Archive for April, 2010

Please join the VYCC Farm Crew on Thursday May 6th at 7:00 pm at the West Monitor Barn to view the documentary Food Inc.  After viewing we’ll discuss the many issues that arise from this important documentary that sheds light on our food system and the state of farming.  If you have any questions please contact Amanda Payne, Farm Coordinator at the VYCC at 434.3969 x145 or amanda.payne@vycc.org

We look forward to seeing you there!

This week saw our 300 broiler chicks sprouting wing and tail feathers, gorging themselves day and night and taking erratic, awkward run-flights across their pen.

Broiler Chicks - week 2

Meanwhile the layers have moved into the Eggmobile, which remains parked in the East Campus. The first time I opened the side panel, the birds crowded around the wire mesh and peered at the world of cracked concrete and greenness nosing its way up through the rubble, looking as if they wanted to eat the entire view. They are also ravenous for crushed granite, which their gizzards use as millstones to further grind their food. We planned to move them onto pasture this week, but the snow has unfortunately extended their cabin fever.

In their new coop but ready for pasture once the snow melts!

Up in our rented greenhouse space, we’re potting up peppers, seeding lettuce, cilantro and brussels sprouts, and worrying over power outages caused by the storm.  This past week’s crazy snow storm caused a brief power outage in the greenhouse but luckily the power came back on soon to prevent any damage.  All is well and looking great! I learned the somewhat tricky procedure of making soil blocks with a hand mold. These alternatives to plastic seed trays allow better root development and save on resources.

Making soil blocks

Soil blocks ready for seeding

Pepper plants in soil blocks

Tomatoes!

Up in the farmhouse, we’ve been making lots of sourdough bread using the newly available locally grown white flour from Champlain Mills, mixed with our old fave Ben Gleason’s whole wheat bread flour. It’s been a long road to whilte flour from VT: check out this fascinating and in-depth post from Robin McDermott over at Mad River Localvore to learn more. We also installed some pleasing shelving made from materials scrounged from the East Campus site.

We were all a bit thrown by the snow this past week but hope for a quick melt and to get into the fields soon!  More to come….

The full Farm Crew has arrived!  Melissa, Robert and Kelly have been settling into the Farm House, and getting to know the land that we’re cultivating, the people of the VYCC, and learning a bunch about the VYCC’s policies, mission, and programs.   The three of us Americorps Interns are bringing a lot of different experiences to the Monitor Barns farm, and with the added expertise of Ben, Angela, and Amanda, I think it’s going to be a super growing season!

Farm Interns with tools

Things in the vegetable department have been a little slow as we wait for the fields to dry out and be prepared.  So we have been focusing on our lovely laying hens, and our 300 broiler chicks!  We’re happy to report that the layers have migrated to their Eggmobile! With  lots of help from our School Crew members, the chicken coop has been painted a lovely barn red.  Keep an eye out for it soon when you pass by VYCC on Route 2, we’re hoping to get the ladies (and one rooster man) on pasture ASAP!  As for the broilers, they are also enjoying a larger brooding area.  It’s amazing how much they have grown since we got here last weekend!

Moving layers from brooder into the chicken coop

Layers in coop with their new roosts

Broiler Chicks at one week. They're hungry!

Overall, it’s been a great first week for us interns!  We are all anxious to get the plants into the ground and all the birds onto pasture, so stay tuned!

From April 23 -24 the VYCC is participating in Club Day at EMS – South Burlington. All current VYCC employees, 2009 Corps Members, and 2010 Corps Members / Crew Leaders will receive 20% off anything in the store and 25% off EMS brand items! Plus, EMS is donating 1% of all their sales to The Conservation Alliance. You must be able to prove that you are or were a VYCC employee, so bring an identifying card or your Corps Member agreement.

While you’re at EMS, come visit the VYCC’s table. We’re hiring for Crew Leaders, Corps Members, and Park Corps Members. These spots are going fast so remember to submit your online application as soon as possible. www.vycc.org/apply

Stop by and find out more information about our programs, plus snag some gear with the Club Day discount, at the EMS on Dorset Street in South Burlington!

Our annual event celebrating animals out on green pasture! Come see the 2010 lambs and calves. Take a farmer led wagon ride pulled by our draft horses, Herbie and Henry. Stroll the farm and see over 85 cows, 120 sheep, 1000 chickens, 25 pigs and several horses. Bring a picnic, try our farm trivia table or enjoy a tasty grilled farm hamburger or sausage. Frozen product and maple for sale.

