In this newsletter:

a farm update
Workdays
Potlucks

Farm Update:
Things are still a little cold on the farm, but we've started planting our summer crops, as it likely won't freeze until September. We have gotten some young chickens, for which we've built a coop and chicken run. We also have planted a fair amount of our cover crop, and if the soil dries out enough, we'll be able to plant the prairie understory planned for our orchard. Finally, we're getting ready for summer activiities on the farm, including the natural building class, potlucks and organized workdays (see below)

Workdays
We've got a lot of work to do on the farm. We're planting out all of our hot season crops, and putting in all of our prairie and cover crops for the year, figuring out rain collection systems, as well as doing general farm tasks like planting and taking care of vegetables. Upcoming workdays, on Saturday:

May 25: 1-4 PM.
June 1: 1-4 PM

Potlucks:
We're starting our summer potluck series this Friday. It will involve soccer from 5 to 6 PM, dinner at 6 PM, and a discussion from 7 to 8 PM. Come for all or whatever part you'd like, and feel free to bring a friend! Upcoming potlucks:

May 24: Evangelism
May 31: Environmental Writing
June 7: Bees
June 14: Cooperatives
June 21: Green Building
June 28: Fire: Prairie Restoration
July 5: Earth: Soil fertility and fertilizer scarcity
July 12: Air: Drones
July 19: Love: sharing our dreams of our lives and future
July 26: Water: topic to be decided (maybe the Iowa nutrient reduction strategy)