Farm Fest Photos!

Thanks so much to Tracy Jackson for taking these wonderful photos!

Cedar Bluff class visits

We've been so busy over here are Beardsley Farm that we've completely fallen behind on our blogging! In the next few posts, we're going to catch you up on what's been happening at the farm.

First order of business: Cedar Bluff field trips. We had a whirlwind of first and second grade classes at the farm two weeks ago! Every day for a week, we had two classes come out to the farm with their teachers and parents. We split the classes up into groups, and gave each group a very fun day!

First, Ben read How Groundhog's Garden Grew by Lynne Cherry. The book is filled with beautiful illustrations and is very informative and helpful for young gardeners. After the story everyone learned about pollination and took a look at some of our perennial berry patches (strawberry, blueberry, blackberries and raspberries). They talked about our honey bees and the transformation of a flower into a fruit or vegetable.

Next, Frank gave a dazzling farm tour, telling the children about the farm's water catchment system and our composting operation. Each kid got to feel and smell a handful of compost, and we talked about how worms and microscopic organisms help make rich soil. Frank explained that harvesting rainwater and making our own compost are sustainable ways to grow food. Then everyone got to see our vegetable beds. They discussed the difference between root vegetables and leafy vegetables. Every group of children contained someone who could positively identify spinach!







Last, Marie talked about things you find on a farm and showed the kids the chicken run. The kids then got to feed the chickens ryegrass and weeds. Although the chickens got a little overwhelmed with all the newfound attention, the kids definitely had a good time chasing and petting them. Then, Beth showed the kids the chicken coop. Everyone was quick to notice the newly-laid eggs and the stinky stench of the coop. It's a good thing they learned about how good chicken poop is for compost! They also got to see our pond and watch the bees get some water.

After that, the classes went to eat lunch in Malcolm Martin Park. Everyone had a lovely time at the farm, and many children got to learn about brand new ways to become environmental stewards. It was quite a success!

Quick post-Farm Fest check-in

Hey everybody,

Wow, Farm Fest 2008 was a fantastic success. We had over 250 visitors to the farm! There was beautiful artwork from local vendors, lovely music and delicious food. Also, Frank gave a fantastic farm tour and lots of people won prizes in our raffle and silent auction (We've made phone calls to those winners--don't forget to pick up your prizes!). The children's games were a hit too--kids were having a ball getting their face painted and making seed art. Thank you to everyone who helped out at the event, everyone who donated and everyone who participated in Farm Fest! You all made this the most successful Farm Fest ever. We hope you had as much fun on the farm as we do every day. We'll post pictures of the event soon.

If you enjoyed Farm Fest (or if you didn't get to go), come by the farm this Saturday! We're having our Third Saturday Work Day on Saturday May 17th from 10am - 1pm. We'll be working in our butterfly garden, so be sure to wear close-toed shoes. We will provide snacks, but don't forget your water! This will be lots of fun for those who want to learn what we do at Beardsley Farm.

Come by on Saturday, and we'll see you soon!
Beardsley Farm Team

Farm Fest!

Hello Everyone,

We would like to formally invite you to our biggest event of the year: Farm Fest 2008! The event will be on Saturday, May 10th, 2008 between 10:00am and 2:00pm.

Farm Fest is a chance for you to see the farm and celebrate with us! It is a completely FREE EVENT, so it's guaranteed to be a fun day with your friends and neighbors. We are going to have live music, free food featuring local ingredients (including salad picked right from the farm!), door prizes, children's activities, a silent auction, vendors, farm tours and informational booths. This is a great family activity, so bring your loved ones and come visit the farm!

Check down at the bottom of this page for a map to the farm.

We'll see you on Saturday!
Beardsley Farm Team

We're featured in the Metropulse!

Hey folks,

Just wanted to remind you to pick up this week's Metropulse. There's a fantastic article on page 24 about Beardsley Community Farm. Here is a link to the full article online:
http://www.metropulse.com/news/2008/apr/16/seeds-change/

We were also featured in the Knoxville Voice's latest issue, but they haven't updated their site yet with our info. Look for the "Green Guide" section and you'll see us.

We're very excited for all the press we're getting, and we hope it'll lead to a great turn-out at our upcoming events. We hope to see tons of community members at our work day tomorrow (4/19) at 10:00am-1pm and also at our annual Farm Fest on May 10th from 10:00am-2pm. Be sure to save the dates!

