We have volunteers who help us in so many ways, but these two go above and beyond. Doug and Judy are the only 2 members of our mowing team. They come every week, and Doug comes multiple times. Judy rides the Big Yellow mower around and around the farm helping us to control all the grass. Doug not only rides the mower, he weed whacks and uses the push mower in areas where the Big Yellow mower can’t operate. There is NO WAY Carrie and I could keep up with all this mowing. We appreciate them so much and continually are grateful for their help. If anyone has someone in their life that likes to mow, please send them our way. We try to help when we can, but our focus is still getting seedlings in the ground, planting seeds, harvesting, weeding…..etc. I think you get the picture.

 

This week we added cabbage, Swiss chard, scallions, and sugar snap peas to our list of veggies that we are donating. We have 8 types right now, including rhubarb, 3 types of herbs, and Hakurei turnips. We are feeling good about the variety that is now being harvested. We have sent out 1,600 pounds of vegetables so far this Spring. That’s a lot of (you know) lettuce. 🙂

 

Nancy volunteers every time she comes to visit her daughters here in Maine. This week she helped harvest herbs to be sent out with the Friday gleaning. It’s pretty special for us to be part of her “vacation”. Thank you, Nancy.

CARROTS! It was time to get the carrots planted and with the help of our dedicated interns, Claire, Annie, and Sophia, 400 feet of beds were prepared. Here is Sophia using the EarthWay seeder to plant 1,600 feet of this root crop. The plan is to get one more plot planted in late July for a December carrot harvest. This would require tunnel 5 to be moved over plot 6 and then tunnel 9 has to be moved for tunnel 6 not to be side-by-side with tunnel 9. With the help of the Fix-it Team I hope we can accomplish this move. If this numbering system is confusing to you, stop over! We will give you a tour and put you to work!

Our flowers are starting to bloom in our major flower garden. I asked Diane to create a test bouquet. We will be open soon for picking. Will keep you posted!

The farm is a perfect place for plein air painting. We took advantage of the perfect weather to do some ourselves. Carrie was using her artistic painting talent to create a sign for our upcoming event, while the other “painters” on our team sealed the floor of the new tool shed. I just took photos of them doing all the work!

The Saturday team was 12 strong this weekend, which allowed us to accomplish so much! I think everyone who comes has a full time job, and then volunteers with us. This Saturday they planted 200 feet of Jack-O-lantern pumpkins and 200 feet of Kabocha (Winter Sweet) squash. The cut-off date for planting winter squash is the end of June, which means we only have two weeks left to get plants in the ground. The Kabocha squash is a replacement squash for my all- time favorite Robin’s Koginut.  Apparently a natural food chain uses Robin’s Koginut on their menu so the seeds for us mortals are now unavailable–another reason to learn more about saving our own seeds.

Other happenings this week–we received a donation of organic compost from our friends at Garbage to Garden. Growing to Give is listed as a volunteer opportunity on their website, and we do get lots of help from these dedicated composters. Anyone who can’t personally use their annual bag of compost can donate it, and we were lucky enough to receive some of those donations.

An update on Sandy, the now somewhat unwanted volunteer–we might have to change her name to Jack, as in Jack and the Beanstalk. She is growing so fast and is trying to push up and out of the greenhouse. Everyone asks what we are feeding her. She is only flourishing on the microbial activity already available in our soil. I hope this is an indicator of the health of our soil and what’s to come later when we get to plant in this greenhouse.

My week ended with Adelle and Claire stringing up tomato plants. The temperature on Saturday was chilly, but the smells coming off those tomato leaves was such a summer smell. There’s always something to look forward to.

Many thanks to all who help make this happen.

– Theda