Winter on the Hilltop has returned once more, with much to be thankful for and reflect on. The fields are put to rest and looking peaceful under snow cover, the animals bundled up with extra bedding, and everyone's focus shifts to planning and improving for the season ahead. Volunteer efforts will be consolidated to Friday sessions for the most part throughout the winter, until the spring growth begins in earnest. 

2024 was a busy year on the Hilltop. Despite scaling back the volume and variety of what was grown, the fields saw an impressive season thanks to the attention and investment of so many helping hands. See our end of year impact details below for just how much we accomplished together! We are so grateful for your involvement, and look forward to bringing this momentum into 2025. 

Last but not least, we are pleased to welcome a new leader for volunteer sessions: Charlotte, who some may recognize from the Farm Stand. As a former volunteer and now seasoned staff member, Charlotte has been involved in almost every area of the farm including many of our regular volunteer tasks, with a clear passion for produce and plants. Her help in this program, along with other coworkers, is so very appreciated as I take a leave of absence for my own personal project. I am happy to announce that I have been cultivating two very special volunteers these past few months: twin babies who will arrive this spring!

It is hard to imagine missing the hustle and bustle of spring at the farm, and all of the opportunities to share this space on the Hilltop with everyone. Thanks to the support from other staff and teams, it is our goal that the volunteer program will continue to thrive and welcome the community to the fields and beyond. We appreciate your patience during this transition. I will be thinking fondly of the farm and you all during this very different type of growing season!

See you at the farm, for a bit longer,
Cynthia
HHF Food Donation + Volunteer Coordinator

-Winston Churchill

From visiting farmers to volunteers, groups of troops, scouts, interns, youth, clubs and more, we welcomed each and every individual who chose to spend some time on the farm with us weeding, hammering, cleaning and harvesting. It was such a pleasure to have you here, and share some time together in the soil and sun.

What an impact you all made!

November's Community Farm Work Day

It is often said that fall plantings are a promise to the land for the coming year, when we will return to care for what was sown. Garlic is a great example of this, and a perfect experiment to try at home as well as on a larger scale at the farm.

Volunteers at November's CFWD pitched in to plant 6,000 garlic cloves over the course of the morning, in anticipation of the farm's largest garlic harvest to date. 

Separated garlic cloves are also known as seed garlic. Volunteers worked in teams to lay out, plant, and then cover the seed garlic with soil so that they were fully tucked in for the winter months. 

Come spring, they will send up shoots of greenery and multiply underground until each clove of seed garlic resembles a typical garlic bulb. Yum!

Of course, the first step for garlic planting was separating the cloves. Using quality seed garlic - garlic bulbs we ordered specifically for planting - volunteers joined us for an afternoon of separating and sorting out cloves. 

This task should be done a few days ahead of planting the seed garlic. Over 2 hours, 18 volunteers made quick work of this project.

Thank you for your service with this aromatic task!

Hundreds of thousands of native seeds have been collected and organized, and the drying and curing period has begun. A controlled space and lots of fans are key! 

Staff begin the seed cleaning process as varieties ready. Cleaning techniques include manual methods such as rubbing, separating, vacuuming or cutting seed heads. Many seeds may also go through one or both of our seed cleaning machines which use mesh screens, air, and shaking techniques to clear away chaff.  

In a few weeks time, once properly separated and cleaned, seeds will be ready to stratify or sow for the coming year based on their individual growing timeline.

Whether farm fresh veggies or native plant specimens or seeds, it goes without saying that the farm's donation metrics relied heavily on your participation as a volunteer. 

Volunteers helped keep the pests away and endlessly weeded in all sorts of weather. You set up infrastructure and then cleared it away. You planted, transplanted, staked and harvested. You removed garbage and invasives, collected seeds and flower stems, and weeded some more. Whether you joined us once or a few times, your efforts ensured the farm had a healthy and bountiful season that was appreciated by every visitor and community partner!

Native seeds were given out to various community projects and plantings throughout the year. Thanks to this initiative, others will be able to establish native plant spaces. The entire year's production schedule, from plant care and weeding, to seed harvesting cleaning, made these packets possible. 

2024 Donation Highlights

- Robert Baden-Powell