When we last left our mobbing heros, we were preparing to descend on Andrew Crawford’s metalshop, home of his urban farm Atlanta Grown. And lands alive, did we ever make it count! Andrew was a complete champ in the organization category, so we split into teams and hit the ground running. By the end of the day we had installed and mostly planted 9 raised beds, additional compost bins, fenceposts (always hard work) and beehives along with clearing, mulching, and generally being rock stars. We were well rewarded by Chef Horgan who hooked us up with BBQ, salads, grill goodness, apple pie and even pineapple upside down cake cooked outdoors in a dutch oven covered in coals. It was definitely a mob for the record books, and timelapse video was taken! So soon we can see a solid day of mobbing condensed into a couple of minutes! Sure to be fun….

Now that we’ve helped out a farmer of fire and metal, our next farmer is one of ice – ice cream, that is! Jake – of Atlanta establishment Jake’s Ice Cream – has a one acre farm in College Park that’s looking for a little Crop Mob lovin’. Herbs, fruits and more from his farm are used in soaps and, of course, ice cream enjoyed by Atlantans across the city. We’ll be weeding, planting, installing fruit trees and more – followed by a delicious lunch prepared by Jake himself at the farm’s outdoor kitchen – and ice cream! It’s sure to be a great – and delicious – mob, so come visit us Sat. morning. at the farm, and bring your sweet tooth – and any shovels and clippers you might have. (Seriously, we need shovels.)

There are only 15 spots for this mob, so get yours now!

Click Here to Register

This year has been going along swimmingly for Crop Mob Atlanta, and we have some exciting stuff coming your way. First off, we visited Harvest Montessori last month to help install an edible playground, and it was a fantastic time. But aren’t you tired of hearing us wax on and on about what a great time we think Crop Mob is? We’d much prefer to hear y’all talk about it – so check out the account of our Harvest Montessori mob from a first-time (and hopefully repeat offender) mobber: http://asensiblehabit.com/2012/03/19/crop-mob-atlanta/. We also had a mini-mob visit mobber Lynn’s farm in Smyrna to help her get all squared away for the season and it went off without a hitch, thanks in large part to Lynn’s delicious cooking.

This month, we’ve got a pretty awesome mob in store. Atlanta artist, metalsmith, and all-around awesome dude, Andrew Crawford is turning the vacant space beside his studio into an urban farm. Pretty sweet, huh? And guess who he’s called to help. That’s right! So mark your calendars for April 21st for an in-town mob over on the Westside (just a stone’s throw from our pals Miller Union) where we’ll be clearing brush, mulching, building beds, repairing fences, building beehives, planting and much much more. We’ve even arranged a grill-off for your dining pleasure. It’s sure to be a fantastic time and will probably fill up fast, so snag your spot soon! And if you’ve got extra rakes, shovels, drills or wheelbarrows, bring em along!

There is very limited parking for this mob so please make sure to walk, bike, take public transit, or carpool there.

Can’t wait to see you there!

Click Here to Register!

And we’re off! We’ve already had three successful mobs in 2012 with more on the way. The small group that came out to Whippoorwill Hollow Farm in February had a fantastic time as always and our simultaneous March mobs at Patchwork City Farms & Decimal Place Farm were a terrific success. Patchwork City has some fantastic new raised beds to work with, and in future years Decimal Place will be full of fruits and berries planted by mobbers. (You can read more about our Decimal Place experience on their blog)

We have two small in-town mobs this month, so snag your registration quick!

Crop Mob at Harvest Montessori School

The first is on the 17th at Harvest Montessori School where we’ll be helping Frank from the nonprofit REAP establish an edible playground garden. We’ll be setting up the playground growing structures and preparing the soil to ready it for the children planting their very own garden. Come celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in a truly green fashion (and still have plenty of time for revelry later in the day). This mob is limited to 15.

Register for the Harvest Montessori Mob

Crop Mob at Aquifer Farm

The second is on March 31st at mobber Lynn’s Aquifer Farm building raised beds, planting, and helping prepare for a busy growing season. Come see how to make the most out of growing in a smaller (1/2 acre) space. You might even get inspired to start your own urban farm! This will be limited to 10 mobbers.

Register for the Aquifer Farm Mob

Photo credit: Amy Beaver

Oh, mobbing. Every year we say we’ll have a little space, take a little break before the growing season starts. But the truth is, we just can’t quit you. Try as we might, each new year brings a restored excitement for getting down and dirty. So we’re pleased to announce our first mob of 2012!

