New Barns and a Sustainability Summit

As predicted, cold weather meant slowed outdoor activities at the farm, but certainly didn’t mean it wasn’t hoppin’ at Merry Lea’s Rieth Village.  The last of the fall brassicas were harvested (see photo of Brussels sprouts showing some signs of bleaching caused by frost), though a few kale plants were transplanted inside the greenhouse to experiment with their overwintering abilities.

Once zoning permits were obtained, progress was made in pouring cement for early stages of raising our new animal barn, which we hope to begin using for new types of poultry and livestock in 2014.  More activity on building the barn will resume when spring weather arrives.

Another major activity was the Sustainability Summit, a gathering of 30 students from several colleges and universities to engage matters of sustainability on their campuses, discuss food and sustainable agriculture practices, and share ideas.  Tom Hartzell and Lisa Zinn did an excellent job planning an exciting weekend, filled with numerous hands-on activities at Merry Lea Sustainable Farm.  Jon Zirkle and Dale Hess facilitated tours of the farm, seed saving activities, compost building, winter prep in the hoophouse, and a demonstration of making soil blocks for starting vegetables indoors.  We hope to see some students who attended the Summit participate in the 2014 Agroecology Summer Intensive and the Sustainability Semester in Residence this fall.

Towards the end of the month, Jon and Dale moved the Isa Brown laying hens and guinea fowl from Rieth Village over to the farmstead barn for the winter.  Though they will surely be eager to again be roaming the grasses in the spring, chickens and guineas will now have better windbreaks for the cold months of winter and opportunities to scratch around in the barnyard when temperatures are near or above freezing.  As can be seen in this photo of Dale, we love our poultry!

– Jon Zirkle, Farm Manager