Sunday May 23, 10-2pm

FREE

1340 Carse Rd in Huntington. Follow the signs to the end of the road.

Families welcome. Please keep dogs at home. Rain or shine. Farm footwear suggested.

For more information: www.maplewindfarm.com or Beth beth@otloose.com

The broiler chicks arrived last Thursday healthy and happy in their metal trough brooder. These are our first round of 300 day-old Cornish Cross broiler chickens. We’ve brooded them in a large metal trough for the past week and will be moving them to a larger space today.  We’ve only lost four in the past week which is pretty good considering there were 300 to begin with!

Over the past five weeks, we have been brooding 42 laying hens and that has been going well- we haven’t lost one yet!  it has almost been like a trial run for the first of four rounds of meat birds.

The vegetable seedlings in our greenhouse over in Huntington at Jubilee Farm are growing and doing great!  Last Wednesday, Ben and Angie joined Beth from Maple Wind at the greenhouse and planted hundreds of seeds for the upcoming season. Many flats of cabbage, broccoli, peppers, and eggplant were started, along with some cut flowers and the tiny seeds of some culinary herbs such as oregano and thyme.

Tomato seedlings in the greenhouse

Beth Whiting watering in the greenhouse

Over the past few weeks, we have been working with some of the High School Crews that operate in conjunction with the VYCC. This week, we have been working with a group from the Center for Technology- Essex (CTE). Some of the tasks we finished this week included planting lettuce, arugula, and spinach in the greenhouse and prepared our mobile chicken coop for our fledgling laying hens. Its amazing what you can get done with over 20 hands!

CTE school crew turning compost. It's heating up!

Welcome to the four new Farm Interns who arrived today to help operate the Monitor Barns Farm and develop educational workshops for our crews. With our Farm Crew now fully in place, we are looking forward to the spring planting season. The VYCC’s MMU and CTE Crews have already been out on the farm preparing our greenhouse. Over the last month, they constructed five raised beds, seeded salad greens, and watered them daily. Thank you to our School Crews and a big welcome to the Farm Crew!

The VYCC would like to congratulate the Franklin Watershed Committee for receiving the Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence & Pollution Prevention for its efforts to improve water quality in Lake Carmi! Last summer, the VYCC partnered with the Franklin Watershed Committee to complete watershed restoration projects. The VYCC stabilized water banks and constructed several culverts for the committee. To learn more about the Franklin Watershed Committee’s efforts, visit http://www.franklinvermont.com/watershed_committee.html.

March was a busy month for us here at the Monitor Barns CSA. Three weeks ago we welcomed the arrival of our first animals – forty-two just-hatched chicks. As soon as we lifted the lid from their shipping box they were curious, alert, and chirping loudly!

Here they are in their brooder, their home for the next several weeks. The brooder protects the young chicks from predators and the elements so they can stay warm and grow and thrive. They spend a lot of time sleeping under the heat lamps the first few days!

We’ve been watching them grow over the past three weeks. Lately they have been stretching their wings and testing their flying abilities. These are some very healthy, active chicks!  We purchased them from Mt. Healthy Hatchery in Ohio and we have been quite pleased with their vigor.  Look how fast they’re growing!

When they have all of their feathers, and the outside temperatures are milder, they will be moved to their new house – their “chicken tractor”, which is essentially a chicken coop on wheels. Having their coop on wheels enables us to give them access to fresh pasture as they need it. These chickens will be our laying hens, and starting in August, they will provide us with dozens of delicious eggs each day.  Eggs will be sold at farmers markets and to CSA members! 

The greenhouse is another project where we have been spending a lot of time. We have been organizing our tools and working the soil… we are just about ready for spring planting!

We started our work in the greenhouse by harvesting lots of greens that were leftover from the fall – we got to eat lots of kale, spinach, and other greens. We shared some dandelion greens with the chicks.

We spent a few days getting the soil prepared by spreading a few inches of nutrient-rich compost from the Vermont Compost Company and tilling it in with a rototiller.  Then, we had one of the amazing VYCC school crews help us to build some raised beds.

Starting next week, we will be planting seeds for early spring greens and herbs in the greenhouse! These will go out with the first weeks of CSA shares.