If a picture is worth a thousand words. I think Carrie’s beautiful Monday morning shot of this sunflower says it all.
Poor Genevieve! She told me she could not feel her fingertips on Monday. The team still sent out almost 200 pounds of 14 different varieties of vegetables and herbs. Thanks, everyone, for bundling up to face the cold and sending fresh food to 5 different locations in our community.
I had help on Tuesday morning from Katie and Wendi. We started to deal with what the hard frost had damaged–mostly the tender flower annuals and outside peppers. We had the pleasure of being too warm in the bright sunshine! Again, sorry Genevieve! Katie was trying to figure out how to tackle this massive grass called Frosted Explosion. I would say it lived up to its name this growing season.
On Tuesday afternoon, we had a fun group of 9 high schoolers from the Maine Coast Waldorf School. We appreciate all the support we get from the Waldorf students and teachers. They always get so much accomplished. This group was exceptional in tackling the projects on my list. Harvesting and cleaning bushels of carrots for the Wednesday gleaning was one project. Carrots are always fun to dig up, like buried treasures, everyone was trying to find the biggest one. Luckily they had time to wash them, take the tops off, and pack them up for Wednesday’s deliveries. Enough time for one more task–taking down the cucumber vines and harvesting the rest of the cucumbers in the Rimol greenhouse.
As I explained why I think we didn’t have many bug issues this year or why a wild carrot (Queen Anne’s Lace) is not a plant we want to encourage on our farm, one of the teachers kept calling out “SCIENCE PROJECT!” Maybe we will inspire some student science projects this Fall?
So glad we had those carrots, cucumbers, and the rest of the peppers ready for the gleaners on Wednesday because it started raining, and we all got wet and cold! What happened to the rain hugging the coast forecast? The gleaners took most of what we have for leeks out in the field, and the rest came out of the tunnels where it was nice and dry. It’s amazing to me that we still have some fairly nice tomatoes growing in our unheated tunnels.
Friday was absolutely gorgeous! The maple trees at the farm were on fire. Everyone was stopping at the top of the driveway to take it in. While Vera helped Carrie and her mom save seeds for next year, the Fix-It Team was busy. We had put a call out for extra help to prep the tan shed for relocation. We had it all cleared out so they could pull up the flooring, the tarp, and pull out the anchors. Meanwhile, Vera was using her broomcorn swag to help us by cleaning up the tool shed. The tan shed was quickly settled on its new foundation, and the shelving was put back in place. We have now started to organize and sort through the contents for better accessibility.
Since so many volunteers answered our call for help, we had extra hands who went out to finish off some plots and top with compost.
Then Harpswell Coastal Academy arrived to volunteer and observe our methods for application at their school gardens. Carrie has been working with them and has gone to their campus to see what their needs are. They jumped in and removed all the shell bean plants that the frost took out.
It is so satisfying to plan a project and finish it without the normal run to the hardware store, right? The volunteers who worked on this project talked it out ahead of time. Bob brought all the right tools, and then they worked it out and got it done. Many thanks to all of you for being such an integral part of our volunteer team and taking on so many projects big and small and with such success. We would give you a FIVE STAR rating on Angie’s list!
Saturday we did some lasagna layering on a very weedy former carrot plot. This consists of layers of chopped leaves, cardboard, straw, and then row cover to hold it all in place over the winter. The worms will work their magic, and tomato or pepper seedlings will be directly planted into this lovely “dish” next spring.
Tori surprised us later on Saturday afternoon and helped Genevieve and me start to dismantle some more flower beds. I insisted she go pick a bouquet to take with her, and she found all these lovely flowers still blooming.
Everyone keeps asking how much longer we will be working. I know we will be going through October and maybe into early November. I am leaving tunnel work for when the ground begins to freeze or we finish up outside. As the gleanings finish up with the cold hardy vegetables and the maturing squashes and sweet potatoes this week, we will take a break until the tunnel of spinach and the plot of Napa cabbages are ready. Fingers crossed that the cabbages will mature. November 5th to February 5th is the end of any growth here in Maine. The harvest date for these is mid October, but they are growing so slowly! 🙁
Another productive, beautiful week at the farm. How lucky are we to be able to gather at such a magical place to work, laugh, and support each other?
Thanks to all our volunteers who came to support us on Friday. You came to help with the moving of the shed and ended up moving compost! I appreciate your flexibility and enthusiasm.
Theda