing their clients, or at least realized that society doesn't hold them blameless in the effect. But it's such an uphill battle to keep kids from going down a path of destructive bad habits. And having walked down that path myself, I really want to help my girls avoid it.
But this leads me to my personal reason for really wanting to bring this project to fruition: I want my family to be healthier. I want to envelop our lives in healthy activities and foods, in such a way that the healthiest choice is also the most natural and obvious option on the menu.
It's not that my family is patently unhealthy. I'll admit to carrying around more weight than I should, so this something that I personally need. And having suffered a couple of bouts of depression, I would like to better explore the nutritional methods of managing mental illness, rather than resigning myself to daily pills to regulate my seratonin for the rest of my life. Plus, Joe's family history of heart disease requires extreme vigilance as well, to ward off a lifetime of adventures in pharmaceuticals.
So far, though, our children have gotten off to a good start. Joe and I have made every attempt to set them on a road of eating fruits and vegetables every day, drinking water and milk instead of sugar-juice or soda, and leading active lives. But still they are bombarded by bad choices, with a constant supply of sweets and nutritionally void junk foods being given to them at school and social activities.
Raising kids today, it's damn near impossible to avoid screen time, and with that comes the marketing messages. Some of that's getting better - thankfully, the junk food merchandising industry wonks have finally realized that they're effectively killing their clients, or at least realized that society doesn't hold them blameless in the effect. But it's such an uphill battle to keep kids from going down a path of destructive bad habits. And having walked down that path myself, I really want to help my girls avoid it.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Local Farm & Market
So now that the key people in this project are ID'd, a little information on the project itself.
As I said, my family runs a garden center in Tulsa, Southwood Landscape & Nursery. This project will be an extension of that business, but with a different demographic target and product/service mix, and of course a differnt location, about 2 miles away or less as the crow flies, but in fact across a river and in a different city, namely Jenks, Oklahoma.
In a nutshell, Southwood is dedicated primarily to ornamental gardening and decor, including full landscape design and installation, and targets 35-65-year-old women, particularly the Baby Boomers. It is a genuinely delightful place to be, and has for 30 years been instrumental in making Tulsa houses prettier, enhancing curb appeal and property values throughout Northeast Oklahoma. Our customers, Tulsa's gardening community, are incredible people and we love giving them a place where they can become more creative and nurturing and adventurous in their gardens.
Local Farm & Market will focus more on Gen-X and Gen-Y shoppers, especially young families and singles looking to "green up" their lifestyles and focus more on health and natural living. If you have an idea for what types of products and services that includes, feel free to comment! I don't want this project to develop in a vacuum - I'm looking for the community that needs us, the niche that we can best fill. Southwood has blossomed (the puns come naturally - my mother is famous for them and I spend a lot of time with her) over the years, and I hope Local F/M will do the same.
Of course, Southwood is and will always be a huge priority throughout this expansion. It will require risk - any big project does - but we are dedicated to protecting the integrity and quality of Southwood. The customers and employees deserve nothing less.
That said, I think this project has huge potential, and I am very excited about it. It will actually take place at two locations - the Farm and the Market are about a quarter-mile apart - and will include a few different components. I will describe those components separately, with the caveat that they are all subject to change.
The Farm - roughly located between the Arkansas River and Elm St. in Jenks, this is 80 acres of Oklahoma agriculture land. Eventually, we would like it to be fully open to the public, a hub of agritourism and education that fosters the discovery of farming and connection to the land. But in order to demonstrate a working farm, we will have to undertake the challenge of building a working farm. Starting from scratch as we are offers the opportunity to build a 21st century model, using modern techniques that enhance efficiency and sustainability. As we build, throughout the process, we will teach. We are already establishing partnerships with Oklahoma State University's Department of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, and Jenks High School's FFA program (Future Farmers of America).
The Market - This past year we acquired a property at 1st and Apache (a street which has recently officially been changed to Aquarium Pl.) one block south of Main Street in Jenks, a tight-knit community south of Tulsa that boasts an exceptional school systetem. In this space we will build (hopefully early 2013) a retail Market facility. The exact product mix is by no means fully defined, but I envision a combination of fresh local produce and products, the tools and supplies someone would need for backyard urban agriculture projects, and delicious local foods ready to eat on our patio and outdoor dining/entertainment area.
