Reemay for Days

Piglets Discovering the Outside World

Powisset Farm is looking as good as ever and just in time for the beginning of our busiest season. I am quickly learning that so much of farming is about planning for the future. Months are spent making repairs, adding soil amendments, ordering seeds, planting seeds, tending to the crops, and doing all of it with proper timing so the finished product can be harvested only hours before it is scheduled to leave the farm stand. Of course, all the planning in the world cannot control pests and the weather. For that, we must make careful adjustments as necessary. Our manager Andrew is doing a great job at these things, as well as at teaching the crew how and why we do what we do.

Rows of Reemay

One of the most common and effective ways of protecting crops is to cover it with a fabric called reemay. This material can provide additional heat, protect from frost, and prevent pests from making contact with the plants. While using this can sometimes cause excessive heat, utilizing row cover provides an important clean alternative to pesticides that are so often used at commercial farm operations.

Rows of Chard, Lettuce, Beets, Fennel, and Scallions

While you have seen us in the fields for months, there will soon be many new faces on the property. The next few weeks will bring the Trail Run Series, Springfest, and the opening of our farm stand. In addition to the new greenhouse, Powisset will be adding a new barnyard. This will allow visitors to get a glimpse into the livestock operations that are so integral to the Trustees’ farms. The barnyard looks fantastic and will transform the visitor experience by bringing rabbits, goats, and sheep into the mix.

Barnyard Looking Good!

As mentioned, the farm and the crops are looking great so far. If you are interested in bringing fresh, local produce to your table, please consider purchasing a CSA share at Powisset Farm. We have a great variety of vegetables lined up for this summer and we would love to have you join our community.

Hope to see you soon!

Jeff Hoodlet

Farm Apprentice

Join us on Sunday, June 3^rd for Powisset Farm's 10^th Annual Springfest, a day-long celebration of the farm and spring! This festival will include activities for all ages including a vendor village, pony rides, kids crafts, face painting, farm tours, local food (including The Powisset Cafe) and beverages (Jack's Abby and Lookout Farm), live music (The Railroad House Band), animals (pigs, chickens, sheep, bunnies and goats), a pie-eating contest, and much more. The farm stand will be open for spring veggie shopping and will be stocked with local products! Join The Trustees and get free admission! For more information visit thetrustees.org/powissetfarmspringfest.

-Nicole Nacamuli
Engagement Site Manager, Powisset Farm

Plants are in the Ground

Many thanks to the EMD group!

The fields at Powisset are starting to look very different. The last couple weeks have brought many volunteer groups to the property and allowed us to complete a great deal of work. Two groups of Boston high schoolers came out to learn about farming and foraging while pruning raspberries and weeding strawberries. A great group from EMD Serono, Inc. traveled to the farm and spent many hours transplanting chard, onions, fennel, and beets. Of course, our loyal weekly volunteers were also on hand to continue with seeding and putting up fencing to protect the crops from the deer. Along with the planting mentioned above, we have also put in beds of broccoli, cauliflower, peas, fava beans, and sunflowers. The fields will quickly start filling up with crops from this point forward, and seedling trays will cycle from the greenhouse to the fields and back again, only to be seeded with another crop to be harvested later in the season.

Belted Galloways and food trucks at Weir River Farm

The weather couldn’t be better for enjoying a day at the farm, and there are many events taking place at various Trustees locations around Massachusetts. Last weekend, Weir River Farm held its annual Sheep Shearing Festival and I made my way to Hingham to check on some of our piglets and see what they had going on. It was a great day filled with food and activities, all taking place on yet another beautiful property. While Powisset Farm has been more focused on fruit and vegetable production, we will be adding new animals to our barnyard this year. This will create a great opportunity to have fun while learning more about a different area of agriculture.

While you are encouraged to feel welcome at the farm any time, we will be having our Springfest on June 3. In the meantime, keep an eye on the events page to see which other activities you might be interested in!

Ready to transplant

As always, let us know if you have any questions about the CSA or farming in general. Our 10-week and 20-week shares, as well as a fruit share add-on, are available HERE.

Enjoy this great weather,

Jeff Hoodlet

Farm Apprentice