April 2014
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Hey There!
Well, a long hiatus from the blog can also be translated into an awesome summer on the farm! And while my blogging has been sporadic the farm continues to thrive! So what's been happening all summer and fall? Here are a few pictures to tell the tale
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
How to Never Feel Poor
I recently came across this and found it to be a wonderful description of this time of year. Enjoy.
How to
Never Feel Poor
By Jenna
Woginrich
From the
book One Woman Farm
Hundreds of
tiny seeds are outside in the little greenhouse: peas and lettuce, kale and
spinach. I grow heirlooms because I feel
as if I am growing secrets. These plants are only for those willing to seek
them because you can’t find them in stores.
My Amish snaps, my Rocky Top lettuce, my Russian kales as purple as Puff
the magic dragon. They are sleeping
babes now, under warn comforters of soil and sunlight. But in a few days there will be a sea of
green life.
It never
gets old. You never feel poor.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Wintery Week of Watching
Kim here, the CSA
member-turned-crew member. In my time as part of Groundworks Farm, I have moved
through plenty of variations on those titles. The short version is, I got hooked
on Margaret and Kevin's Kool-Aid (or, more likely, organic carrot juice) and
decided to throw myself into my food system for a period of time. I went from
being a member when the farm was in Vermont, to
being so connected that it was a huge loss for me when they moved the farm to
Maryland. They
offered generously to have me come join them, so last July, I did.
A couple of weeks ago, when Kevin
and Margaret went on an experiential visit to some friends' farms in Vermont, I was put in
charge of keeping things running here. It was supposed to be a quieter week,
with no pickups and a smaller crew to manage, and was given mainly the daily
farm chores and a list of soups to prepare for the Frozen Meal Shares. Seemed
feasible, given I have learned everything I know about farming from these
guys... just do as I'm instructed and it can't be so bad. They did leave me with
some numbers for people who would help if there were problems, etc. BUT
EVERYTHING FREEZING ISN'T REALLY SOMETHING TO CALL EMERGENCY CONTACTS ABOUT.
(haha)
It was really cold that
week--below freezing for at least 72 hours straight, in the teens for at least
36 of those hours, and windy. While I know there were other parts of the country
which were much colder than we were, it seemed like a lot for me to manage at
times. I do feel homesick for Vermont often,
and even Vermont in the winter. But I can't say I've
felt homesick for trying to farm in Vermont winter. Pig feed trapped in a
frozen-shut trailer, a van wouldn't start so I had to drive around the farm in
my Volvo, tubs of water covered in inches frozen solid and requiring a
sledgehammer, running water going out all over the farm, which is quite
inconvenient when trying to prepare soup. Also, I think I've discovered that
lots of warm, non-cotton layers actually perform the task of keeping you warm
purely by not allowing your sweat to turn to ice. So many little
It was an honor to be "in charge"
while they were away, and several times I have been glad to watch things so they
can have some time off the farm. Through my six months here, I've gained so much
respect for the amount of guts they have each day. Handling whatever pops up in
the course of a day while still maintaining what needs to be done on a regular
basis--it is no doubt that they ARE passionate about growing us all amazing
food. They need to approve this blog post and are not ones for tooting their own
horns too much so I'll keep the praise to that.
When I began to write, I got a
little stuck, mainly because I wasn't sure what to say. I started to think about
what perspective I would have on farming that would be insightful enough, and
got stuck on the possibility that even explaining what Groundworks Farm is to
me, or even who I am to Groundworks Farm, could take up a blog post. Seems a
little self-centered to write about myself, but I don't think it's about
me--it's ultimately about all of you, too. We are all connected because of this
farm, whether our motivation is health, value, environmentalism, commitment to
community, personal relationships, or something else. And because of that, we're
doing something good for ourselves but also good for one another. Not everyone
would have the desire or capability to move to a farm in order to contribute,
but I'm thankful that my life has allowed that to be my participation for this
period of time.
Your Farmer,
Kim
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Monday, November 25, 2013
The Close of the Summer Season
Recently I came across a passage by the writer Wendell Berry in which he poses the question of why anyone would want to farm and his answer is:
"Love.
They must do it for love." Farmers farm for the love of farming. They love to
watch and nurture the growth of plants. They love to live in the presence of
animals. They love to work outdoors. They love the weather, maybe even when it
is making them miserable. They love to live where they work and to work where
they live. If the scale of their farming is small enough, they like to work in
the company of their children and with the help of their children. They love the
measure of independence that farm life can still provide. I have an idea that a
lot of farmers have gone to a lot of trouble merely to be self-employed to live
at least a part of their lives without a boss.”
