Northfield’s Farmers’ Market reopened Tuesday and the green was vibrant with close to twenty vendors who now form a caring community after collaborating to form the
winter market. Floating Bridge Food and Farm members met to plan our summer events and our “specialty crop block grant” application. Here at the farm new teammates gather (we’ll introduce everyone next week but they start to show up in this news). A splendid mix of choreography!
compost at 140 while goats work on the crop team
Zillions of micro collaborators are at work behind the hoop house! The pile that was a “bedded pack” –a winter’s worth of pee, poop, shavings, straw and hay, has reached 140°F thanks to the work of the tiny, mighty many. Come probe the pile when you are next at the farm!
Today the milking team grazed the hoop house edges behind the pile, ensuring no weed seed develops to blow into these precious growing beds. Just beyond Anna and Andrew planted out the leeks and onions in the new “swale garden”, using the paper pot transplanter while Josh and Mari rolled out additional irrigation. Meanwhile Amber and Laura delivered the rest of the goat herd across the street. Our annual birthday gift to Kati who soaks in their animation while sharing her grasses, legumes and forbes.
Andrew led a marathon session potting up Tomatoes and peppers. Anna harvested and washed an ocean of greens. Tessa returned to the farm with her dad, Gary Davis and his team gussied up our entrance and is in the midst of improving our parking and gathering places. The former landing from the logging project is seeded up to become pasture and Mark sent his keyline plow ripping elegantly through. His mechanical decompaction intervention will be reinforced biologically as tillage radish and deep rooted sweet clover was simultaneously seeded.
Meanwhile Mari and Laura carried on with the roller coaster ride of joy and struggle as a couple working together at a home-based business, sat down for some quick “farming of the desk” and began to cook for Friday’s Farm Supper. We rejoice still in the most serendipitous collaboration of all as we ready for the privilege of another amazing night of Scrag Mountain Music, followed by a weekend of farmstays, farmtours and a cheese class which combined hopefully give us a chance to see many of you!