Tuesday, July 3, 2018
Tomorrow is the Fourth of July, and right on time, Maryland weather is bringing the heat. This is good and bad for us gardeners- good, because the more brutal the heat of the day, the more brutal the heat of our peppers. Didn't you know? The hottest of peppers grow in the hottest of conditions! But bad, because hotter days means we have to wake up earlier to avoid melting like Popsicles while working. That's okay by me though, because nothing beats the calm of the garden in the early morning hours.
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Like everything, our garden is constantly changing. Things are growing, shifting, being reorganized, being redesigned; our work is as dynamic as the beings we work with. We have just added flowers to our line of sight, having planted two beds of flowers to eventually sell in the campus store. Get your wallets ready! As I alluded to earlier, we also have a plethora of peppers in the works. We have all kinds of varieties, from sweet to spicy! And as our work and garden changes, so do we as gardeners. I'm definitely cultivating some new arm muscles- making trips from the hose to the plants with a full watering can is no joke! Bonnie always tells me she doesn't need a gym membership if she has a garden, and I'm really starting to see what she means.
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Keep on cultivating things both out and the garden and inside of you- talk to you next time!
-Gina
Monday, June 25, 2018
I've heard a lot of people tell me they would love to garden! But they aren't good or don't know how. But like any skill, it takes practice! As much as I love plants, I wasn't very good at gardening before I started working at the campus farm, but I've discovered that Mother Nature is the best teacher. If you wanna learn how to garden you just gotta go head first and get dirty. Here's a before and after picture of a pumpkin patch I made a recently. Go out there and start your own patch!!!
-Sammie
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Wednesday, June 20, 2018
Summer solstice
Today is the last day of Spring. At 6:07AM tomorrow a new season begins all over
the world. Summer begins for all in the Northern Hemisphere. Here in Maryland it
signals vacations and reunions, crab feasts and outdoor music, beach fun and
amusement parks. In Southern Maryland it means we are in store for hot and
humid days with thunderstorms on the horizon. On our farm the solstice triggers
the early morning alarm clock. We must beat the heat to tend the plants. We stay
until the heat drives us to shade and, maybe, air conditioning, until the evening when
the shadows get longer and there is relief from the big sun cooking us from above.
The pattern of the day changes, almost overnight, when you work outside in the
summer. The is a shift in the rhythm of the day, inside us farmers. We feel the cycle
of life on special days like the solstice as others may feel the first day of school.
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It’s not a bad change. It might even be considered healthy to be so connected to the
weather and the earth. I feel my luck when I begin my day in the peace of the quiet
mornings. The calm of evenings in the garden reminds me of the harmony nature
creates when we stop to smell the blooming lavender or fragrant cilantro.
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The plants change. Out with the Spring greens and in with the abundant squash, tomatoes, peppers and basil, Summer veggies are bright colors and robust leaves. Plants are in their glory. Sometimes it’s as if they are competing to be the biggest and strongest pumpkin plant or the most beautiful artichoke flower. Life doesn’t seem as frail when we are strong and tan and nourished by the sun-warmed tomato right off the vine. I believe in ‘grazing in the garden’ until the fireflies are the only light left after working past the last red of the sunset.
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We farmers feel a hidden sadness. There is a wistful grief from knowing we will be losing a minute of daylight every day until the winter solstice in December. The first day of Winter we will quietly rejoice that the days will be getting longer until it is summer again someday. And so is the cycle of life forever and ever. Being outside, on our farm, is a way of counting time and being part of the great continuum. There is no question we are farmers down here at the Kate Chandler Campus Farm. Have a happy and safe Summer!
-Bonnie
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Tuesday, June 19, 2018
Hey there! My name is Gina, and I'm the current Kate Chandler Campus Community Farm Fellow. As the farm fellow I have one job, and that is to learn all things garden. This summer I'm working alongside Bonnie Kangas-- our garden guru, as I like to call her-- Sammie Alteri, and Alex Booth to tend to all of the plant friends that we are cultivating, which is quite a lot! We've recently planted squash, cucumbers, pumpkins, beets, onions, basil, carrots, beans, peppers, and sweet potatoes; and we have been harvesting kale, lettuce, radishes Swiss chard, and strawberries. In my opinion, you really haven't lived if you've never eaten a strawberry so fresh that it's still warm from the sun! Our strawberries are the juiciest I've ever had, and I promise that's no exaggeration. It's amazing what happens when you grow with love!! A lot of our produce we sell to Bon Appetit in the Great Room, and of course, some we keep for ourselves. I don't have a summer meal plan- you think that's going to keep me away from the delicious fruits (and vegetables) of our labor?! Heck no!!
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We aren't the only ones growing at the farm, however! We share our space with plots rented by faculty as well as residents of the Brown House. The Brown House is, you guessed it, the little brown house that the farm shares property with.
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That's all as far as introductions go; keep checking out this blog regularly though for all your campus farm updates! Alex, Bonnie, Sammie and I will all be sharing our garden musings here. And what we'd love even more is if you came to check us out in person. ;) We're right at the corner of Point Lookout and Rosecroft! Come! Hang! The heck! Out!
xoxo- Gina
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