ANNUAL DICKINSON COLLEGE FARM TOUR

May 27, 2011

 

HAVE SOLAR POWERED GOLF CART AND DOG, WILL TRAVEL

 

Matt is always happy to show us what's new at the farm.  There's a good deal of ground to cover, so we hopped into the golf cart with him.  Sadly, Pinto Bean has passed away but Matt and Jenn have gotten a new Australian Shepherd named Bella.

 

NEW GROUND

 

Here is a newly plowed field which is being prepared for planting.  It can take a year before a field is ready to grow food.  The weeds need to be plowed under several times.  Rocks need to be removed.  A cover crop is planted and plowed under...

The sheep are coming along nicely.  Cute set of twins!

 

WOOLY MOMMAS

 

Bob watches the ewes and lambs doing their thing.  We noticed wool hanging from a trailer in their pasture and Matt explained that the sheep duck underneath for shade, often leaving a little bit of themselves behind.

 

AG1

 

Like many things at Dickinson Farm, the AG1 represents developing technology.  They basically are using the methane from manure to burn gas which can be used for heating or cooking.

 

Matt loves to tinker and it's a good thing because tinkering is one of the prerequisites of successful farming.  The farmer that continually looks for ways to save money by looking for ways to utilize what's on hand has a fighting chance in today's economy.  Environmental sustainability leads to economic sustainability.  Matt is getting ready to light the gas so we can reheat some greens for dinner. 

 

ALL FIRED UP

 

As you can see, Matt is all fired up over his burgeoning technology and Camille is pretty excited about eating a hot meal.

 

WORM POO

 

If you've read "Worms Eat My Garbage" you'll know what's going on here.  The worms eat food waste and turn it into poo a.k.a. castings which are a rich soil amendment.  The underside of the bin is built on a conveyer belt so that one only need turn a crank to harvest the castings.

 

THE CULPRIT

For at least an hour, we kept hearing a strange sound and wondering if it were being made by some kind of animal.  It was somewhere between a squeak and a hiss.  Finally, we realized it was coming from Matt's left shoe which of course, made us all laugh.

 

TOMATO TECHNOLOGY

 

More fun!  Matt's new favorite gadget is a pulley and clip system designed to make hanging tomato plants a snap.  As the tomatoes grow, the line is adjusted.  This is much easier than weaving branches through a tomato cage!

 

FIRST RADICCHIO OF THE SEASON

 

With infectious delight, Matt encouraged us to harvest the first beautiful radicchio of the year.  We added it to a bowlful of other delicious greens and made a salad to remember.

 

HOME STRETCH

This was the point in the day when the greens, salad and casserole all come together to make a meal.  Jenn came home and joined us but we didn't get a picture because we were too engaged in conversation and delicious food.

 

ROSCOE

 

Cats are great and Roscoe is no exception.  We are always amazed at the unlikely places a cat will go to get comfortable.  Bob worked at getting Roscoe to play with a piece of weed trimmer line and was marginally successful.

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