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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