Writings Archives - Bunkhouse Acres

Look Beyond These United States For Pictures Of Blackness

As a black woman educated outside of the great land expanse known…

Feeding Terrible People

“Love is willing the good of the other as other.”St. Thomas Aquinas…

H-2A Exploitation in 2020

Consider the people whose sweat and tears have washed your plump, red…

bunkhouseacres

I got several varieties of spring wheat to try fro

I got several varieties of spring wheat to try from @wsu_bread_lab and managed to convince friends to come out and help me plant potatoes, horseradish and some of the wheat. It’ll be interesting to see how each does and which flavors speak most strongly to me. It would be a huge accomplishment to be able to grow and mill all my own wheat so this first planting is momentous.

I’m up-potting some nightshades tomorrow and Thu

I’m up-potting some nightshades tomorrow and Thursday. If you’re a available and would like to help in exchange for a few seedlings, let me know. #pottingparty #tomatoes #peppers

Garlic scapes are one of my top three favorite veg

Garlic scapes are one of my top three favorite vegetables, alongside eggplant and fennel. Stiff-necked or hardneck varieties send up flower buds in an attempt to produce seedheads. Smart gardeners will cut these once they begin to curl so that the plant can devote its energy to producing a big bulb. More ingenious gardeners will roast, steam, sauté or make pesto with the delicious scapes. Here is a complete list of what’s growing in my garlic field.

Duganski
Blanak
California Early
Chet’s Italian
Red Toch
Montana Zemo
Thai Purple
Carpathian
German White Stiffneck
Chesnok Red
Music
Penasco Blue
Sonoran Burque
Romanian Red
Armenian
Georgia Cristal
Georgia Fire
Montana Giant
Elephant
Doukabour Marble
Metechi
Nootka Rose
German Red
Silver Rose
Italian Purple
Paradise Red
Giant German

#HardneckGarlic #GarlicFarmer #blackwomanfarmer #blackfarmer #blackfarmers #supportsmallbusiness #supportblackbusiness #donate #foodsovereignty #agribiodiversity #biodiversity #immigrantsmakeamericagreat #foodjustice #fundraiser #blacklivesmatter #blackfoodjustice #decolonization #shareblackstories #bipocfarmer #supportwomeninbusiness #pnwfarmer #washingtonfarmer #farmingwhileblack #farmher #tractor #blackhistory #softneckgarlic

Tis the last crocus, bummer. -Thomas Moore via Flo

Tis the last crocus, bummer. -Thomas Moore via Flotow

The paparazzi won’t let me be great. I’m seedi

The paparazzi won’t let me be great. I’m seeding some peas from @row7seeds with my new Jang TD-1 seeder. I’m pretty sure I said the wrong model but hey, this is my first time using it and I didn’t expect to be on camera.

I’m still learning how to be most productive wit

I’m still learning how to be most productive with the tractor, but the work is coming along nicely. The little patch in the last photo wasn’t planted in the fall because I couldn’t till in a straight line. 😂 Anyway, that’ll change soon.

A little known fact on this day is that the Origin

A little known fact on this day is that the Original ‘April Fool’s Day’ and the proceeding ones for many years after, was not observed in April at all but in October – named, as it was, not after a month but after a man – Jonathan April. An impulsive but not terribly bright man, between 1845 and 1867, April started a number of businesses, each of which was doomed to cataclysmic failure effectively depleting what had been a substantial inheritance. The phrase ‘a fool and his money are soon parted’ was often applied to him. In fact, the only venture in which April found a modicum of success is that he is one of the earliest purveyors of ‘fake news’. He would write these ridiculous fake histories of fake people on Facebook, and people would believe it. @millerkei

Today was the target date to hit 100% on GoFundMe

Today was the target date to hit 100% on GoFundMe but we haven’t made it. Of course, the campaign will continue until we hit that magic number so please continue to share relentlessly and give generously. I’ve done almost impossible things with your help, and I’m just getting started.

I like to think of my farming as an eternal #rehab

I like to think of my farming as an eternal #rehab for the land. Swipe for a glimpse of the journey of the half acre that’s currently planted. I can’t wait to see what this spot will look like in a few short months when the garlic sends up scapes and the inter-planted strawberries start to ripen. #JunkyardToFarmyard

Today we honor the International Transgender Day o

Today we honor the International Transgender Day of Visibility. I would like to lift up the people who are living openly and authentically and those who are unable to do so, for whatever reason. I recognize the LGBTQIA community of my homeland Jamaica and other countries that still uphold oppressive colonial laws and legacies. I am thankful for the trans people who are demanding to be seen, who are on the front lines of a fight for a more equitable and just future, for all of us and all our children.

Grays Harbor’s first black woman-led CSA is sold

Grays Harbor’s first black woman-led CSA is sold out!!! We’re hard at work ensuring the fifty families that subscribed will have the freshest, widest variety of nutrient-dense produce that western Washington has to offer. If you missed out, we will have veggies available each week, à la carte. I’m very grateful for your trust and generosity. Happy Tuesday!
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#blackwomanfarmer #blackfarmer #blackfarmers #supportsmallbusiness #supportblackbusiness #donate #foodsovereignty #agribiodiversity #biodiversity #immigrantsmakeamericagreat #foodjustice #fundraiser #blacklivesmatter #blackfoodjustice #decolonization #shareblackstories #bipocfarmer #supportwomeninbusiness #pnwfarmer #washingtonfarmer #farmingwhileblack #farmher #seedlings #cabbage #artichoke #cardoon #greenhouse #csa #communitysupportedagriculture

In my last reel, I attempted to inspire introspect

In my last reel, I attempted to inspire introspection on the part of those who posted black squares on June 2, 2020. Of course, it attracted comments from some of the worst, most overtly racist humans who didn’t even realize the post wasn’t geared at them. So many folks have their heads in the sand, willfully refusing to acknowledge the realities of those who don’t look like them. I’m sick and tired of white people weaving fallacies in an effort to not acknowledge their privilege and their part in the sustained oppression of BIPOC folks. You didn’t come up with racism. You don’t need to get defensive. You do need to acknowledge it, though, in order to fix it.

