Farm Report 4/17/23 - What's Shaking?

The power of the right tool is what’s shaking.

See the smile on Holly’s face? We love problem-solving and using parmesan cheese shakers for vermiculite is the perfect solution to apply just the right amount.

A little vermiculite on top of our soil blocks helps prevent them from drying out, and with the temperature hitting 80 this week, we could use that extra protection.

This week was the start of our farm skills training program. We welcomed three young women on Wednesday and put them right to work. Holly, Jess, and Sivi learned how to make soil blocks, plant seeds, transplant chard, and utilize row covers. Sivi is from the Congo and after seeing photos of her community garden plot, I think we will be learning a lot from her. She grows all of the culturally preferred foods we are trying out, and I think she can help us, especially in the timing of harvest.

On Saturday, the rest of the team arrived, and we repeated most of what we had taught Wednesday’s group. Everyone seemed happy and excited when they left.

Besides growing food, teaching someone how to grow food is the best. We look forward to seeing them all next week.

So much was happening this week! Gerard came to work on setting up the electricity for the seedling house.

The two replacement tunnels arrived.

The Fix-It Team gathered for the first time this year. We walked around and created a to-do list.

We discussed the “tunnel-raising”, set dates, a rain date, and strategy. We have team leaders in place and now will put out the call for 16 (hopefully!) volunteers each session. The dates are Saturday, May 13, Saturday, May 20, and rain date Saturday, May 27. The first date will be raising the structures; the second date will be skinning the tunnels (skinning as in covering, no animals will be harmed in this endeavor).

They also tackled a few of the smaller tasks on the list and conversed a lot.

My young friends, Sorrel and Silvo, brought their grandparents over, and we started transplanting our greenhouse bound tomatoes into the paper pots we made in March. So far so good! It was a great team effort, and Silvo explained to us that he was very good at talking and using his hands at the same time! A very strong work ethic in that 5-year-old!

With the help of lots of our other volunteers, we have 10 crops in the ground. Three more plots are ready and waiting for cabbages, onions, and carrots. They are also very good at talking and using their hands at the same time.