It Takes a Community to Build a Community Farm

It's here!  The CSA is starting next week!  The crew and I can hardly believe it's happening!

Things have changed so much around here since October.  None of the fields were plowed and there certainly weren't any tender spring vegetables growing.  There wasn't a single chicken let alone almost 300 laying hens!  And there was no greenhouse filled with all the plants that will produce the crops for the entire growing season.  But slowly things started to happen and now there are vegetables waiting to be picked in the fields and eggs ready to go home with you.  (I wish I had a photo of all the veggies growing in the fields right now, but it is pouring rain as I write this. So you will have to imagine bright green pea shoots, newly-hilled beds of potatoes, dark green onion plants, tender-looking greens like spinach and swiss chard, baby broccoli crowns, and bright green and red heads of lettuce to name a few.   Now imagine a freshly plowed field further up the hill waiting for all the summer crops like tomatoes and summer squash and peppers to be planted in.) 

There are so many people that need to be thanked for playing such an important role in starting up this farm.  It really has taken a community to get this farm going, which feels right.  I can't think of anything more communal than the act of agriculture and of eating.  Feeding our land while feeding our community. 

And so we begin another leg of this farm's journey together next week.  CSA members can come pick up on either Tuesday or Thursday from 1:30-6:30 or on Saturday from 1:30-5:30.  Eggs will be available for sale on all pick-up days.  Don't forget to bring your bags!  There will be no pick-your-own this week (maybe shelling peas by next week!) but we will be harvesting these items for you to take home: Lettuce, Spinach, Bok Choy, Kale, Scallions, Broccoli, herb seedlings, and maybe some arugula, radishes and turnips. 

Don't belong to the CSA?  We still have shares available!  CSA style not a good fit for you?  Try our farm stands!  We will have a farm stand open to the public on Thursdays, starting on June 27th from 1:30-6:30.  We will also open a farm stand at Bird Park in Walpole on Saturdays, starting on June 29th, from 9:00-12:00. Eggs will be available at both locations.  

Can't wait to see you at the farm!
Farmer Molly and the crew

The Start of the CSA Season!

We are happy to announce that the first season of the Moose Hill Farm CSA will begin the 2nd week of June!

Come pick up your fresh spring vegetables on either Tuesday, June 11; Thursday, June 13th; or Saturday, June 16th.  No need to tell us which day you are coming and you do not have to commit to the same day every week.  Tuesday and Thurday pick-ups run from 1:30-6:30 and Saturday pick-ups run from 1:30-5:30. 

We would also like to welcome you to attend 1 of 2 orientations.  Come join us either tomorrow, May 30th at 5pm, or this Saturday, June 1st at 10am.  We will give you a tour of the farm and answer all your questions about what you need to know. 

See you around the farm soon!
Farmer Molly and the crew

Our Golden Comet Hens



Eggs for sale this weekend...Our first of many Moose Hill Farm products; free-range eggs, are ready for sale! 

 

Golden Comet eggs

Come see us at Powisset Farm's (another farm managed by The Trustees of Reservations) Spring Fest this Saturday, May 18, from 10am-3pm.  Powisset Farm is located at 37 Powisset St, in Dover, MA.  We will be there selling eggs in the big, grey barn!

First day ever on grass!

 

There have been so many projects here at Moose Hill Farm that we have been hard at work this winter and spring building up, but none as more visible or visited than our free-range egg business.  We now have 300, hard working Golden Comet laying hens.  They arrived at the farm in early April and they got right to work benefiting our soils by scratching, eating bugs and weed seeds and supplying free "fertilizer."  And now they have added laying about 250 eggs/day to their daily chore list!  Come and get eggs this Saturday and look for eggs to be for sale at Moose Hill Farm starting in June.  They are also currently available for sale at Appleton Farm's (another farm managed by The Trustees of Reservations on the North Shore) Dairy Store, where you can also purchase Appleton's freshly made milk, yogurt and cheeses. 

Hard at work

Egg washing

 

Hope to see you Saturday!
Farmer Molly and the crew (including the 300 hens who love visitors!)

Veggie Shares Available

The seedlings have been growing in our greenhouse and we're almost ready to get them in the ground. Sign up for our summer CSA and get delicious, farm-fresh veggies all summer long!

Also feel free to stop by the farm, meet the chickens, check out the greenhouse, say hi to the farmers, and sign up for a share! We'd love to meet you!

Sign up for a CSA share today >>

Please welcome the newest residents of Moose Hill Farm!

Want to say hi to our new chickens? Stop on by our Open House this Sunday, April 28 and meet all of our 300 chickens! You can also meet the farm crew, go for a hike, learn about how to care for chickens, plant some flowers, get some gardening tips, learn about our brand new CSA and more!

We can't wait to meet you!

Moose Hill Farm Open House
Sunday, April 28 | 1–4PM
Learn More >>

Meet the Farmers at our Open House!

Moose Hill Farm is the newest farm on the block! Come out and meet the farmers, get the lowdown on joining our CSA program, find answers to your gardening questions, and more.

Sunday, April 28 | 1–4PM
Moose Hill Farm
Sharon, MA

The New Year Comes to a New Farm

 

If you have taken a walk at Moose Hill Farm lately, you may have noticed some changes in the landscape here.  Most winters mean a time of rest for a farm, but not this year at Moose Hill Farm.  We have been very busy putting down the building blocks of this new farm.

 

First snowfall

 

 



Old loafing shed and chicken coop that were removed

It’s not all “out with the old and in with the new” in 2013 at Moose Hill Farm.  It’s a little bit of both and a bit in between.  Some of the older animal shelters had to be demolished here because of safety concerns but we also have been working on retrofitting the old milk pump house (the only remaining building from the original dairy farm) to house the pump tanks for the new well that was drilled.  That new well will supply water for the drip irrigation system (a very water-conserving method of irrigation) that will be installed sometime this spring.  The removal of trees is always bittersweet but we have ensured that we will be maximizing the amount of sunlight the new greenhouse receives and have cleared the way for visitors to view and access the vegetable fields much more easily.  Soil samples have been taken of those new fields and soil amendments like lime and compost will be applied to feed the soil – by far a farm’s most valuable resource.   We have leveled the land for the new greenhouse and will start its construction this week.



Leveling the land for the new greenhouse

 

Not all the building blocks we have put into place this fall and winter can be seen and touched, but they are just as important as all of the new infrastructure.  We have partnered with two local food pantries (Sharon/Stoughton and Canton) to work out the details of Moose Hill Farm’s hunger relief donations.  We have connected with two local youth programs in the area to come and volunteer on the farm on a regular basis – the City Harvest youth crew and the Norfolk Aggie High School.  We will also be partnering with the Sharon School System to stock the school’s cafeterias with fresh produce.  And some of the most important building blocks of all, the three new apprentices to join me this spring, will be hired by the end of January.

 

It has been my pleasure stopping to answer questions and chat with visitors the last couple of months.   We recommend coming to visit often this winter – so much is still to come!

 

Farmer Molly