I hope you all had a lovely holiday season and that you’re enjoying the beginning of 2024. The farm is pretty quiet these days since the end of our winter share pickups in December, but that doesn’t mean the work stops! Below are a few things happening on and off the farm:
New Year’s Eve Cochituate Rail Trail Stroll:
Stearns attended the first New Year’s Eve event held by the Friends of Framingham Trails on the Cochituate Rail Trail. It was a lovely evening complete with fire pits, hot cider, and great company. The event was so well-attended that we ran out of cider in the first 45 minutes! We hope to attend each year and are excited to meet more community members and encourage them to visit the farm.
Well Drilling:
We finally had our drill day on January 4th with great success. Martin GeoEnvironmental successfully drilled a hole about 27 feet down. The next steps involve well development which requires renting a tool to help remove some of the finer soil particles to keep the well from clogging once we start using it. After that, we hope to work with our NRCS contacts to get funding for a solar pump which will be a much more efficient and cleaner way to get power to the well.
Crop Planning:
Recently, most of my time is spent on my computer as I go over the crop plan for the field, PYO flowers, and the seedling sale. I look over any notes that I made during the season to tweak planting dates or to choose different varieties to grow. After I finish changing numbers, I take a look at what seeds are left over and what I need to order.
Periodic Farm Visits:
I swing by the farm every once in a while to check on things, pick up the mail, and ready the greenhouse for seeding in February. Last week, I discovered a tree had fallen during the recent storms and its branch punctured the roof of one of our sheds, creating a hole about 6 inches wide. We are in touch with our insurance to help get it fixed.
Seed Swap Event Preparation:
Public Lands in Framingham invited us to take part in a seed swap event at their store on January 27th to celebrate National Seed Swap Day. Keep an eye on their website and our social media to get more details in case you’re interested in getting seeds for your gardens! We plan to bring older seeds that still have a great chance of germinating as well as varieties that we don’t grow at Stearns anymore.
Until next time,
Ember