On February 11th, we’ll be doubling your mobbing pleasure (and doubling your mobbing fun) by offering TWO mobs for you to choose from! Crazy, huh? Our in-town mob will be at Patchwork City Farms installing fruit trees with the tree guru himself Robby Astrove from Trees Atlanta. Want to spend the morning in a more bucolic setting — or do you have a thing for goats? Join us at Decimal Place Farm to help clear fields and address some fence repairs, creek cleanup and some garden work.

Don’t want to wait until February? Our dear friend and great farmer Andy Byrd at Whipporwill Hollow Farms could use a few hands next Saturday to trim his blueberry and muscadine bushes. There will only be a few spots, so sign up today!

Click the link below to register for a mob

Whippoorwill Hollow Farms – 1/28

Patchwork City Farms – 2/11

Decimal Place Farm – 2/11

Well guys, we sure are excited to embark on a new year of helping Georgia’s agrarian movement and just digging in the dirt with friends. Your Mob Bosses are in planning mode, trying to pull together some fun mobs and exciting surprises for 2012. We’ve already got a few great places looking for our help, and we’re more than glad to help! We’ll send out an update soon with info on an upcoming Speakeasy as well as our first mobs of the year.

Our last mob was a wonderful success at Cumming Elementary School. We had the fortune to work with the school’s “green team” – kids, parents and teachers dedicated to maintaining the school’s very impressive sustainable garden. We all worked together to mulch paths and create row covers for the 25 raised beds tended by different classes so that students can grow throughout the school year. It was a real pleasure to be involved in a farm to school initiative where we worked side-by-side with the children. Anna Doll does a fantastic job making sure the children at Cumming Elementary receive a well-rounded education including a hands-on experience of the food they eat. We were also lucky enough to enjoy a delicious lunch provided by the unparalleled Megan McCarthy (http://www.healthyeating101.com/) with some tasty additions from the parents. All in all, it was a great mob to close out 2011.

Last weekend we had the good fortune to visit our pals Rebecca and Ross (and Crop Mob Superstar, Baby Josephine) at Many Fold Farm. And would could not have ordered a more gorgeous day! Despite the temperature swings of the past few months, we always seem to luck out with sunshine and perfect days for mobbing.

Usually, we all split up into several chores to get more tasks accomplished, but this time we had a big mamma of a task that we all pitched in on together: Crop Mob vs. Privet. Oh yes, Many Fold has some seriously awesome high-as-an-elephant’s-eye blueberry bushes that they’re trying to reclaim from the even bigger privet. We’re talking trees of privet. Seriously.

So we all got to work hacking and pruning and dragging and cursing that good-for-nothing (other than flower arrangements, decorative hedges and – as we discovered – stylish hairpieces) privet. It wasn’t without incident, though, as we accidentally roused the ire of a yellowjacket’s nest and they took no uncertain revenge for our disturbance. But MAN do we have some dedicated folks; a couple of ice packs and benedryls later, we were all still going strong.

I believe we had to make something in the neighborhood of 4-5 burn piles of all the privet we eradicated so as to avoid having an inferno pile. But you should have seen the difference!! That’s going to be one happy blueberry patch next spring…we might just have to have another mob to go and pick/eat them all!

After our work was done, we had some killer gumbo and fixins courtesy of the amazing Suzi Sheffield (you can check out her newest endeavor, Beautiful Briny Sea Salts on Facebook) as well as some mead and beer courtesy of Mike (keep up with his mead at Obec Medovina). It was a delightful time followed by a tour of the property. We were thrilled to see so many new faces and hope they become old friends and seasoned mobbers real soon.

Great job, guys. Crop Mob:1, Privet:0

View more photos

Alright folks, the day is finally upon us: the last mob of 2011 is on the horizon. After this, it’s a month or two of planning for how to make Crop Mob even awesomer (yup, said it) in 2012. And, of course, a Speakeasy somewhere along the way to keep our spirits high and ward off the winter chill with camaraderie and merriment. But, if you’re itching to get one more day of dirty fun in with your Crop Mob friends, come out to Cumming Elementary on Dec. 3rd.

Cumming Elementary has a fantastic garden they need our help winterizing. This would be a great mob to bring kids to, as it will be the school’s Dig In The Dirt Day with 75+ Green Team students and their families. Crop Mob will be joining them to lend a hand creating mini hoop house row covers for their 34 raised beds, cleaning up and winterizing as well as digging trenches for their irrigation system. That means bring along your shovels and battery-operated drills.

We love supporting a school doing so much to teach their children about growing food. So come show the Cumming Elementary families what Crop Mob is all about and sneak in one more day in the dirt before it’s fireplace and hot chocolate until 2012.

Can’t wait to see you there!

