It seems almost as if we skipped spring and dove right into summer, with some very hot days in March and April that even baffled the plants! The temperature swings meant the greenhouse and high tunnel buildings had to be monitored closely, opening and closing and reopening the doors as staff tried their best to care for the delicate seedlings inside. Almost all of the farm's produce begins in the greenhouse, where seeds are sown and grown as early as February in order to be planted outdoors as soon as possible. 

Thousands of these seedlings were transplanted into the farm's growing fields, and the rest were monitored by staff and volunteers for the imminent spring plant sale here. Volunteers helped write and then place many of the plant labels, move plants around, thin seedlings, and set up an outdoor hardening off station, so that these indoor plants can become outdoor ones with little shock. Thanks to this attention, our fields are full of lots of cool-weather veggies, and customers will enjoy healthy, garden-ready seedlings!

Volunteers pitched in across the farm, making huge progress on removing weeds and caring for native plants, assisting in the farm stand, and building picnic tables as well as an entire garden!

We are so thankful to our volunteers for helping us these past few weeks, and for taking small steps in preparing the farm for the growing season. Now that the Farm Stand is officially open, everyone will soon be enjoying the produce we worked so hard to grow, on land we worked so hard to protect.

See you at the farm,
Cynthia
HHF Food Donation + Volunteer Coordinator

Lilacs are some of the first and most fragrant flowers of spring. There are a few different lilac varieties and colors throughout the farm- how many have you found?

- Howard Zinn

Our next Community Work Day will take place on Saturday, June 10th from 9am - 12pm. This will focus on helping the Native Plant program here at the farm, our first CWD of the year to do so! More details and an official sign up page will be announced soon.

March's

Community

Work

Day

The day after St. Patrick's Day, we began our focus on the Trees for Tribs area and maintaining the thousands of trees planted there that help filter water, and provide habitat, right next to the farm. These trees were planted by the Watershed Agricultural Council (WAC) in stages dating back to 2009; this is their largest site in New York. Volunteers continued to make progress here for the next several weeks, until each and every tree was upright and free from clutter. 

There is a small trail that loops into the Tribs area, leading from the road to the farm. We hope the public can now enjoy this walk and admire the growing trees, and join in its conservation as we set our sights on removing the beautiful, but invasive, grasses and vines that are beginning to encroach here. 

Volunteers make the trek down to the south end of the Tribs area, where the youngest trees are.

A Mouse House: we uncovered a few of these within the tree tubes, which are prime real estate to field mice looking to stay warm over the winter. However, these objects can harm a tree and kill it entirely, if not removed each season.

This year marks the first time that farm volunteers have taken charge of the Trees for Tribs area, and tackled it 100% ! These important trees are now set up for success, and we are so thankful to everyone who came to help with their care over the weeks.

April's

Community

Work

Day

The dandelion flowers were out, and that meant the timing was perfect for planting seed potatoes! We had a great turnout for our potato planting Community Work Day, including new and returning families, folks eager to learn, and great help from a local girl scout troop.

First, the tractor made a few passes to dig out furrows, or lines where seed potatoes were dropped ever-so-carefully all down the bed.  There were quite a few more potatoes than what we had accounted for, so we fired up the tractor halfway through the morning and made a few bonus furrows- and planted all of the potatoes! Then, we grabbed our hoes and rakes and pulled dirt on top, leaving a flat field at the end. These potatoes will take a few weeks before sprouting, and will be harvested in the heat of summer. 

A few days before our potato planting CWD, three volunteers helped to chit, or cut and cure, our seed potatoes. They worked hard to sort through four varieties, and did a quality check as they did, so that we only planted the best and healthiest potatoes here. Here, two volunteers stand in front of half of the chitted potato bins. 

What makes a seed potato? It needs at least 2-3 "eyes" to sprout foliage from (on top of the potato here), and it needs to be just the right size: too big, and it will grow into a plant with too much foliage that will crowd out its neighbors; too small, and it won't produce as many potatoes as it should. Lastly, in order to avoid rotting, once it is chit the potato must be left in a warm, dry space in order to form a hard layer of skin where it was cut (the underside of the potato here). 

The most important rule of potato planting: making sure to grab the right bin, so that only one variety is planted in each row. Thankfully all our volunteers have great attention to detail, and even helped space out rows that had too little or too many potatoes. We are excited to see some sprouts here in a few weeks!

It is always great to have volunteers dig into the dirt with us, but you don't always need to be on the farm to help out!

We appreciate any and every way volunteers contribute to the farm and our mission, and we have been lucky to have creative folks who work on things at home and then share them with us here. 

Last year, one volunteer drew and illustrated by hand new price signs for our veggies- we miss you Shannon, your signs are still going strong! Check these out in the Farm Stand when you shop. 

This year, a volunteer was inspired by the fermented foods we now carry from our new partner, Hawthorne Foods Farm, and created signage to explain what each variety is and how to use it. A great resource that helps you plan your meal as you shop. Thanks, Mollie!

Every vegetable we grow is seeded by hand, in trays in the greenhouse. 2-3 seeds are used in each cell to ensure germination.

The difference just a week in the greenhouse makes! Once a little bigger, staff and volunteers will go through and "thin" these, removing the weaker or smaller seedlings and leaving just one strong plant in each cell.

Volunteers wrote, and then placed, plant labels in each and every pot.

When the tomatoes were first labeled, they weren't much bigger than the label itself-

-but after just 6 days, the tomatoes now tower over the labels! What a growth spurt!

Volunteers helped to fill bags with sand and gravel in preparation of summer winds, which often blow the field's tarps and landscape fabric completely off their beds!

Picnic Table kits, created by inmates of a local prison, are invaluable infrastructure to have on the farm once the weather warms up. This year, we were grateful to receive 12 brand new, ADA-compliant tables to replace our current ones, which are a few seasons past their prime. Volunteers joined JT, head of maintenance here at the farm, for an afternoon of hammering and building these!

Leading up to our May CWD, volunteers waterproofed the brand new raised beds in the Education Garden, on the north side of the property. The wood on the left has been treated, while the right side is yet to be done- what a difference just one coat makes!

Mama Coco showers her "baby" Cricket with a bath of kisses. She knows everyone loves to snap a photo of Cricket doing her guard duties!

The goats love having new grass to eat, but funnily enough, aren't fans of having it so tall it rubs their bellies!

The goats rub along their fence to scratch an itch, and to help shed their winter fur. 

- Robert Baden-Powell