Last week was onions and this week it was garlic. With the help of several volunteers we harvested 400 pounds of Music garlic. Music came out on top in a taste test we did several years ago, so we have been growing it ever since. This year we will put aside some for our 2021 ... Click to read more.
This week's headliner was onions and more onions! Lots of nice big white onions were sent out in all three gleanings this week. We literally packed Dalton's SUV with boxes to be delivered to MCHPP in Brunswick on Friday. Dalton is an intern from Bowdoin College working this summer with Merrymeeting Gleaners. He comes twice ... Click to read more.
This week we added celery to our mix. Cameron is modeling two large crisp and crunchy bunches. The celery we can grow in Maine is much stronger tasting than the grocery store brand. It's great in soups and salads. A little goes a long way. Cameron also took a great photo of a Yellow Monarch ... Click to read more.
The drought is definitely over and the vegetables are responding. The summer squash is looking healthy and happy in front of the greenhouse. Gleaners are harvesting the first of the summer squash in another area of the farm but this plot looks especially promising. We are currently harvesting eight different vegetables with several more ... Click to read more.
Our big news for the week was the comparison of poundage totals from 2019 and 2020. Last year at this point we had donated 700 pounds of fresh produce, and this year we have already donated 2,700 pounds! Part of the increase was the ability to get crops planted much earlier. The dramatic increase is ... Click to read more.
The heat just won't quit and with the lack of any rain we have to be diligent about getting enough water to all the locations in need. Everyone is hand watering, as well as John turning the irrigation on everyday after we all leave. Trying to get carrot and beet seeds to germinate and making ... Click to read more.
The big news of the week is that we have tripled our donation of food over this time last year. Last year we were at 571 pounds at this time. This year we've almost tripled that at 1,439 pounds! That's a lot of lettuce that was grown and gleaned along with the spinach, turnips, and ... Click to read more.
Weeds and watering were the top matters to attend to this week. With the irrigation up and running the weed seeds took full advantage of the perfect growing conditions. Our team of volunteers spent many hours in the carrot, beet, and onion beds. I think we are on top of it and will just need ... Click to read more.
Multiple gleanings this week resulted in 300 pounds of lettuce being sent out to our local food system. Boxes and individual bags for distribution are accompanied by a Growing to Give identification list. We came up with a checklist that explains what produce is being delivered and a simple explanation of how to store and ... Click to read more.
This past week was spent organizing the seedling sale. We learned a lot and appreciated all the support with the sale and with the purchasing of plants. With careful record-keeping, I think we can do an even better job next year. I hope everyone is successful with their planting and enjoy the benefits of growing ... Click to read more.
