When I arrived at F&W in early April, it’s hard to imagine that all the future camp’s organic gardens could fit in small plastic cells in the greenhouse. Keeping every plant alive and toasty in those days was no small feat because the greenhouse is heated overnight with a wood stove and we still had two feet of snow on the ground.
When the Farm Crew and I would walk through the greenhouse on a spring day, it felt like looking into the future, imagining all the luscious lettuces, juicy cucumbers, and plump tomatoes the tiny seedlings would become.
The snow did melt. Spring did happen. Now that it’s June, our work is a riotous non-stop push to get all of these little plants out of their cells and into the soil so they can do some real growing. Timing when to plant is a tricky thing with our unpredictable Vermont weather, so there were some crazy moments running around to cover things on frosty nights, and some struggles to keep everything watered during an unusually dry and hot May.
June has been kinder to the plants. With the combination of all the warm weather and frequent rains, the plants are leaping up inches every day. Both our vegetables and weeds are loving this confluence of good growing juju, so the Farm Crew has been on serious weeding patrol for weeks. Many of our weeds species are edible, and the kitchens have been helping the cause by finding ways to incorporate amaranth and chickweed (among others) into salads and meals during Staff and Skills weeks.
We’ve brought in our first strawberries, lettuce, kale, and herb harvests to the kitchen, and it has felt good to provide food for the staff arriving and preparing for camp. The turning of the seasons gets me every time I witness it; how the earth can be so bare and within a few weeks carpet itself with green and flowers. It’s amazing to be a part of shepherding our veggie fields along and can’t wait for all the delicious food we’ll be pulling out of it later in the season to feed your campers! We’ll celebrate with kale, peas, broccoli, lettuce, strawberries and raspberries, garlic, potatoes, beans and other goodness grown for campers — soon with their help!.
— Julie Swank, Garden Manager
