Those of you who have driven by the Farm know that things are happening. In addition to having our spring and first round of summer crops in the ground I thought I'd give everyone an update on some of the other exciting things taking place at the Farm:

1) Our Williams College Intern, Liz Gleason, started this past week. She'll be working with me (Greg) in the field part of the time and spending one day per week at City Sprouts, a school gardening program in Cambridge that not only gets students growing food, but then brings that food into the schools' cafeterias to provide fresh, nutritious produce to the students. Her main task will be to work with me and the Board of Newton Community Farm to develop educational programming for the Farm. This will include working with representatives of the Bowen School on a pilot farm curriculum that will serve as a model program to be expanded to other Newton public schools.

2) We held our first educational program, as Brimmer and May brought 25-30 7th graders for a morning visit. Liz and I gave the students a tour of the farm operation, highlighting the history of the farm as well as benefits of local, sustainable food production. After the tour the students helped lay out beds, mulch paths, transplant tomatoes, spread compost on the rhubarb and asparagus, and other projects in the greenhouse. Our next programming event will take place in July when another group of around 25 students studying environmental science comes to the farm for a work day.

3) The Board of Aldermen approved funding for de-leading the farm house. The specs have been written for the work, and it should go out to bid this week. The tentative completion date for the work is August 15! Thank you to the Aldermen, and everyone else, who worked so hard to get this funding approved in record time.

4) The apple trees, which were pruned for the first time in many years and then ravaged by Winter Moths, are showing signs of recovery. Likewise, the historic grapevines that we pruned hard to allow access for construction of the greenhouse have leafed out and are looking good.

5) Perennial crop planting is well underway. The raspberry patch is planted, as is the asparagus. The blueberries arrived the other day and will be planted in the coming week. These crops, and other permanent plantings, will provide the Farm with produce for the next 25-30 years!

6) We are beginning to develop our volunteer network. We have a half dozen people who have already become regular volunteers on the farm. In addition, we've had over two dozen volunteers lend a hand at one time or another over the spring. Volunteers are crucial to the success of the Farm. Thank you to those of you who have already come by, and I'm looking forward to meeting, and working with, many more of you. We are currently looking for a Volunteer Coordinator to help organize work events. If you're interested in serving in this vital role, please contact me or one of the Board members. Anyone interested in volunteering is, of course, welcome. The best way to volunteer is to call me at least a day or two in advance to inquire about the upcoming work schedule. I can be reached at (617) 797-1611. Even on rainy days there is work to be done in the greenhouse, or in the barn preparing it for the opening of the farm stand.

7) There have been a number of supportive articles on the Farm in the Newton Tab. I was contacted just today by a writer for the Tab who is interested in writing another story: this one following the life of a vegetable from the day it is planted to the day it is eaten. The author is especially interested in following a plant planted by a volunteer, so stop by and you might just become famous!

8) Finally, I thought I'd give a run down of some of what's been planted for those who haven't had a chance to stop by the Farm yet:

spinach
arugula
mustard greens
lettuce
radishes
shelling peas
snap peas
leeks
scallions
onions
parsley
cilantro
tomatoes
zucchini
cucumbers
carrots
beets
Swiss chard
bush beans

There's lots more in the greenhouse waiting to be transplanted in the next couple of weeks. I encourage you to stop by and see all the exciting things taking place.