I
don’t know how many of you know the timeline of this season but I am going to
share a bit of it with you. This winter after a few years of leasing land we
purchased our farm here in Pittsville. We still had a CSA in Vermont which ran through
April (we begin seeding things in our greenhouse in February). So as soon as
possible Kevin and I took down our greenhouse, loaded it on a trailer and Kevin
headed to Maryland leaving me to keep up with the winter CSA and wait for the
ground to thaw so I could clean up the fields while he got to work taking a
house and farm that had been sitting doing nothing and turning it into something
again, bringing it back to life. And in the first week of April I made the
final CSA delivery and then with an incredible amount of help from friends and
family we moved the rest of the farm in a weekend.
We
started right up and by mid April there were pigs, chickens and vegetables in
the fields and with much anxiety we had some produce ready by the first of
June. We have spent this season learning and growing a lot. The new and warmer
climate of Maryland has offered up challenges and
advantages. Mid-summer pest pressure was higher than we have ever seen, we also
had a melon crop like never before (there is only one variety of watermelon that
will ripen in the short New England summer).
And now the long fall has led to all kinds of greens and lettuces’ continuing to
grow and really thrive as the air has turned chillier and the bugs have slowed
down. In many ways I feel as if I have been here forever and yet it has been
less than 10 months.
10/29/13
Last Friday, with the knowledge
that our sweet potato supply was dwindling, we went out and dug up 5 more rows.
The first step in this is to pull the actual vines out of the ground that grow
above. We use black plastic mulch to heat up the soil as sweet potatoes like
the heat and we lay a line of drip irrigation in each row as well in order to
water them when they need it throughout the season. So after pulling the plants
you go through and pull the plastic out of the ground and the irrigation lines.
Then we come through with a potato digger. I think I have described this
before, but it is pulled behind the tractor and has a shovel and a metal
conveyor belt kind of thing which is slatted so that the potatoes stay on it and
the dirt falls down. Then when the sweet potatoes fall off the back of it they
land on top of the soil. Then we come through with boxes and pick them up off
the ground and fill the boxes up. Once all the boxes have been properly filled
we drive a big trailer along side of them and pick them all up and stack them on
the trailer, then drive them to the walk in coolers and put them into storage.
Well as we began to dig these beds we felt they were giving us a pretty good
yield. Large sweet potatoes (you will see this week at the pick up, some of
them are monstrous) made for a heavy yield and pulling them out of the field was
not an easy task. Each box when filled weighed about 55 lbs. We filled about
130 boxes (at least, Kevin lost count at some point in the unloading process).
But at that rate alone we harvested at least 7,150 pounds of sweet potatoes, not
to mention there is a whole field of them left to get still.
We also had our first two frosts
this week. We went around preparing for the frosts, especially winterizing
things we built this summer that had never needed any protection, like our
irrigation well, which now has an insulated building around it. We harvested the
last of the peppers which had ground back a little since we last harvested them
and you will see a few peppers in your share this week. Tomato plants, which had
stopped producing finally, went black and several of the cut flowers did as well
(though some live on past several frosts). Frost is not just about killing
summer plants though. The frost also sweetens many things. When the plants get
cold they start to store up more sugar in order to survive. This means that
kale looses some of its bitterness and becomes sweeter and carrots also begin to
store up sugar as well. So there are advantages to the cold weather that we
will see in the flavor of some of the crops. So happy eating this
week!
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Farm Manager Employment Opportunity
Farm Manager Employment Opportunity
Qualifications Sought:
Groundworks Farm is seeking an experienced, motivated, and highly skilled manager to join our farm team. The successful applicant will meet the following criteria:
-Have a minimum of 2 seasons paid experience growing diversified organic vegetables on a production scale,
-have a positive attitude,
-have demonstrated leadership ability and people management skills with references,
-have excellent customer service skills,
-be comfortable driving tractors, trucks, and trailers,
-be interested in butchering,
-have a passion for good food and local agriculture, and
-be able to lift 60lbs.
Description of Work:
We are looking for a positive and creative person with ideas and experience to help manage and develop our growing CSA Farm. This is a fast-growing business and there is lots of room for professional growth for the right person.
Day to day responsibilities will be dictated partly by the applicant’s skill set and interest, but will definitely include: developing vegetable harvest plans, leading field and greenhouse crews of 1-12 people, driving a pickup truck with trailer, operating a 100 hp tractor, operating a cultivating tractor, participating in a rotation of animal chores, and helping with chicken processing and animal cut-ups in our butcher shop.
Compensation:
-Competitive salary based on experience
-Generous health insurance stipend
-1 month paid vacation
-1 Whole Farm Share per employee
To Apply: Send cover letter, resume, and three references to info@groundworksfarm.com.
Groundworks
Farm
8284
Gumboro Rd
Pittsville
MD 21850
443-523-8552
info@groundworksfarm.com
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