Hi Friends and Fans of ESH! As you have read in previous posts, we have been partnering with the Loudoun Economic Development folks and participating in several of their creative ideas to promote local farmers and businesses. Another one of their nifty ideas is virtual farm tours. Even though we might be late to the party, we have been chomping at the bit to do this. Please pardon our tardiness in this, as we have been silly busy with growing lettuce and staying up to date on important stuff. Over the past few weeks, we have been filming and filming and filming, we finally have our virtual farm tour ready to view! It is a 20+ minute video, and we think it's well worth the time it takes to view.
On this farm tour, you will experience almost the exact same tour as you would in person, minus the heat and humidity, walking on rocks, petting Olive, and the ability to ask questions. But fear not, friends! It's now summer time and you can walk out to your front yard and get all kinds of hot and feel the humidity (although not quite as humid as a greenhouse), find some rocks anywhere to walk on, and I know you know someone with a great dog to pet. We are working on a Q&A with the Head of Lettuce, to see if we can answer some of your questions. We realize that this doesn't replace an in-person farm tour, but it's a great way to participate in Loudoun Economic Development's virtual farm tour program.
The virtual farm tour starts as you drive up to the farm. Olive will proudly guide us in to the farm, and we then begin our tour in the nursery. You will see how we hand seed and germinate our lettuce and herbs, followed by a quick look at microgreens. Next, you will join us in the greenhouse, to learn how our hydroponic system works, and how our greenhouse magicians do their magic outside, including gutter sanitation. After that, you will see that we harvest and bring the lettuce inside to process, and ultimately get it to the customers. Finally, Olive will escort you back down the road, and you can be on your way.
Disclaimer: Now, you may be wondering if this is the same thing as a consulting tour. No, it is not. We respectfully ask that if you have a need or desire to officially consult with Mary Ellen, this is a different process and there is a fee included. Please refer to the FAQ page for more information. Also please keep in mind that the frESH lettuce team (aka: farm staff, aka: me on the online chat and messaging system) do not arrange consultations, and do not answer questions that are more in depth than what you would find in our farm tour or any videos that we have created. We will simply direct you back to those videos. Thank you for understanding and respecting this.
Friends and Fans, grab a healthy snack and let's take a farm tour! We hope you find it educational and entertaining. Thanks for hanging out with us for a bit!