Farm Journal – end of June 2010

by MaryAnne McMillan, HTR

I am sitting under the gazebo at one of our group homes, the shade and soft breeze are a relief from the heat of the garden. Two of our Allies CSA Farm employees, who are also consumers of Allies, have just left after finishing their first week in the garden. They left with smiles on their faces!

Working at something you love to do is such a joy, whether it is cool or hot, rainy or sunny.

The CSA employees started this past Monday, and the first day was filled with lots of good interaction and educational experiences for them. We spoke about the garden, the idea of a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program; they filled out forms for employment, for our payroll. When completed, we learned the proper technique for watering the garden, how to test with a water meter and the right amount of water to give a plant, whether it be in a container or in the square foot gardening beds.

We met another important milestone; we had our first pick up by our CSA shareholders last week. Although we only have 10 shareholders to start off with, we know this farm program has the potential to grow as others look to being part of a farm where they can pick up fresh produce grown without pesticides and using the best practices in gardening.

Last week’s “share” consisted of three types of lettuce and ten different herbs to use in their cooking. Our shareholders will also receive tips for using and storing the produce and yummy recipes throughout the summer.

The week continued with a session on up-potting plants. The employees learned the value of moving plants into larger pots. We broke apart their tangled roots and put the plants into their new homes using a recipe of soilless potting mix and mushroom compost. The mushroom compost will give nutrition to the plants as they grow. In future weeks, we will learn about different types of organic plant food and why it is so important to feed our plants.

We labeled the containers with plant labels made at our Costello group home by other Allies consumers. This was a great exercise in learning to identify plants and the different varieties we are growing.

This is a wonderful vocational training program for our CSA employees and they are thrilled to be a part of this garden journey. Hopefully you will enjoy this journey with us!