Beardsley Farm Team

Work continues on the Malcolm Martin Butterfly Garden

On Tuesday, March 18^th, an almost miraculous convergence of good weather, good spirits and volunteer labor led to one of the most productive and enjoyable work days in recent memory. In addition to getting ALL of the paths in the butterfly garden defined, we:

• Saw first hand how human strength and cooperation can often be superior to power driven machines
• Extended our reach just a bit further into our community
• Inspired yet another potential Farm Team member for next year.

I couldn't stop smiling all day long.

The success of the day was welcomed, as many of our recent projects (including our first "official" Third Saturday Work Day) have been scuttled by bad weather. In fact, the day's activity was not exactly planned. The cancellation of our work day by rain left a major project hanging and in need of some reevaluation. The decision to turn our attention to the butterfly garden was only arrived at late on Monday afternoon. The team fully expected at least two days of HARD labor. With more rain threatening for mid week, we were anxious to get as much accomplished on Tuesday as possible.

I arrived at work to find a few of our regular volunteers ready for a long day of work. After a bit of coffee talk we loaded up the barrows with shovels and rakes and headed into the field. The first task was to define paths, which we did with a pointed hoe and spray paint.













While some of us worked on defining paths, others began to pull aside the top soil with rakes and shovels in preparation for the tamper.



A short while later Ben showed up with the tamper. The tool itself is about the size of a walk behind lawn mower. It weighs maybe 150 pounds, most of which is the steel plate which is supposed to compress the earth. The idea is that, once stripped of top soil, the bare red clay would be compressed into a hard, smooth surface suitable for eventual mulching. These measures, it is hoped, should frustrate the encroachment of weeds and growing things into the walking paths. The machine was both a disappointment and an inspiration.

Above we see Ben shaking out an apparent cramp in his hand. The machine is set in place by dragging it to the place you would like to begin. This is a difficult task even when the machine is off. Once started, you let it sit for a minute or so until the area beneath the plate is smooth and hard. To move the machine you have to "walk" it, pulling one side forward, then the other. When you pull, the weight of the machine digs into your fingers and the vibration spreads through your body until your eyeballs literally vibrate making everything in your visual field jitter in a somewhat alarming fashion. After nearly an hour of this, the group as a whole decided that the machine was more trouble than it was worth and that it should be returned before the rental fees mounted any higher.

Meanwhile, the rest of the crew was accomplishing great things with shovels and muscle:

The procedure was simple. After most of the top soil was raked from the path, we would take shovels and scrape the remaining layer down to bare clay. We threw, or sometimes wheel barrowed this soil atop the areas we intend to plant. This gives us an even deeper layer of top soil in which to plant the shrubs and flowers that will eventually populate this garden. Once the paths were clear we simply ran and stomped through them. This was nearly as effective and considerably more fun than the tamper.

There was much talk among the crew as we worked about how often we end up serving our machines more than they serve us. It is easy to forget just how much a number of well motivated people, working together, can accomplish. The rest of the day was spent in convivial shared labor.

In about six hours we went from this:



















to this:



















We would like to thank these people for all their hard work and good spirits. A few of those who helped are not in this picture but they appear above.



















One more thing worth mentioning. After we finished cleaning up tools and most of the volunteers left, Ben told me about a conversation he had with one of our neighbors. Apparently a gentleman from the Ridgebrook Homes (which is right behind the farm) stopped to ask what we were up to. Ben told him about the butterfly garden and the overall efforts at park beautification. He got very excited about the potential benefit to the community and asked about volunteering on future projects. One of our biggest challenges has been getting the neighboring community involved. I think our expansion into the park is going to present more opportunities to make organic connections with our neighbors.

And now, here is a little video of some of the crew after a long day of work.

Peace
Frank

Building a new chicken fence

Poor chickens! They have lived for so long with a sub-par fence, a rotting old piece of chicken wire that is folded over and flimsy. This week, we decided to build our beautiful chickens a whole new fence, complete with a shaded area for the hottest days of summer.

First, we slammed in metal fence posts to define the new border. Then, we attached the fencing to the posts using zip ties. We used pea fencing with approximately 2” holes, which is much sturdier than the chicken wire. Last, we moved the entrance gate so that the little chickens can have some shade. We think they’re really enjoying the addition of approximately two hundred square feet of space.