Late April Garden Up-date & Mission Statement Up-Date

In March I am told we endured the least amount of rainfall since area records have been kept. The up-side of low rainfall is it allows us to work in the gardens. This meant we were able to work the soil and plant our seeds and get our irrigation system up and running. Thanks to the hard work of our growers and with the additional support of volunteers we were able “set the table” for a successful season. Over the past two days we have received plenty of slow steady rain.
As of this writing just about everything we have planted has germinated. Even some of the potatoes (Peruvian blues and Red Norlands) have sent leaves sprouting. Additionally, peas, fava beans, red ace and chioggia beets, purple top and hakuri turnips, two plantings of spinach, Red Russian and Toscano kale, collards, bright lights and mammoth green chard, carrots, salad mix, braising greens and kohlrabi. Additionally, the snap dragons from last year over wintered and we can expect early blooms on those flowers. We also had good luck over wintering Winterbor and red Russian kale, arugula and collards- all of which are now flowering and will go to seed. That seed will be saved and planted in August and next spring.
We also want to thank the Montgomery County Division of Solid Waste for donating over 75 yards of Leaf-Gro soil conditioner last week. Over the upcoming summer our growers and volunteers will apply liberal amounts of leaf-gro to our fields as we attempt to give back to the land as fast as it gives to us.
And for those of you interested in our Solar House and Straw Bale admin and training buildings- we are with in a month or two of obtaining the septic permit and construction permits. We look forword to a Community Farm that will be able to give to the community in an ever creative and abundant way. Conversely, we are all looking forword to toilets that flush! As costs for these projects increase with the cost of fuel etc. we will soon be sending out a request for donations. Your support will help us grow Red Wiggler into an organization that lives up to our vision, mission and core values. And in case you were wondering….here is a recently updated statement on Mission from our board meeting in February:

VISION
We create fertile ground to nourish a healthy and inclusive community.

MISSION
We are community farm that cultivates healthy food through:
• A Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program that provides fresh, locally-grown produce.
• Meaningful employment for adults with developmental disabilities.
• Educational and service opportunities for youth and adults.
• Environmental stewardship.

CORE VALUES
Red Wiggler Community Farm believes in:
1. Reconnecting people with the source of their food and the local community.
2. Creating an environment of respect, cooperation, integrity, and innovative thinking.
3. Ensuring purposeful work and equal treatment for all stakeholders.
4. Fostering opportunities for outreach and meaningful education of youth, adults, and employees.
5. Building local food security for our community.
6. Being a catalyst for community collaborations and volunteerism.
7. Practicing environmental stewardship through ecologically sensitive best practices.

Thank you for your interest in Red Wiggler. ww

Busy busy busy

The past few weeks have been extremely productive. We direct seeded kale, collards, braising greens, turnips, beets, more spinach, carrots, fava beans, more peas and an assortment of “green manures”. We also planted 200 more crowns of asparagus. We now have 500 crowns growing and we expect our first major harvest of asparagus to be in mid April of 2007. The growers were busy deconstructing and reconstructing our deer fence with the help of volunteers. As of today the fields are well protected from deer. Work continues on ensuring fertility with the spreading of lots of Leaf-Gro. (Special thanks to Montgomery County's Solid Waste Division)We are also busy laying out our drip tape lines for irrigation. Last nights rain was the first we have seen in over one month. In the office we have about 40 flats of plants growing and next week we are set to start our second planting of tomatoes. ww