Preparing for CAMP: Work in Progress

Things are busy on the farm with garden work, new construction, and site improvements. With staff week less than a week away, here’s what we’ve been up to.

One of the six gardens we’re planting this year, this little plot includes our healthy patch of rhubarb. Andy’s been enjoying baking pies and crumbles with this tasty member of the buckwheat family. Yum!

Peas and beans are taking up a lot of real estate in the North Garden with many varieties planted. Under the reemay in the distance is our freshly planted corn patch with a few sunflowers sprinkled in for good measure. Other gardens feature potatoes, garlic, onions, carrots, beets, radishes, greens, tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, strawberries, flowers, and more.

With lots of help from volunteers at our spring work day, we installed a new fence in the hen yard using posts from our very own locust trees. Thanks to the longevity of locust, this fence will be here for decades.

Both tent platforms are getting makeovers. Work day volunteers helped remove all the old boards. Tulio and Andy installed the new ones. In the bottom right corner of this photo is the collection of lost pens and pencils found under the old platform. That saves us a trip to the office supply store!

The smaller tent platform by the Appleshed is getting a full remake. With cinder blocks for support and new pressure-treated boards, the new platform promises to be much sturdier than the old one.

Here Ashley is showcasing our newly installed hole in the wall (just kidding). It may not look like much now but we’re about two-thirds finished on installing a new handwashing sink in the dining room. This sink gets a lot of action all summer long which is why we sprang for moisture resistant drywall.

And now for the most exciting project of them all: a brand new garden shed that will house a vegetable washing station, storage, and a walk-in cooler! John, Lily’s poppa, who designed the structure, is spending several days on the farm constructing the building, with help from Andy and Lily of course.

Here’s the view from across the road, with Milt’s house in the background. The ability to store vegetables in the walk-in and prep for market under a roof on rainy days makes us farmers jump for joy!

Last but not least, here’s an adorable picture of our beloved cat, Crab Cake, pondering the mysteries of life amongst the buttercups on the gamefield. It truly is a beautiful time on the farm, and we’re super excited for the countdown to camp. Time to get back to work. That includes you, Crab!