We faced another week of cold, rainy, blustery wind this past week in Maine. Luckily the snow stayed in the mountains so we could plant cabbages, onions, lettuces and parsley here in Brunswick.
We started the week out with a group of high school students from the Maine Coast Waldorf School, they helped us get in some of the onions that were donated from the Cooperative Extension and their Harvest for Hunger program. I asked for 2,160 plants, enough to fill one of our plots. Through the generosity of fellow Master Gardener Volunteers, we received and planted over 4,200 onions this week. Onions are one of our most requested vegetables so the extra onion plants will be appreciated by many.
Next came a tornado of 3rd graders, again from the Waldorf School. After a visit with the goats, they received an introduction to the farm from Carrie. They will be coming twice a week during the month of May. On their first visit they planted cabbage and lettuce. They were good listeners and accomplished a lot.142 cabbages and 66 lettuce seedlings are now tucked into the ground. We look forward to their return.
It is now the halfway point for the Farm Skills Team. I now no longer consider them participants–they are part of our team. As they learn new skills and repeat others, they give us a big boost in accomplishing whatever needs to be done. We always try to incorporate a new demo or task on their day with us. When Jack was demonstrating how to make your own tools a few weeks ago, he talked about sandpaper wrapped around a piece of wood as a sharpening resource. Genevieve and I tried it out on several pairs of Dollar Store scissors, and she was able to bring them back to life!
On Saturday there were 25 of us! Some new volunteers, many from our regular Saturday power team, and a carload of our friends from Bowdoin College. At one point it seemed like organized chaos! One group went off to spread wood chips, others worked in the tunnel creating a trellis for one of our pea plantings, and the rest joined in planting 1,728 bunching onions, 200 lettuce seedlings, 80 parsley plants and finished off with lots of alyssum.
This week’s total is: 5,928 onions, 230 cabbages, 266 lettuces, 80 parsley, our companion plant alyssum and a sprinkling of dill. This was done by school groups, our regular and new volunteers, our intern Grady, the Skills Team, Carrie and me, and of course a little help from our dynamic duo Zoey and Woody who seem to get more breaks than the rest of us!
Another generous donation arrived this week. Jim and Teresa from The Woodshaper Shop of Maine delivered two beautiful white cedar benches from their shop in Dedham. The benches will provide a resting spot near the pollinator garden for rest and renewal, lively conversations or quiet contemplation. Right now they are under the roof of our new tool shed until the new area is ready. Come check them out and take a break, as many of us already have!
Another thank you is in order to our Fix-It Team. Now all our electric tools are off the ground, hung and secured.
Speaking of teams, it’s almost time for our next team to be ready for action. Here I am demonstrating the possible fashionable attire you may want to wear to be part of our mowing team! Any takers?
Even though I moaned about the Northerly Ice Cold Undercurrent (to quote a friend), so much was accomplished and Saturday ended our week with bright sunshine and temperatures warm enough that we could take off our winter coats and hats. Here’s to May and warm weather crops.
Always grateful to all of you,
Theda