Click Here to Register

Photo credit: Huron Pines

We had a lovely crop mob this past weekend at Cedar Hill Enrichment Center; the group helped create passively aerated (read: don’t need turning) compost berms to help enrich the soil and reduce runoff. As we worked, we got to learn a few permaculture basics including how to use a water level to determine the shape of berms and swales — which are constructed, level mounds and ditches that redirect rainfall and help irrigate — and much more.

Everyone kept busy with tasks including pulling up spent plants, breaking down cardboard boxes, hauling woodchips & soil but the fun part was that all our separate projects were just different components of the berm. By the end of the day, we were all pitching in together on the same task and left with a pretty impressive berm constructed. Permaculture involves a lot of work upfront to reduce the amount of work needed over time, and we were glad to play a small part in helping Cedar Hill begin implementing these great practices. And, of course, we were well fed and felt fancy with cloth napkins and actual flatware. We look forward to continuing to work closely with Cedar Hill as they increase their focus on sustainable living skills.

Remember, one of our last mobs of the year is coming up this weekend at Manyfold Farm and we still have spots to fill. Rebecca and Ross know farming, sheep, cheese and much much more – all knowledge that I’m sure they will be happy to share. So enjoy a wonderful weekend getaway with friends before the real cold weather sets in – and before Crop Mob goes into planning mode for 2012. See you there!

Last weekend, we had a fantastic in-town Crop Mob at Coan Middle School and the Edgewood Community Garden. Our first cool, crisp mob, we were greeted by Almeta with hot coffee and delicious treats from Cafe Campesino; there’s no better way to start a day in the garden.

We quickly split into groups and tacked a variety or projects from mulching and digging trenches to harvesting the last of the green tomatoes & beans. Several groups cut up old vines, branches and plants to help them break down faster in the compost. Speaking of compost, we shifted the semi-finished goodness in the bins and spread the finished compost in the raised beds of the community garden. We also had the fun of putting new mulch bedding down for the super awesome chickens (who made lots of new friends that day.)

It was the perfect way to get to know folks, and it was great to see how many mobbers brought their kids. By the end of the day, the kids had all gathered for an impromptu game of jump rope using old drip tape and other goodies from the garden…talk about recycling! We even had some families join us from the neighborhood who just happened to be walking by. It was a pretty great community feeling.

After some hard work, we all got to hang out at picnic tables and enjoy an absolutely delicious meal together courtesy of Karen from Sweet Potato Cafe in Stone Mountain. All in all, it was a wonderful day with great people and it wouldn’t have been possible without the help of Kyla, Ashley and Leslie who work hard every day to ensure the availability of clean food in our schools and in neighborhoods like Edgewood. Coan’s doing some great work – be sure to stop by and check out our handiwork next time you’re over that way.

Don’t forget – we’ve still got spaces open for our Permaculture workshop at Cedar Hill Enrichment Center as well as our on-farm mob at Manyfold Farm. Check em out, tell your friends, sign up. We’ll see you there!

Check out the event photos on Facebook:

Crop Mob Atlanta
Patagonia Atlanta

Howdy mobbers. We’re sure you’ve all been spending plenty of time outdoors enjoying the amazing fall weather, and here are a few more opportunities. Come share the day with your mobber buddies and get some dirt under your nails while the crisp breezes blow. Followed, of course, by lots of food. Sounds pretty good, huh? We think so.

10/22 Family Mob @ Coan Middle School

Bring out the whole family for a day of middle school mobbing followed by a APS Farm to School rally. We’ll be doing all kinds of kid-friendly chores including creating pathways, mulching (relays anyone?), weeding and planting. There’s talk that the unparalleled chef David Sweeney might be whipping up some tasty creations for us. We’re even opening up more spaces for this mob so nobody gets left out. Bring your kids, bring your parents, bring a friend – just come on out for the fun!

Click Here to Register

11/5 Permaculture Gathering @ Cedar Hill Enrichment Center

You might have heard a lot about permaculture recently but still aren’t quite sure what it’s all about. Join us back at Cedar Hill to find out hands-on with an introduction to working with the contours of the land to hold moisture, soil and nutrients without large-scale, expensive earthworks.

Click Here to Register

11/13 Mobbing Manyfold

Some of you might have met Ross and Rebecca at our latest Burge mob (you know, the couple toting around the absolutely adorable and astoundingly well-behaved baby) and now it’s their turn! We’ll be heading to Manyfold Farm to help them get ready for winter by weeding and pruning their numerous blueberry bushes, weeding around the barn, some general maintenance tasks and helping build winter lambing jugs – little pens for lambing on pasture.

Click Here to Register

Related Events

There are also some great events coming up that we thought you would like. Check them out.

10/24 The Greenhorns Screening
10/29 Farm to Kitchen Urban Picnic and Launch Party
10/27 Atlanta Screening of “Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead”

Photo credit: seamark