Tomatoes Seeded & a New Chicken Perch

Village Farm Team,

With the help of our residents who attended our first Farm Fun Day last Saturday, the team was able to seed over 25 trays with a variety of tomatoes! Come summer time we will have a multi-colored harvest of delicious tomatoes from the smaller, yellow-hued Amish gold to the bluish indigo rose and everything in between. In order to ensure our seedlings don’t get too cold with the drop in temperatures this weekend, the farm team has winterized the greenhouse with plastic sheeting and portable heaters. It might feel blustery outside but it’s sure nice and toasty in our greenhouse. If you missed out on the first Farm Fun Day you’ve got an opportunity coming up on Saturday, January 20th.

Our chickens got a new addition to their run this week in the form of a wooden perch. It not only allows for some enrichment along with their rope swings, but it provides a place for them to roost off the ground. Chickens prefer to roost off the ground on perches due to their natural instincts to avoid predators. In addition to their new perch our flock has been getting leafy green treats in the form of transplants from the greenhouse that didn’t make the cut for our fields. This way, there’s no waste on our end and they get to enjoy some variety in their diet.

When there’s a need for something on the farm that can be built by hand, Farm Educator Adam gladly accepts the challenge. From the chicken tractor to the goat stand, Adam enjoys being able to create something useful from raw materials. He believes that it’s beneficial for the team to build what is needed as it allows them to customize it completely for the intended use and function on the farm. Next on his list are some goat perches, a compost storage box for the greenhouse, and a storage container for the BCS tractor.