Education Center - When we bought the 1st and Aquarium Pl/Apache property, there was a house that used to belong to Ms. Linda George, who taught 3rd Grade in Jenks for 45 years. The house was built in 1920 by her father, William George, who was the first mayor of Jenks and proprietor of a general store at 1st and Main. Anyway, we took that house, left the outside the same but renovated the inside to accommodate offices, classrooms and a really awesome demonstration kitchen, where we can teach all kinds of classes about healthy living and cooking.
Outside the house, we're building a huge deck where people can eat, hang out, and hear a band or speaker. I have not completely talked my dad into the ginormous playscape I want, too, but I will. As a young mom, I love places where I can go (Central Market in Texas is my favorite) where my kids can play, and I can watch them while I enjoy a meal or drink and the pleasant company of my husband and/or friends, all in the great outdoors.
Cafe - This will be the final phase at the Market location. For the beginning, we will have to outsource the food preparation, because while the kitchen in the house is awesome, it is not commercial.
So, that's the project ... As I said, please feel free to offer suggestions, criticisms, or whatever you feel like saying.
As I said, my family runs a garden center in Tulsa, Southwood Landscape & Nursery. This project will be an extension of that business, but with a different demographic target and product/service mix, and of course a differnt location, about 2 miles away or less as the crow flies, but in fact across a river and in a different city, namely Jenks, Oklahoma.
In a nutshell, Southwood is dedicated primarily to ornamental gardening and decor, including full landscape design and installation, and targets 35-65-year-old women, particularly the Baby Boomers. It is a genuinely delightful place to be, and has for 30 years been instrumental in making Tulsa houses prettier, enhancing curb appeal and property values throughout Northeast Oklahoma. Our customers, Tulsa's gardening community, are incredible people and we love giving them a place where they can become more creative and nurturing and adventurous in their gardens.
Local Farm & Market will focus more on Gen-X and Gen-Y shoppers, especially young families and singles looking to "green up" their lifestyles and focus more on health and natural living. If you have an idea for what types of products and services that includes, feel free to comment! I don't want this project to develop in a vacuum - I'm looking for the community that needs us, the niche that we can best fill. Southwood has blossomed (the puns come naturally - my mother is famous for them and I spend a lot of time with her) over the years, and I hope Local F/M will do the same.
Of course, Southwood is and will always be a huge priority throughout this expansion. It will require risk - any big project does - but we are dedicated to protecting the integrity and quality of Southwood. The customers and employees deserve nothing less.
That said, I think this project has huge potential, and I am very excited about it. It will actually take place at two locations - the Farm and the Market are about a quarter-mile apart - and will include a few different components. I will describe those components separately, with the caveat that they are all subject to change.
The Farm - roughly located between the Arkansas River and Elm St. in Jenks, this is 80 acres of Oklahoma agriculture land. Eventually, we would like it to be fully open to the public, a hub of agritourism and education that fosters the discovery of farming and connection to the land. But in order to demonstrate a working farm, we will have to undertake the challenge of building a working farm. Starting from scratch as we are offers the opportunity to build a 21st century model, using modern techniques that enhance efficiency and sustainability. As we build, throughout the process, we will teach. We are already establishing partnerships with Oklahoma State University's Department of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, and Jenks High School's FFA program (Future Farmers of America).
The Market - This past year we acquired a property at 1st and Apache (a street which has recently officially been changed to Aquarium Pl.) one block south of Main Street in Jenks, a tight-knit community south of Tulsa that boasts an exceptional school systetem. In this space we will build (hopefully early 2013) a retail Market facility. The exact product mix is by no means fully defined, but I envision a combination of fresh local produce and products, the tools and supplies someone would need for backyard urban agriculture projects, and delicious local foods ready to eat on our patio and outdoor dining/entertainment area.
Education Center - When we bought the 1st and Aquarium Pl/Apache property, there was a house that used to belong to Ms. Linda George, who taught 3rd Grade in Jenks for 45 years. The house was built in 1920 by her father, William George, who was the first mayor of Jenks and proprietor of a general store at 1st and Main. Anyway, we took that house, left the outside the same but renovated the inside to accommodate offices, classrooms and a really awesome demonstration kitchen, where we can teach all kinds of classes about healthy living and cooking.
Outside the house, we're building a huge deck where people can eat, hang out, and hear a band or speaker. I have not completely talked my dad into the ginormous playscape I want, too, but I will. As a young mom, I love places where I can go (Central Market in Texas is my favorite) where my kids can play, and I can watch them while I enjoy a meal or drink and the pleasant company of my husband and/or friends, all in the great outdoors.
Cafe - This will be the final phase at the Market location. For the beginning, we will have to outsource the food preparation, because while the kitchen in the house is awesome, it is not commercial.
