News from the Farm, Monday July 20th

Julie and Jack miss Leo. A lot. So does the rest of the crew. He’s only been gone for a week but he is being remembered fondly – Shawnee called him an “old soul”. Upon arriving in France he sent a lovely message saying that the time he spent at the farm was “probably the most important three months of his life so far”.

It was a short-handed week at the farm. In addition to Leo’s departure, Simon left us this week (he decided that the farm was not for him) and Jerod fell ill after a tick bite (we’re hoping to see him again when he feels better). Julie says that she feels it most at the edges of the day, when there’s animals to look after and watering to be done but the main crew hasn’t yet arrived, or has left for the day – it means that she essentially ends up being on 24/7. Hopes are high that another excellent WWOOFer will come our way – a new candidate, Isaac, is being interviewed soon. If you know any folks interested in volunteering and living here at the farm, we’d love help making a connection with them!

In the vegetable fields, the conditions have been ideal for growing – heat, rain, heat, rain – and the crew has been packing in the planting. A few beds of carrots that germinated poorly (as they tend to do) were replanted. Rutabagas and turnips have been put in. This week the tarp was removed from the new growing area (and former hay field), and the 16 new beds were planted with crops for fall shares and winter storage. Soon, the peas will come out and a new round of cucumbers will take their place. Garlic will come out soon, too, to be replaced by summer squash.

The NOFA summer conference started Monday – and it’s not too late to sign up. Included in the lineup of presenters are Julie and Jack, who will lead a workshop on “Soil Carbon: Raising More, Better Food while Easing Climate Stress” on July 27th. Check out the workshop timing, view the rest of the workshop lineup, and register here: https://nofasummerconference.org/