March 29, 2021
Dear Friends and Customers of Many Hands Organic Farm,
What a phenomenal week on the farm. Led by beautiful weather every day and all sorts of new folks – Naomi, Leslie’s sister, Kym’s high school sister, and Jose, who is here temporarily living in our woods – I finished each day in the wonderment of how fun it can be to farm with friends, lots of them.
The home orchard is done – pruned and mulched, and we are making great progress in the pond orchard with hopes of having all fruit trees pruned and mulched by week’s end. We replaced all the tarps on Monday and they made it through all the way to Friday night’s whipping winds, but only four of them blew off! We started all kinds of seeds and moved more seedlings out to the hoop house for stage two of their lives. We set up our underground water system which allows us to drench our hoophouses easily and automatically to keep them adequately watered on sunny days. We weeded and replanted more spinach in one house and have one yet from which to remove the chickweed. Speaking of chickens, off they go to their field incarceration on Monday. Cathleen leads the chicken house repair crew and Anthony continues to get our large wood shed filled with help from others. Only 12 rows to go until we can take a wood break for the summer. Dave put a new stack on our tractor and Heinrich continues to work on our kitchen floor, replacing tiles, a little bit each day. Ari’s birthday was on Wednesday and we had an amazing double chocolate layer cake thanks to Maya.
First outdoor lunch (top left), great spinach harvest (top right), Jose at home in an apple tree (middle left), one orchard done! (middle right), the cake (bottom left), Cathleen and Clare removing an egg layer box (bottom right).
Cathleen and Ari explain how they are fixing up the wash table on Instagram (click the image to watch!)
Mushroom Plugging Workshop
Tis the season for creating new life, including mushrooms! On April 10, join the cast and crew at Many Hands Organic Farm for 2 hours of hands on learning. We’ll be hefting logs, plugging them with shitake spawn, and sealing the plugs over with cheese wax. When we’re done with that we’ll start our first ever oyster totems, using poplar logs. Potluck lunch to follow, questions encouraged, camaraderie required.
The workshop will be on April 10th from 10:00 to noon, at the farm. We will be primarily outside (depending on weather) and there will be no zoom option (but we will upload a recording of the workshop afterwards!). This workshop will be primarily run by our local mushroom expert Cathleen O’Keefe.
Register here: http://bit.ly/MHSCMushroom
Can you help with CSA outreach?
CSA memberships are really rolling in now. We are at $20,930! If you want to help us with outreach, here are some avenues. If you are a member and enjoy our food, can you get another new member to join?
- Facebook and Instagram posts are great and here are some that Maya put together for you to share with your friends and neighbors. Click here to share the post on Facebook & Instagram.
- We have flyers and posters that we can send you (or a link for you to reproduce them). We would love if you could pass them out to neighbors or post them at your favorite coffee shop. Ask here – Julie@mhof.net
- Churches and civic groups that you may be a member of – use Maya’s Facebook post to share with your email lists, or inquire and we can send you a digital farm catalogue to share.
- The best option – word of mouth. How was your life changed for the better when you started eating our good food? We so appreciate all of the customers that other customers have sent our way, so thank you so much!
Products available now at the farm
- Ground pork in 1 lb. packages – $10/lb.
- Pork stock – $7.50/quart
- Beef Stock made from Chase Hill Farm beef bones – $7.50/quart
- Eggs – $8/dozen
- Comfrey salve – $8/2 oz.
- Hemp salve – $10/2 oz.
- Garlic powder – $10/2 oz.
- Lavender soap – $6/5 oz. bar
- Peppermint soap – $6/5 oz. bar
- Dandelion tincture – $6/2 oz. bottle
- Yellow dock tincture – $6/2 oz. bottle
- Frozen applesauce – $6/quart
- Canned (jarred) tomatoes) – $6/1 quart
Make arrangements to pick up at the farm or we can ship some things to you. Call at 978-355-3853 or email Julie@mhof.net
When can I start ordering meat?
