In this week’s post, I will highlight two main topics. The first is a farm dedicated to produce donation. The second is beekeeping.
There is a farm in Concord, MA, called Gaining Ground. Although the farm is located near where I work, and I have driven past it countless times, I did not know anything about it. Recently I finally looked into who and what Gaining Ground is – and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it’s an organic farm totally dedicated to hunger relief!
Their homepages states: “Gaining Ground, a non-profit organic farm in Concord, Massachusetts, grows vegetables and fruit with the help of several thousand community volunteers and donates all of this fresh food to area meal programs and food pantries.” With the help of thousands of volunteers each season, they donate over 90,000 lbs of produce each year. They were also recently selected to participate in a USDA Conservation Innovation Grant to study various aspects related to their organic, no-till methods.
Since Gaining Ground is a no-till organic farm, volunteering with them will be a great opportunity for me to give back, but also to learn about their farming methods and farm management. I am very interested in learning more about their methods and seeing how I can incorporate them into my small-scale, backyard gardening (and perhaps on a larger scale in the future). I also just love the fact that their whole purpose is to grow produce to donate, and I look forward to helping out a little.
I highly encourage you to watch Gaining Ground’s introductory video!
The second topic of this week’s post is not as uplifting as the first. We’ve hosted a honey bee hive for two years now. And for the second winter in a row, the colony has died. It is especially sad because I don’t think the bees were set up for success headed into the winter.
The big news is that I am going to start keeping the hive myself this year. I took the Practical Beekeeping class last semester, and though I didn’t plan to start beekeeping so soon, I am ready for the challenge. At first, I wasn’t sure that I was ready, but my husband really wanted to keep the hive. So, I’ve started a mad effort to refresh and increase my knowledge. I’ve reviewed my class material and have a few more beekeeping books to read.
I requested a hive inspection through the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) Apiary Program to ensure the correct diagnosis (as accurate as possible) of why the colony died. I am pretty sure they died of starvation/cold, but the last thing I want to do is start a new colony without understanding what happened to the last one – specifically to ensure there are no disease concerns.
I may not have been expecting to take on the role of beekeeper so soon, but now that I am committed to doing so, I am also committed to doing it right.
There is a lot to do and not a lot of time to prepare. I am definitely behind the power curve, but I can catch up. After the hive inspection, I will know what I need to do to clean the hive. As long as there is no indication of disease, this will be relatively straightforward. What I am more concerned about is my lack of practical, hands-on experience and networking with local beekeepers. So, I need to find beekeepers to visit with and at least one to be a mentor.
We pick up our new bees on April 15th. I found an apiary that sells locally raised Varroa Sensitive Hygiene (VSH) queens. I was pretty relieved to find them, as it is late in the year to pre-order. In the next few weeks, I'll be getting myself and the hive ready.
Now that I am taking on the role of beekeeper, you can expect more posts and photos related to the bees. My goal is to provide the bees with the support they need to be healthy, grow stronger, and do what they do! I am thankful for their role as pollinators. Along with the native pollinators, these honey bees are why much of my garden is productive. They are also simply such wonderful creatures to observe. I look forward to this new challenge and opportunity to start on my beekeeper journey.
