Seeds Arrive & Farm Club Prep Continues

Village Farm Team,

Our winter crop seeds came in this week! Their presence has the team giddy and ready to get some seeds in the ground. Some of the seeds we received are “pelleted”. This means that the seeds are coated in an inert material that makes them easier to handle and use in mechanical seeders. Our pelleted seeds will be sown directly into the tilled earth as opposed to a transplant tray in the greenhouse. Root vegetables such as carrots and beets fare better with this method as they don’t like the disruption of being transplanted once they begin to grow.

Since we have a plethora of seeds, we will be having our first Farm Fun day this Saturday, October 14th, at 3pm! Residents can come help us plant seeds in our transplant trays in the greenhouse. Come join us and learn a little more about the seeding process and the varieties we’ve chosen for our winter harvest.

A large portion of our time this past week has been dedicated to clearing and preparing the area adjacent to the orchard for Farm Club. After the area was surveyed and delineated, we set to work clearing the vegetation. Our BCS 2-wheel tractor helps us to till the soil so that it will be ready for planting. If you are interested in Farm Club and a resident of Harvest Green, there is an orientation taking place this Saturday on the North Farm at 1pm with Farm Educator Ryan. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about the proposed layout as well as general guidelines and safety rules. Find more information here.

We started our chickens on a fermented, probiotic-rich diet this past week and they are loving it! Farm Educator Adam makes it by soaking their feed or “scratch” in water and leaving it to ferment with the naturally occurring lactobacilli and yeast in the environment. If you’ve ever made a sourdough starter, it’s a similar process. Not only is this good for their immune system, but it will make the yolks of their eggs larger and the shells thicker once they begin laying.