Dear Growing to Give Community,

The leaves are turning, the sweet potatoes have been dug and winter squash harvested, cover crops have been sown, and we have already had four killing frosts! Needless to say, the seasonal shift into fall has been busy, and we’ve been missing the help of our energetic interns and our wonderful seasonal volunteers. We have donated over 16,000 pounds of produce already, and in addition to our cole crops (like kale, collards, and cabbage), we still have 5 plots of root vegetables, a plot of kohlrabi, a plot of beets, and two plots of lettuce left in the fields and tunnels! Along with the upcoming harvests and winter maintenance, we also have lots of weeding and heavy seasonal work like edging, hauling wood chips, and spreading compost. If you are looking for an invitation to come out and volunteer, this is it! We will be in need of more help well into November depending on how the season unfolds.
Look who has been coming to volunteer: Theda and Emily (and Hazel)!
September was a whirlwind of bustling school groups and battles with wildlife. With drought conditions, we’ve had deer jump the fence routinely for the first time ever in search of succulent greenery to munch. Flocks of turkeys and crows have made growing cover crops into an olympic event. They eat the seeds and the young shoots, and the turkeys in particular will shred the row cover to tiny ribbons. One morning, Martha, our Education Coordinator, came in and found three turkeys trapped inside one of the caterpillar tunnels! They’d torn right through the top of the row cover to get in to eat the sprouting peas and weren’t able to find their way out!
Left: row cover shredded by turkeys. Right: cover crop under tunnels.

Though we’ve had to sow and resow cover crops, have had some harrowing experiences, and have lost lots of expensive row cover, we have managed to establish cover crops almost everywhere we needed despite the battle. We’ve used lots of vetch and winter rye that will establish deep root systems to add much needed organic matter to the soil as well as a free mulch once we crimp it in the spring. We’ve also sown a pea and oat mix in several plots – the peas are treated with an inoculant (essentially powdered bacteria and/or fungal colonies) to help increase biological life in the soil. The peas and oats will be killed by the first heavy frosts but still add lots of life and some biomass to the soil. We also have lots of crimson clover that provides a lovely ground cover to protect the bare soil from exposure and maximize living roots throughout the fall. Crimson clover will also get killed in the winter, leaving bare soil for us to plant early in the spring or cover with a spring cover crop until the plot is needed later in the season. We tried planting a few plots of a very diverse cover crop mix, but we lost most of it to the early battles with the birds and at a certain point it was too late in the season to replant it and we had to change course. Next year, we will be trying out some flexible fencing to see if that helps keep the turkeys out at least.
Left: healthy annual rye cover crop. Right: pea/oat mix cover crop.
We had school-age groups almost every day in September thanks to the coordination and leadership of Martha, our Education Coordinator. The children brought with them so much laughter and enthusiasm! Collectively, they helped us harvest root vegetables including carrots, beets, turnips, and sweet potatoes; pulled out lots of spent summer plants; did SO much weeding; hauled and spread wood chips down many pathways; transplanted fall crops; and took down lots of t-posts from tomato and pea trellises. It’s a true joy to watch groups of kids working together to haul heavy carts across the farm, encouraging each other to keep going, or unearthing gleaming roots with amazement. Farming is hard work – rain or shine – and the kids never baulk at it. In fact, they seem to relish the opportunity to push their bodies and do something tangible. And there are always a few who wander off to pick bouquets of flowers, marvel at butterflies, or collect seeds. And that’s all part of what makes being on a farm so magical and meaningful. So a huge thank you to all the teachers and parents for sharing your kids with us. They work so hard and bring so much wonder with them. We are excited for the many school groups that will be helping us throughout October and November.

We’re also grateful to our corporate groups for coming out to lend a hand! This month, Colby Company Engineering came back to the farm and harvested an entire plot of sweet potatoes with just a few volunteers! They’d planted lettuce in that same tunnel at the beginning of the season, so it was a lovely full circle moment.
Some especially large sweet potatoes harvested by awesome Colby Company volunteers!
Throughout the season, we send produce to so many people and rarely get to see exactly where it ends up. I’m so grateful to Judy, one of our fabulous long-time gleaners, for taking these pictures of a few of the residents at Woodside who have been receiving our produce. It’s so nice to see the veggies, grown with so much love, in people’s kitchens ready to be enjoyed!
We are also so grateful for a wonderful visit from our friends at Veggies To Table, a fellow no-till food bank farm up in Newcastle. We visited them earlier in the season for a farm tour, to transplant flower seedlings with their team, and share lunch. This month, it was their turn to come visit us with their farm crew. We love connecting with other farmers and building community. Photos courtesy of Erica, Founder and Executive Director of Veggies To Table, because I forgot to take photos (thanks, Erica!)
Best wishes for a cozy autumn. We hope to see you on the farm before the season comes to a close.
With care,
Lindsay Wasko
Farm Director
P.S. We’re Hiring! Ellen Rodgers, our Managing Director, will be retiring in 2026 so we are now seeking an Executive Director as we transition to a new leadership structure. Please click HERE to see details of this exciting job opportunity and help us spread the word!
Upcoming Events:

Hedgerow Maintenance Event: Help us tame our hedgerows! Seasonal pruning, weeding, and wood chipping of our hedgerows. Wednesday, October 29th and Saturday November 1st. If it’s raining, we’ll pick another task. Click here and scroll down to find the date you’d like to sign up for.

Edging party: We have too much grass and are going to be edging and de-sodding large swathes! Please help! Bring power edgers and de-sodding tools if you have them. We do not have enough edgers to go around and will be renting a few tools. Please email us (volunteer@growingtogive.farm) if you have tools to lend. Dates: Tuesday November 4th and Wednesday Nov 5th. Click here and scroll down to find the date you’d like to sign up for.

Elderberry Workshop: Join us on Saturday, November 8th at 10AM for an informational workshop hosted by Abbie Sewall that will cover planting, growing, propagating, harvesting and processing elderberries into syrup for fortified winter immunity. Abbie’s favorite syrup recipes will also be shared. Abbie’s goal is to turn all of us into Maine elderberry growers! Please sign up by clicking here and scrolling down to November 8.

Abbie Sewall has grown elderberry trees since 2011. She owned and operated The Bailey Farm Organic Elderberry business for seven years, selling elderberry cuttings and plants, as well as organic elderberries and elderflowers for improved immune health.