Another week of unsettled weather.  One day the thermometer was just shy of 60 and the next day the wind chill was 2.  It's tough to grow and harvest veggies when the temp swings are so great.

Seedling Update: Just about everything we grow on the farms we start from seed and the first round of seeding started in early February. Those seedlings are now being hardened off; next stop is the field. Hardening off is a process in which the tender seedlings are acclimated to outside temperatures.  The farmers move trays and trays of seedlings outside to a protected area. During the day and weather permitting, the seedlings are uncovered and exposed to the cooler temps and bright sunlight.  In the evenings the plants are covered or even brought inside if it's too cold.  After a few weeks, the plants are sturdy enough to be transplanted into the fields.  

Community Service at the Farm: Each year, many groups (kids & adults) come to the farms and offer their time and talents.  Depending upon the time of year, community service projects range from weeding, to mulching, to pruning or moving row covers.  Last Sunday, I had a group of 11, 8th graders help clean up the Horsham EC.  The kids were terrific!  After a short tour of the farm, they removed dead Jerusalem artichoke and sunflower stalks, pruned mint and Chinese chives and mulched the cleaned beds and blueberries.  They also moved several wheelbarrow loads of grapevines to the hedgerow.  If you know a group who would like to visit either farm and lend a hand, please let me know.  We are always happy to have extra hands - it's amazing how much a small group can accomplish in just a few hours.

Education Update:  In earlier Notes, I asked for volunteers to help with our large groups.  Several folks expressed interest and last week we had our first training session.  One of the volunteers, who happens to be teacher, brought a Proscope owned by her school. A Proscope is a handheld microscope that attaches to a laptop or tablet for easy viewing.  Here's a link if you're interested in the Proscope  We used the Proscope to get a better look at who is roaming the worm bin!  Very cool and I think the kids are going to love it!  

Quick note on upcoming programs:  Classes for the little kids - every Thursday morning at The Highlands in April; Classes for adults - Knife Skills in March, Herb & Pesto Night in April and Cooking the CSA Way in May!  Check the Website for details!

Have a good week.