I have been telling everyone that this was our last week of volunteering at the farm for 2021. On Saturday we finished up the To Do list on the white board and got 2.5 tunnels ready for next year’s spinach and lettuce seedlings. That’s 1,500 square feet of planting space which could take on 4,000 spinach seedlings or 1,500 lettuce seedlings next Spring! Does this seem daunting to Carrie and me? Not really, we have such amazing support from all of our volunteers, and as we said our goodbyes this past week the question I was asked by EVERYONE was “when do you start up again?”
We have created such a powerful community at G2G. A community that feels strongly about our mission to feed people healthy, nutrient dense, organic vegetables. A community goes above and beyond that mission by also supporting and checking in on each other, a community that genuinely cares about one another.
We are so lucky to be located at Scatter Good Farm, a remarkably beautiful space that makes people feel comfortable and welcomed. This is due to the generosity of John and Patty, who own this space and share it with all of us. Volunteers come to work at the farm and a lot of the time it is tough physical work but most leave with a sense of peace and fulfillment. Thank you, John and Patty, for all your hard work and your vision that helped us become the organization we are today.
We also held our second annual Elderberry workshop last Saturday. It was held outside in the warm sunshine and was a big success for those attending and presenting. Looks like it will continue to be an annual event!
Our last gleaning was this Monday 11/15/21. We are still sending out greens and salad turnips with our hardy gleaners. According to my notes we had 79 gleanings in 2021. An early December harvest could be a possibility; it’s weather dependent.
Next year we will face new challenges on the farm. I hope that a Winter of reenergizing, reading up on the best growing practices, and regrouping will enable us to face these challenges with humor and help from all of you!
A special thanks to Carrie and Cathy who give me so much support – technical and moral. Thanks to last year’s interns and WOOFERS, many who are now part of our G2G family. Thank you to the Saturday volunteers who are always eager and ready even after a long week of working and the weekday volunteers who help us accomplish so many tasks. Thank you to James Fagan and his endless supply of wood chips. We are so appreciative of all of our gleaners, some of whom come and volunteer too! Our gleaners are so generous with their time, harvesting and delivering in all kinds of weather. Some even bake for us (thank you Judy). Many have come in response to a spur-of-the moment call to help us with an extra large harvest of perishable food. The Fix-It team was a great idea that John created and now will be helping Carrie and I directly. I hope all of you on the Fix-It team will not be discouraged by my total inability to fix anything! Christine Sloan brought us boxes every week and delivered flower bouquets to boost our donations. Jeff Newall went to Whole Foods and filled his truck with organic boxes for us to use. The board, Patty, and John work countless hours behind the scenes helping to make all of it run smoothly and move forward. These are just some of the acts of kindness and generosity that happen at G2G.
As the days shorten and the growing season comes to an end we can all be proud of what we accomplished and look forward to what 2022 will bring.
I wish all of you a healthy happy winter! See you next Spring.
Thanks to all of you,
~Theda