* Our first day at the Farm (4/2/08) saw us staking out the beginning 4 beds and preparing the first 20 feet!! We started by figuring out where the North and East Farm perimeter lines should be. Then the individual planting rows were staked and strings run out to mark the edges. The next operation is to strip sod, which is done very carefully to avoid disruption of underlying soil. We edged the first bed to make it easier.
* 4/5/08 we were at the Farm doing more bed preparation for planting. We finished sod removal on the entire first bed! Quite an accomplishment with only four of us there. Check out the pictures by clicking the "Pictures" button at the "About Us" page. We figured out that by using the edger to cut 1 sq' sections and then using the sod lifter, we could be much more efficient.
* 4/19/08. Tomorrow will be the first of our regular weekly farm workdays. Hours will be 1-4 Sundays, 3-9 Tuesdays, and 8-11 Thursdays. We hope everyone will be able to have an opportunity to visit, if only for a little while.
* 4/20/08 - We finished up Bed 2 preparation today, and measured out fencelines.
* 4/27/08 - A lot was accomplished this week - we now have Bed 3 ready for compost and have started sod separation in #4. Fencelines have been marked by posts and string all around, and today about 46 feet of chickenwire fencing was buried along the west side. All in all, 90 hours of volunteer labor has been spent at the Farm so far, from some old and some new Club members and some volunteers. A good mix, and it has been fun and invigorating work. Deer fencing should be here towards the end of this week, and we'll start putting it up. Once that's done, planting starts!!
* 5/4/08 - All of the beds are clear now, as 4 was completed today, Bed 3 received compost, 1 was weeded, and the double-dig section of the Demo Bed was desodded. Bed 1 has planting area layout almost complete, and the ditch for our perimeter chicken wire fence was extended. The ditch has a ways to go, and although we have the deer fence, it can't go up untill the ditch is complete.
I encourage those of you who have not yet seen the Farm to come out for a look. It will probably never again look so neat and tidy, and enough is done that a good idea can be had of the Farm's areas.
* 5/8/08 - The ditch is now 98% complete, annd we'll start putting up posts for the deer fence tomorrow. Not a moment too soon, as we planted leaf lettuce seeds and onion starts on Tuesday. That day the fallow areas were seeded with spring oats and buckwheat, which we'll cut up for bed cover in the late summer. Today compost spreading was completed, seed potatoes were placed outside in the sun to harden off (at home), and Friday I'll start bringing out the tomatoes, head lettuce, squash and melons too. Irrigation materials are on order. Next week should see the major plantings beginning.
* 5/9/08 - The Farm Fund has hit $3000 !!!! We have a ways yet to go, but thank you to all who have helped so far!!!
* 5/11/08 - We got delayed by the weather and available help earlier, but made good progress today. The rodent barrier is complete, and a couple of fenceposts have been driven. All the leaf lettuce and spinach seeds haave been planted, and we got started on the peas. I've decided to cut Tuesday hours back to 3 to 7 - I really can't be productive after that. We'll be able to use all the help we can get from here out -- come on out if you can.
* 5/18/08 - Tremendous teamwork today. The perimeter fence is complete and just needs gates and a little bit more chicken wire to fill gaps. Carrots, peas, and raddishs were planted, along with seed potatoes and some broccoli trransplants. 1/2" irrigation line was laid down in the 4 beds.
* 5/21/08 - Good news - our Match Grant application to the Southfield Community Foundation was approved! Now we need to seriously go after local donors. On the Farm we have the spring oat and buckwheat seeds in the fallow areas sprouting very well. Also, we saw the first signs of leaf lettuce yesterday - talk about exciting!! Who needs movies??
* 5/29/08 - On Tuesday we finally got the irrigation system fired up without leaks. Now comes the placement of drip emmiters and we'll be in business. Today brussel sprout, musk melon, and cucumber starts were transplanted. We'll be doing a lot more of the transplants on Sunday, so plan a visit!
* 6/5/08 - We've been ducking the rain lately - it is nice to have, but slows down the work. Both gates are now up, and it feels right. Drip emitters are set in Bed one, a 2' Bed 5 has been added, and all of the initial planting is complete. We have a bit of weed control to do, the beds need alot more compost and mulch, we need to trench in the hose to the church, and trellises are needed for all of the vining crops. And the grass (I use that word generously) needs to be mowed and trimmed. Although that sounds like a lot, I think we have reached "Phase Two", spending about 260 hours and $3400 to get to this point.