So, that's the project ... As I said, please feel free to offer suggestions, criticisms, or whatever you feel like saying.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Day One, Week One, Month One, Year One
I have been telling myself (and a few other people) that I was going to blog about this project. I love writing, and I thought the Local Farm & Market project would make for interesting reading. So here I am, feeling a little bit silly, writing my first blog post while my kids play outside.
First, to establish a little background to the project: My family owns and operates (with the help of many fabulous employees) Southwood Landscape & Nursery Co. in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It's one of the biggest retail garden centers in Oklahoma, and we also have a full-service landscape design and installation department, and we grow a lot of our own plants at a greenhouse range about a mile from the nursery. As family businesses go, it's pretty awesome.
For the past 10 years, I have worked part-time as my dad's administrative assistant. Dad - Joe Schulte - and Mom - Ginny Schulte - started the business when I was 5, which would be 1982. Mom and Dad are brilliant and fantastic, and hopefully readers of this blog. They divorced in 2007 but remain good friends and business partners, which was quite a feat, and would not have been accomplished without a lot of integrity and effort from both parties.
Also in the mix is my handsome husband, Joe Baird, who for several years served as the assistant production manager. Basically, he helped to start and run the greenhouse facility where we grow our plants to sell at the store - mainly annuals (flowers that you plant every year, like begonias, impatiens, pansies, etc.) as well as roses, garden mums, grasses, ground covers and many more. We refer to this facility as Delaware - because it is located on South Delaware Avenue in Tulsa. Clever, huh?
And most recently, we have celebrated the return of my sister Margaret, who has honed her business skills as a CPA at the private equity firm the Carlyle Group in Washington D.C., which she followed up with an MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern. And lucky for us, she is now our Marketing Manager at Southwood - creating waves of genius and creativity in the marketing department formerly headed up by Dad and me.
And last but most certainly not least, there are my two daughters. Audrey is 8 and Catherine is just about to turn 6, and they keep us all on our toes and remind us daily what really matters in life. This is not their story - I love me some Mommy Blogs but this is not one of those. But of course, my role as a Mommy will always and forever influence the decisions I make in life, and this project will be no different.
So that's my crew. And together we are embarking on this new project we are calling Local Farm & Market. It will be a division of our family business, but will ultimately have a very different vibe than Southwood. I hope you will enjoy reading about it, and contribute comments as to what kind of place you would like to bring your family to visit.
First, to establish a little background to the project: My family owns and operates (with the help of many fabulous employees) Southwood Landscape & Nursery Co. in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It's one of the biggest retail garden centers in Oklahoma, and we also have a full-service landscape design and installation department, and we grow a lot of our own plants at a greenhouse range about a mile from the nursery. As family businesses go, it's pretty awesome.
For the past 10 years, I have worked part-time as my dad's administrative assistant. Dad - Joe Schulte - and Mom - Ginny Schulte - started the business when I was 5, which would be 1982. Mom and Dad are brilliant and fantastic, and hopefully readers of this blog. They divorced in 2007 but remain good friends and business partners, which was quite a feat, and would not have been accomplished without a lot of integrity and effort from both parties.
Also in the mix is my handsome husband, Joe Baird, who for several years served as the assistant production manager. Basically, he helped to start and run the greenhouse facility where we grow our plants to sell at the store - mainly annuals (flowers that you plant every year, like begonias, impatiens, pansies, etc.) as well as roses, garden mums, grasses, ground covers and many more. We refer to this facility as Delaware - because it is located on South Delaware Avenue in Tulsa. Clever, huh?
And most recently, we have celebrated the return of my sister Margaret, who has honed her business skills as a CPA at the private equity firm the Carlyle Group in Washington D.C., which she followed up with an MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern. And lucky for us, she is now our Marketing Manager at Southwood - creating waves of genius and creativity in the marketing department formerly headed up by Dad and me.
And last but most certainly not least, there are my two daughters. Audrey is 8 and Catherine is just about to turn 6, and they keep us all on our toes and remind us daily what really matters in life. This is not their story - I love me some Mommy Blogs but this is not one of those. But of course, my role as a Mommy will always and forever influence the decisions I make in life, and this project will be no different.
So that's my crew. And together we are embarking on this new project we are calling Local Farm & Market. It will be a division of our family business, but will ultimately have a very different vibe than Southwood. I hope you will enjoy reading about it, and contribute comments as to what kind of place you would like to bring your family to visit.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)