Last Box
Dear Mustard Seed Farm friends,
Leaves are falling, the temperatures are cooling (sometimes??), and the growing season is winding down here on the farm. Mornings are darker and chiller and we've had two slight frosts in the last few nights. As always, there is still plenty of work to do as we harvest the last of our crops, turn over beds to plant cover crops, plant spinach and garlic to overwinter, and get ready to put the farm to bed for the season. We especially need help this Friday and Saturday, before a more serious frost takes out many of our crops.
This email is featuring a
If you are curious or interested in participating in fall crafts, volunteering, or the many ways you can participate with us this fall, take a quick minute to fill this form out and we will follow up with you. Hopefully this will help us schedule activities that work for the folks most interested. Don't worry - this is just an interest form, not a commitment.
Here's what we have going on this month. We hope you can find a way to connect with us!
October Events -
Friday, October 11, 7-10 AM: Harvest Morning
This will be our last regular harvest of the year and our last week of harvesting for the CSA and our large donations! Please join us and take home a delicious box of vegetables! And please bring back any wax boxes you may have stashed at home. This is also the last harvest before more serious frost this weekend, so we have a lot of crops to gather from the fields before they are lost to frost. We can use extra help!
Saturday, October 12, 9-12 PM: Work Day
There will be a variety of tasks to help with, and we would love to have you join us. Whether you would like to be sitting down or standing up, shelling beans or turning compost, there will be something for you. If you're an experienced volunteer, that's great! If you're new, come on out and we'll pair you up with a buddy. (New volunteers: check out our FAQs). It's helpful for us to have a sense of how big our crew will be, so please RSVP using the October Attendance Form OR to Alice at mustardseedbee@gmail.com OR text her at 978-471-8414 by Friday if you can.
October 15 & 18, 8-10 AM: Harvest Mornings
We will be harvesting for 2 hours for our workers and possibly for a few donations, depending on weather and the size of our crew. You are totally welcome to stay longer and help with post-harvest tasks.
October 25-27 (exact dates/times TBD): Garlic Planting
We will be planting our garlic field sometime between October 25-27, depending on the weather. Please use the October Attendance Form to let us know if you would like to receive further updates on the timing of garlic planting!
Holiday Crafts & Markets
Are you interested in any of the following? If so, please fill out the
Advent Candle Making: on the farm, usually 2-3 hour shifts in the morning during the first week of November > Contact Amie at outreach.mustardseed@gmail.com for more info.
Tabling at Holiday Markets: We will be looking for a few folks to help us sell craft items at several holiday markets in November and December. (especially November 23rd and December 21st) > Contact Alice at mustardseedbee@gmail.com if you would like more info on how to help.
Making Crafts to Donate to the Farm: Looking for a creative outlet? We would love to have some additional craft items to sell for farm fundraising this winter. If you sew, knit, crochet, make cards, etc, pitch us an idea! We also have donated/recycled craft supplies on the farm that can be turned into new and beautiful things to sell.
Block Printing: Help us print more t-shirts for markets, and maybe print one of your own.
Shelling beans or other tasks???
Leaves and Candle Wax - click this link for more details https://mustardseedfarm.org/?q=node/522 (mustardseedfarm.org)
Once again, we are looking for LEAVES for mulching the gardens at the Mustard Seed Community Farm. This year, we will also take pine needles.
We are also looking for CANDLE WAX to make our annual advent candles. We especially love liturgical candle stubs. for more info - check out our website
REMEMBER, IT IS NATE who is coordinating the LEAF PICK-UPS: TEXT HIM AT 515-231-2002
Seeking New Farm Team Members
Would you like to step into a leadership role on the farm? Are you interested in helping with decision-making and shaping the vision of Mustard Seed? Would you enjoy helping to plan and host events, do outreach, work on special projects, or help with logistics like CSA planning or volunteer coordination? Do you have a few free hours a month? If so, you might enjoy trying out the farm team. The farm team is a group of about 8-12 volunteers who work together to do all the things listed above. We meet once a month on a Sunday afternoon from 1:30-3:00 PM and we form smaller teams of 2-4 people who work on projects like Events, Intern Hospitality, and Outreach. Our next meeting will be on Sunday, October 13 from 1:30-3:00 PM at Collegiate Presbyterian Church. Join us or email outreach.mustardseed@gmail.com for more information.
Love from Alice, Nate, Amie and the whole Mustard Seed Team!