* 6/10/08 - Including today's helpers, we've had Volunteers from Westland, Oxford, Novi, Northville, and Bloomfield Hills besides Southfield. And Donors from Southfield, Detroit, Farmington Hills, Farmington, Beverly Hills, Lincoln Park, Lathrup Village, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Novi, Plymouth, Arizonia, and South Carolina.
THANK YOU AND CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WHO
HAVE PARTICIPATED OR DONATED SO FAR
I AM VERY PROUD OF YOU
* 6/29/08 - Here we are at the end of June -- it has been such a busy month!! The vegies are growing like there's no tommorrow - we have tiny tomatos, pepper, and broccoli sprouts, while radishes and leaf lettuce were harvested today!!
* 7/13/08 - We've been out to the Farm just about every other morning (on non-workdays) to pick things and take them to Forgotten Harvest. Last week Whole Foods gave the Farm a very nice donation of organic fertilizers, tools, and organic herbs. We'll be preparing the Herb Bed tuesday afternoon. Also, employees from Sam's Club in Southfield are regularly coming to help. We've started preparation of next year's beds.
We still need about $600 to meet the challenge grant from the Southfield Community Foundation - please help us reach that goal.
* 7/21/08 - This past week we've seen not as much volunteer support as in the past - it has been hot, but things (especially weeds) still keep growing and needing attention. Over 20 pounds of vegetables, including radish, lettuce. spinach, peas, beans, cucumber, broccoli, zucchini, basil, and specialty peppers, have been delivered to Forgotten Harvest this week. The herb bed is planted, and things look good. We had to go back on the idea of no gasoline engines - the hand push mower just wasn't up to cutting the rough grass and weeds, and couldn't get very close to edges.
* 7/29/08 - The peas and beans are about at the end of production - we had our best harvest this week. Luckily, zucchini and cucumbers are making up for it, and the tomatos and peppers are all putting on fruit. This week we went and picked up 4 yards of hardwood triple-shred mulch and spread it on the rows. You could almost hear the plants saying thank you, thank you! We certainly thank Paul's Tree Service for the mulch. Check out "Pictures at the Farm" in the "About Us" section. We're still about $400 shy of reaching our challenge grant goal. We would like to start on building a shed yet this year, but can't yet afford it. So there we are -- a bit short on help and donations, but very thankful for what we have been blessed with so far.
* 8/9/08 - It is raining!!! Such a relief after two dry weeks. Take a look at this week's offering in the "Pictures at the Farm" section of the "About Us" tab. Mary's monster tomato is turning red at last so we should be harvesting in earnest soon. Speaking of that, what we picked Thursday morning put us over 100 pounds of vegetables this year, all of it donated to Forgotten Harvest. We hope to follow one their delivery trucks soon to see where our harvest ends up - it will be exciting.
* 8/22/08 - We're having an Open House next Saturday, the 30th, from 3 t0 5 in the afternoon. If its been a while since you have visited, come by for a 15 minute tour. We'd love to see you!! Also, Emmanuel Lutheran Church of Southfield presented us with a check for $600 this week! Quite a surprise, and just right to get us to the match point for our challenge grant from the Southfield Community Foundation. That puts us about 75% funded for this year and next.
* 9/11/08 - I do apologize for not "keeping up" recently - we've been very busy!! Our Open House on August 30 went quite nicely, and we had 35 to 40 visitors, along with about 8 Club members and volunteers. Good articles in the Eccentric and Sun papers helped get out the word, along with forwarded emails from the Southfield Community Foundation, SOCWA, and others. Look for the photos. We were treated with some tasty treats made up by our two Sharons. We have hit 345 pounds of vegetables harvested so far this year!! After a sluggish start, production is going well.
* 9/21/08 - We have measured out and started preparation on many new vegetable beds. Even if we don't plant them all it will be good to get the organic process started ahead of time, so mulch on top of a layer of newspaper is what we're doing. This process was proven out in the Demonstration Bed. It is from the soil that everything arises, and the healthier we can keep it, the better will be the harvest. We have decided on an 8' x 12' wooden shed at the back of the property. We'll be applying for a permit and looking for a cement work contractor in the next few weeks. If you know of anyone, let me know!