It’s cucurbit seeding day but these bitter melon

It’s cucurbit seeding day but these bitter melon seeds are giving me earrings and pendant vibes. What do you think, jewelers? Swipe right for a closer look. Side note: It’s supposed to hit 27°F tonight but we have a greenhouse and frost covers! Hooray for generous strangers over the internet! Side side note: we hit $60,000 yesterday so we have less than $15,000 to go!

Apparently it’s National Ag Day. I was busy plan

Apparently it’s National Ag Day. I was busy planting seeds so I’m now just seeing all the farming quotes from racist founding fathers and delusions of American farms being idylls where everyone is content. Today is a great day for you to read my blog post “H-2A Exploitation in 2020”, and for me to make the below statements again.

1. As a proud farm owner, I am standing in the legacy of the four generations of my family that provided migrant labor on this American landmass, whose hands have tilled a hard ground while battling the unease of cultural dislocation and displacement. I hope that my work can help other subjugated people come to voice and inspire the privileged to redistribute their wealth and use their voice to fight for equity.

2. Were you unaware that black Caribbean migrants are a source of farm labor in the United States? It started in the 1940s with Franklin Roosevelt’s British West India guest-worker program that hugely subsidized sugar growers in the south. The myth spread that Caribbean migrants were particularly suited to cutting cane because of some innate skill but these men (like my grandfather, father, brothers) did as they were told and excelled at this job because the threat of deportation loomed over them. They were here to do one job and if their boss wasn’t satisfied, they would be instantly deported. Americans continue to eat at the expense of black and brown bodies that exist on a spectrum between slavery and freedom, bodies that migrate northward year after year because for their survival, they have to. Familiarize yourself with this subject by reading the book No Man’s Land: Jamaican Guestworkers in America and the Global History of Deportable Labor by Cindy Hahamovitch and watching the H-2 Worker documentary. #nationalagday #nationalagweek

“Matlock woman” is how The Olympian referred t

“Matlock woman” is how The Olympian referred to me and I love it! Read the article at the link in my bio. Thank you for continuing to share and donate.

We planted some dormant leeks today and I’m pret

We planted some dormant leeks today and I’m pretty sure Allen named all 120 of them. I dubbed the largest one King Richard because that’s the variety. Sexist, I know.

My grand-aunt Miss Lynn died this year. She (smili

My grand-aunt Miss Lynn died this year. She (smiling lady holding hat on the left) is pictured here in the family’s burial plot during a tombing match for Miss Ida, my great-grandmother who lived on and farmed the several acres surrounding this site. Miss Lynn herself grew food there on 1/4 acre before moving to New York in the 80s. My uncle Creation lived in the tiny green house in the background. Miss Lynn was a very generous woman who always had something to give everyone she encountered. My mother remembers her as someone who insisted on staying connected with her during the years she faced isolation and domestic violence at the hand of my father. Miss Lynn baked the best and largest potato pudding (pone) that could be shared among everyone Over Road. My mother is standing by Miss Ida’s grave in the second photo. Miss Lynn’s siblings all left their children to be raised by Miss Ida during the Windrush era while they pursued a better life in England but Miss Lynn insisted she would not leave her children until they were capable of surviving on their own. These incredibly strong women will never be forgotten.
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#blackwomanfarmer #blackfarmer #blackfarmers #supportsmallbusiness #supportblackbusiness #donate #foodsovereignty #agribiodiversity #biodiversity #immigrantsmakeamericagreat #foodjustice #fundraiser #blacklivesmatter #blackfoodjustice #decolonization #shareblackstories #bipocfarmer #supportwomeninbusiness #pnwfarmer #washingtonfarmer #farmingwhileblack #farmher #legacy

In order to hit the goal by the end of the month,

In order to hit the goal by the end of the month, we need to raise close to $2,000 per day, or receive an average gift of less than $2 per follower. With the money raised so far, I’ve bought the tractor, a huge high tunnel and lots of other supplies. Additional funds needed for a delivery van and irrigation supplies. Even if you can’t donate, please continue to share every day until we hit 100%. Happy Friday!

The COVID vaccine became available to agricultural

The COVID vaccine became available to agricultural workers yesterday so I got my first dose of the Pfizer. So far so good, just a little tenderness around the injection site. What does that have to do with chicks and watermelon? Everything. But you’re not ready for this conversation. 😂

Instagram’s analytics show that I’ve lost 400

Instagram’s analytics show that I’ve lost 400 followers in a couple of days. It’s a good thing I’m in this for the love of it, and not for likes. I am not your kumbaya black friend. I will highlight your misdeeds, especially when they happen at the expense of my own peace. I might be asking for financial support but I will never let you lord money over me. I’d rather starve to death than genuflect to white supremacy. I have no children but not giving a shit about you and your feelings will be my proud legacy (in addition to busting my ass restoring mismanaged land into a food oasis). Now, who’s available to help me with some tractor work this weekend?
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#blackwomanfarmer #blackfarmer #blackfarmers #supportsmallbusiness #supportblackbusiness #donate #foodsovereignty #agribiodiversity #biodiversity #immigrantsmakeamericagreat #foodjustice #fundraiser #blacklivesmatter #blackfoodjustice #decolonization #shareblackstories #bipocfarmer #supportwomeninbusiness #pnwfarmer #washingtonfarmer #farmingwhileblack #farmher #chingona

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