New Animals & New Growth

Spring 2021 finds the farm once again bustling with life, children, and animals.  We have welcomed three young lambs to the farm! Bonnie, Ruth, and Anita came to us in April at two months old and have settled in quickly. They are Dorset-Finn crosses with beautiful deep brown wool. Bonnie has charmed everyone without her outgoing nature, seeking people out for snacks (especially dandelions!), ear rubs, pats, and company! Ruth is also quite friendly (and keen on snacks!), while Anita is a bit more shy, but never far from the other two. We are currently working on halter-training Bonnie and walking them out to their lush green pasture every day. We also just welcomed eight new piglets! They’re a delight to behold, and are very curious and excited to be here.

A big project before planting this year is to reorient the beds in Gabriel’s Field. After last summer’s drought, and with the climate’s changes increasing the frequency of droughts, we have decided to move away from overhead sprinklers and into drip tape to conserve our precious water supply. The garden’s beds will be moved from the pizza shape into blocks with standardized bed lengths to make it easier and more cost effective to run drip lines, as well as row cover, tarps, and other things. It will also increase our growing capacity!

It has been a true pleasure to work with children and young adults on the farm. The visiting classes and gap-year apprentices have gotten to take care of sheep, set up pig fencing, collect eggs, work in the greenhouse, harvest salad and radishes, build no-till beds, and transplant. I’ve been asked so many great questions! The best was: Why should we get our hands dirty? Did you know that beneficial microbes in the soil can help us regulate our emotions and hormone levels, boost our immune system, and increase the amount of nutrients our bodies can extract from the food we eat? So cool! 

-Jen Robinson, Farm Manager