Right now, as a matter of fact. For new folks, we pre-order all of our meat and it usually sells out long before slaughter. Chickens were gone by June last year, pork by August and turkeys by November 1. So, don’t tarry if you would like to order. Here is the page link where you can read up on what we have to offer. – https://mhof.net/organic-meat/
Cardboard update
Jose and I had a productive day at Wholesome Farmers Market on Thursday scoring 5 packed shopping carts. Rob has engaged other departments to give us their cardboard too (besides what he banks up from produce) and we are becoming regulars in the back room at the store. Clare’s appliance store connection, IMS and Higgins remain great sources.
John Kempf this week – From Kind Harvest Digest
Healthy plants create healthy soil. Unhealthy plants create unhealthy soil, Here’s why
https://kindharvest.ag/healthy-plants-create-healthy-soil-unhealthy-plants-create-unhealthy-soil-heres-why-john-kempf/ –
In this webinar I learned that a manganese deficiency will manifest in the leaves thus – the ribs of the leaf will be of a lighter green than the surrounding leaf material. And he talked further about the necessity for high amounts of CO2 for sustained growth of a plant throughout the day. Did you know that CO2 is heavier than the other atmospheric gases, and that the best way to get a constant source of CO2 to feed your plants all day is by having a deeper and deeper well aggregated soil structure?
Possible Cover Crops to use in orchards – https://kindharvest.ag/discussion/possible-cover-crops-to-use-under-trees-in-orchards/
I liked this blog sequence as we are just now planting a perennial cover mix on top of our now almost entirely mulched fruit tree ground. We are planting Green Cover Seed’s Perennial pollinator mix – https://greencoverseed.com/woo-seed/perennial-pollinator-mix/ . For the shorter and younger trees we will just plant some low growing crimson clover.
Daughter Ellen is cleansing again
I did this cleanse in January and gained so much.
“Join me for my upcoming Spring Rejuvenation Cleanse! I have been leading seasonal food based cleanses for 12 years, and have brought thousands of people through these 21 day programs, to very good result. This Cleanse begins April 12th, and there are generous discounts if you register by March 31st! https://ellenkittredge.com/cleanse.php
The Cleanse is not just a one-off experience. You will learn how best keep yourself and your family healthy and well, now and for the long haul!
Consistent feedback I get from participants is that they feel my cleanses are not just an opportunity to shed some pounds, reduce inflammation, get back to good healthy sleep patterns, and many of the other benefits that come with 21 days of a focus on healthy eating, but that they are actually akin to a masters degree in nutrition!
Yes, it’s true. I do offer a lot of education on each of my cleanses through daily emails, Zoom calls and private individualized support (all included in the Cleanse cost), so that you can come away feeling fully confident that you know exactly how to tend to your body (and spirit) for your best chance at a long and healthy life.
Looking forward to a season of renewal ahead. Please join me!
Ellen”
Ellen Kittredge, CHC
Evolutionary Wellness
Nutrition Counseling, Energy Healing, Nature Connection
US Cell phone/What’s App: +1 202-577-1940
UK cell: 07594254863
Join me for my Spring Rejuvenation Cleanse. Begins April 12th, 2021 https://ellenkittredge.com
Christine Jones starts March 30
Christine Jones is one of my most favorite consultants about carbon, climate changes, cutting edge farming practices, and far ahead science as it relates to the world of the underground microbial scene and how they interface with nutrient regulation. In a rare opportunity, the Green Cover Seed Company is going to have Christine on a webinar 4 Tuesday nights in a row starting March 30 – 6:30 – 8:00 pm ET. All for free. Here is the info on how to register.
You are invited to a Zoom webinar.
When: Mar 30, 2021 05:30 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
Topic: Secrets of the Soil Sociobiome- Dr. Christine Jones
Register in advance for this webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_UMYnh5BdTmCsrWkKI-zsvQ
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
From Biodiversity for a Livable Climate
Here’s the link to Ridge Shinn’s talk on The Environmental Benefits of Grass Fed Beef. This will be our March lecture in the series Life Saves The Planet.
Biodiversity for a Livable Climate
617-441-3162
On April Fool’ s Day I will be 68. Can’t wait!
Julie
