Busy Planting

As you've probably guessed, we've been busy...

Gene and Vicki came with their water tank and one of our fields was covered with straw/hay and watered.

Five planters were equipped with hoops and shade cloth, and planted with lettuce, cabbage choy, bok choy and culinary herbs.

Poki and David transplanting the last of the basil.  Some 200 plants will go into our beds and we'll have extras.

Five varieties of chiles are happily waiting to go into the garden.

So far, 150 tomato plants have been planted in the garden (Wisconsin 55, Peron Sprayless and Smooth Orange).  80 more will be planted tomorrow.

Our fence has been planted with more scarlet runner beans and cucumbers (to the delight of our resident bunnies...)

Last week, Dominique's Mom Carmen was visiting from Miami, Florida.

 

Together they planted 25 trees and shrubs around the property

 Ariel and Nick, our two wwoofers, enjoying the "lounge" after a hard day of shoveling compost...

 

James came to visit the farm last weekend and will soon be joining us as an intern.

Our community meeting/potluck brunch last Sunday

Dominique transplanted 300 red russian kale plants today

 

 

Our circular beds have been top-dressed with the compost that we started March 1 and are now irrigated.

One circular bed was planted with 180 chard plants early this morning.

So far, things are progressing smoothly.  Our irrigation system is working perfectly and the plants are getting 45min of watering each night (once plants are established, we'll only water every other night).  Our water supply is so far adequate. 

Our next push will be about creating swales to capture the soon-to-arrive rain water, and planting trees and shrubs along the swales.

Now that the garden is planted, we are beginning to reflect on where the harvest will go.

Some of the ideas proposed so far:

• Creating a food stand in the lower field, accessible via the bike path.  The food stand would be open when we are harvesting in the morning. 
• Donating 10% of our harvest to the Food Depot and/or Kitchen Angels
• Distibuting produce boxes to people with cancer
• Selling at Farmers' Market

It is imperative that we define our mission.  As a non-profit, who are we serving?  What is our educational mandate?  What makes us unique and appealing as an urban farm?  How are we weaving children in the farm activities?

The past 4 months have been a marathon for me.  I've been working 12-14hr days, 7 days a week. Having wwoofers/interns has been a tremendous help.  Thank you Kaylyn, Tiel, Ariel, Nick, James, Dominique, Josh and Jordan for your hard work and creative input!

Once all the plants are in the ground, I will have more time to focus on promoting the farm, create alliances with schools and work with parents to organize summer camps at the farm.

Things are looking good.  Thank you for all your love and support!

Please join us during our volunteer farm days (Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9:00-11:00am) 

Our Community Meeting-Potluck Dinner is on the first Monday of each month 6:00-7:30pm

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  If you wish to support this project, you can make a tax-deductible donation here.   See our Wish List