Farm Report 9/19/23 – Darn hurricane/tropical storm/Nor’Easter Lee
Or whatever that was. Fortunately it was not a hurricane, but unfortunately it caused our FarmYard Jam to be canceled. Thanks to all who were planning to attend as well as to those who turned their refunded tickets into donations or bought raffle tickets. So many people had been working hard to make this our best event yet, so it’s a huge disappointment for the entire G2G team. We will be extending ticket sales for the Grand Bucket Raffle. Winners will be drawn at our volunteer appreciation event on October 15th. If treating yourself to a luxurious overnight or a week in the mountains sounds appealing or maybe a cozy quilt to wrap up in, click HERE to see the great prizes and buy tickets. Thanks for all the ongoing support.
Okay, we did have some farm fun this week.
On Monday, the Waldorf 3rd graders helped us dig and wash carrots, then they moved on to picking green beans.
Remember the trouble we were having with crows and our Long Pie pumpkins? Well, now the voles have moved in to continue the destruction. Or was it these hungry 4th grade children from the Waldorf school? They were a great help harvesting the pumpkins, clearing the vines, and weighing the biggest one!
They also shelled some of our Hidatsa Red heirloom beans. These beans were part of Neena’s Three Sisters garden project. We will see if we can donate these to Amelia, Food Sovereignty Coordinator, for next year’s gardens. Many of these heirloom seeds are expensive. Building up a stockpile to really make a difference may take a year or two.
Another issue we are having is with our winter squash. Some type of squash stem borer is burrowing into the squash cavity, which then allows gnats and insects to invade and rot out the squash. Apparently this can wipe out an entire crop in a particularly bad year. We are racing to save what we can. I am reading that butternut squash is a more resistant variety to these stem borers.
The folks from the Telling Room staff retreat came down to the farm to take a break and donate some time. I put them in the cucumber tunnel to rip down and cart away all the spent vines. They told me they liked demolition work!
Later Carol, Monique, and Denise weeded the edges of this tunnel and tarped it. We hope with this week’s warm weather those weeds will die off quickly for a last minute Daikon radish planting.
Carol and BJ attacked the tomato tunnel–picking what was left, taking down the plants, and separating out the string. I went up to tell them their two-hour volunteer shift was up, but they were determined to finish. Thanks, you two!
On Friday, Peg was our only gleaner! She had already brought her husband Randy and some of their family from Minnesota to glean on Wednesday. They helped dig and clean over 45# of carrots. Gleaning takes priority, so we all tried to help. Barbara and Diane found a lot of joy hunting for eggplants, and I always love picking these colorful hot peppers.
Friday was also time to batten down the hatches all around the farm. They were predicting high winds all day Saturday, so we closed everything up.
Friday was also the day that volunteers from Colby Co. Engineering came to take Amanda’s yoga class, help the Fix-It Team re-skin a damaged grow tunnel, and share a potluck lunch. The tunnel gets a two thumbs up from our Fixers. The lunch wasn’t too shabby either. We shared our last watermelon with everyone, including Hazel who tried it, and enjoyed it as her first taste of real food! Everyone helped with saving their seeds to store and plant next year’s crop.
I asked Christine to pose with her bucket of flowers, so I could remind everyone we have lots for bouquet making, and this is when the dahlias are at their best! Lee did not take our flowers down!
We do seem to be in need of some gleaning help on Wednesdays and Fridays. If you have a couple of hours to donate, this week’s weather looks exceptionally nice.
I wish we did not have to cancel the Jam. I’m not sure how we will generate the lost income, though I do feel confident that our strong community believing in our mission will help us through.
Always grateful,
Theda