What’s all the buzz about?

What would you think the volunteers are most excited about on the farm so far this growing season?

Could it be that we have already donated almost 400 heads of delicious organic lettuce?

Or maybe it was Bob dropping off an early Christmas gift that made the interns smile?

Everyone is commenting about our new shed door and the colors we have chosen for the buildings. Could that be it? No, that doesn’t even come close.

Our gleaners are coming three days a week now, helping us donate hundreds of pounds of assorted greens, radishes, cabbages, turnips, and herbs. This is what we do, so nothing new here.

 I personally can’t stop talking about our incredible crops of Swiss chard, spinach, and beets. Again, not newsworthy. But wait, maybe it’s how great the tomatoes look or our Long Pie pumpkins with a ring of radishes around them. Are you getting tired of this guessing game?

 

Okay, the big reveal is: writing the numbers on the front of the tunnels! 

Yes, that seems to delight everyone! It’s the simple things in life, I guess.

On to other news from the farm.

Our boot/shoe brush is up, and we are asking everyone to use it before coming onto the farm. Cathy McDonald helped me figure out what was the best (for now) method to prevent invasive jumping worms from finding their way into our soil. Bob created a stand to hold it in place while scraping the bottoms of your footwear of any possible worm eggs while maintaining your balance.

So many volunteers help us with all these different aspects of keeping the farm running smoothly and efficiently. This is a good example of me asking others to help on subjects about which I am clueless. Here is a photo of David and Barbara trying it out.

Employees from Stantec, a sustainable architecture, engineering, and environmental consulting firm in Topsham, came and helped us put shade cloths on two tunnels before the record setting-heat dome enveloped us. They also planted some beans and did some light weeding. More of their team will come to volunteer with us next week. We so appreciate these teams who arrive and give us that push we often need.

We also had three artists from Spindleworks in Brunswick arrive for a farm tour. They were touring the farm for inspiration for their next paintings. We hope to showcase some of their work at our Farmyard Jam on July 20th. They were very enthusiastic about the farm and the goats, and the spinach we tasted together.

We still have plants going in the ground. Justin and Josie were braving the heat while planting sweet potato slips. The team leaders from Apogee helped get another plot of squash in the ground and on its way. Another nice push from many hands.

Thanks to my Saturday regulars, we “took back” the Rimol greenhouse from a weed invasion. This was full of spring lettuces and scallions. Next it will be a late July planting of carrots. I have always wanted to get in a crop of early winter carrots, but the timing was never right. I am hoping this will be the year to extend our season even further into the shoulder seasons of November and December.

Our Summer Pastels Yarrow is taking off, and we are hoping to continue our donations with hospice nurses later this week. These are Genevieve’s flower gardens, and it’s nice to see them thriving.

Closing out this week’s farm report, I need to thank everyone who came in spite of that intense heat. I should have taken a photo of all of our red faces with cool cloths over our heads. I was truly surprised and grateful for the help.

 

Always grateful,

Theda