Lots of things happening here at Village Roots and on the Orchard
Hill Community. Here are just a few highlights from the last month.
We
started construction on two high tunnels at the
Sullivan County Complex. These high tunnels will be used for research
(studying the comparison between
regular greenhouse poly and
Solawrap
covering).
Community gardeners from the area will grow the crops and a student
from
Colby Sawyer College will be conducting the research. Eventually
this site will be used as community garden space.
The Orchard Hill Breadworks' Pizza Night Pavilion and new portable oven were used for the first time this past
Sunday, June 1
during a thank you event for all the donors and helpers that made this
project possible. Here are Noah and Asher working on the first coat of
clay plaster.
Muffet, one of our turkey hens, has been sitting on
eggs (turkey and duck) for the last few weeks. Felix, our tom, has
been joining her in her effort. With green grass, our breeder turkeys
are now out on pasture, but their turkey pavilion still offers them rain
and sun protection.
A promise of fertility! These two pictures show
manure from the steers busting with new growth...specifically, clover.
Why is this so amazing? Our steers, out to pasture in November, were
eating clover seed heads. When we put them in the temporary barnyard,
where there was no great forage (meaning, they couldn't do any damage),
they did what they do best. Now this area, previously devoid of good
forage, is booming with one of their favorite foods!
In the midst of it all....the yurt roof blew off.
Well, it was almost 20 years old. Thanks to Ken Gagnon of
Two Girls
Yurts for leading the project of making a new roof for the 30' yurt.
Marty grew his first potato when he was 12 year old on a worn out piece of ground behind his parents’ house. He’s been attracted to the idea of growing food ever since. He started growing seriously in 2001 with his wife Ellen’s guidance and has worked on several organic farms prior to moving to Orchard Hill. His passion is in integrating all aspects of the farm; the gardens, animals, buildings, water systems and so on. Marty has been raising heritage farm animals since 2003, and started training his young oxen Boss and Chez to do some of the farm work in the winter of 2012. Marty graduated from Antioch University New England with an MS in Environmental Studies and currently teaches Farmers & Foragers and summer camps at The Orchard School, as well as Permaculture Design Courses at Orchard Hill.
