Okra Never Quits and Neither Should You!

I wish everything was as quick as the winter crops. The peas are in the lead right now for the race to the sky. They really took off! To be fair though, they will be some of the tallest plants in the garden so proportionately they are probably about the same growth stage as the other, little crops. I planted some Early Alaska peas (which I had never heard of before), and some Sugar Snap (which I have definitely heard of and really enjoy). I’m excited to see how everything turns out.

This past Monday we did pick two more full boxes of okra from the small plants that we cut down earlier in the season. I can’t get them to stop. We chopped them all the way down to the ground, took away their plastic mulch, cut off their water supply, and they are still insisting on producing okra! As I said in the last post, they are probably less than one-foot-tall and producing okra. It looks so silly. They look like tiny little shrubs on the ground with long pods sticking out of them.

Speaking of never quitting, our parent company, the Baucom Group, is bringing in a motivational speaker from Canada to talk to everyone and get them fired up for the new year and all of our customers and affiliates are invited! That means you, our loyal readers! The speaker is a man who grew up on a family farm and spent his life working on his farm, traveling the world, running marathons, and working with people. Oh, and he was born without any arms or legs.

His name is Chris Koch. Here is his bio from his website:

I was born in Lethbridge, Alberta and raised in the small farming and ranching community of Nanton, Alberta. It was clearly established early on in my life that I would not be raised with pity or sympathy. My family could have treated my disability like a total tragedy but instead chose to take it all in stride and make the best of the situation. After all, I still had a good head on my shoulders… and with that, anything is possible.

“Every day might not be great, but there is something great in every day.” –Chris Koch

I absolutely love sharing my story and spreading my message of, “If I Can…”

My life has been a fun ride with a lot of laughs and I make sure that my presentation reflects that. I have not let limitations or obstacles in my life stand in the way of achieving my goals and dreams and I encourage others to do the same. Furthermore, I am constantly setting new goals for myself and I think it’s important for everyone to always be challenging themselves as well.

Simply put, if I can do the things I have done so far in my life, what is stopping anyone else from doing the same?

I have never seen him in person but I have watched some of his videos on his website ifican.ca. Check it out if you have some time and please come see him in person at our event!

Chris will be speaking at the Union County Ag Center (3230 Presson Rd., Monroe NC) on Tuesday, November 14th (2017) at 7pm. Make sure you bring the whole family! It will be a great show.

Thank you for being such great and loyal friends of Piedmont Produce and the Baucom Group. I hope to see you at the event!