A Word from Arcadia Farm

By Stephen Corrigan, Arcadia Farm Director

Is it spring now?  Are you sure?

These are the questions that I've been constantly asking myself over the last couple of weeks, weeks where we've gone from snow one week to record-breaking heat the next.  Mother Nature has now seemed to settle into her rhythm of springtime, and our farm has begun to teem with life.  Crops that were seeded directly into our soil are bursting through with vigor, and transplants that were languishing a bit trying to figure out what the heck was going on now seem to be growing taller before my very eyes.

This is always a hectic time of year.  Long hours are spent prepping beds, planting out new crops, and of course, trying to stay one step ahead of the weeds.  Our greenhouse is overflowing with seedlings chomping at the bit to get in the ground.  We at Arcadia are incredibly fortunate to have the dedicated support of a great crop of interns and countless volunteers who have devoted their valuable time to make our farm a success, and we certainly couldn't do it without their help.  (Insert shameless plug: Want to join our volunteer ranks? Come on out to our next Open Volunteer Day on Saturday, April 27th!)

It can be hard to remove myself from the mayhem of spring and stand back to appreciate the hard work that goes into this place and the bounty that it will produce.  I tend to get caught up in the day-to-day tasks and the infinite to-do lists.  Every once in awhile, I give myself a few moments to survey our fields, taking in the smell of vegetation, the sound of the bees buzzing all around me, and the sight of the sun disappearing over the horizon, and I cherish my role in this system.  We have the unique responsibility to grow food to share with others and improve this piece of land, and this humble goal is what keeps me going and makes all of the hard work more than worth it.