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Hello!
It has been an exciting last few weeks at Little Portion Farm. Earlier this month we hosted the first annual Wine at the Shrine festival, which was attended by more than 350 people. It was wonderful to see so many people supporting our work and that of the Franciscan Center of Baltimore. Thank you so much to all who attended and helped us prepare for the event!
October has also been our busiest month of harvesting this year. We have now surpassed 2,500 pounds of food grown and harvested from our 1/4 acre plot, all donated to help feed those in need. While it is rewarding to reach this milestone in our first year, it is far more exciting to imagine the possibilities of the future as we eventually expand to grow food on all 3 acres!
In gratitude,
Matt Jones
Farm & Outreach Coordinator
P.S.: Please feel free to share this with others who might appreciate it! If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to receive future emails.
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What's Growing
Of the 20 beds that we planted this year, we're left with 12 from which there is still more to harvest. Even our tomatoes and peppers are still producing fruit for picking, as we have yet to have our first frost (although that may change this weekend!). There are only a few beds left from which nothing has been harvested yet, including the cabbage, carrots, and cauliflower, all of which are nearly ready for picking.
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Broccoli head beginning to form
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Turnips ready to be packed
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In the beds that have already been completely cleared (i.e. radishes, turnips, sweet potatoes, etc.), we have planted a cover crop mix to prepare the soil for next year. Peas, clover, and ryegrass will die over winter and provide organic matter and serve as a mulch. Winter rye and hairy vetch should survive the winter and begin growing again in the spring, providing nutrients to the soil for the next crop.
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Our harvest of sweet potatoes
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Freshly harvested radishes
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Drivers Needed!
If you or someone you know is interested in making deliveries of our harvested produce to the Franciscan Center of Baltimore, please contact Matt Jones (by email at mjones@olaprovince.org or phone at (443)-274-5430). While there will be fewer and fewer opportunities as the weather gets colder, you can sign up now to be put on the list for spring. This is a great opportunity to get involved and encounter the community that receives the fresh food we are working hard to grow!
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If you read our August newsletter you may remember that we were excited to see evidence of a particular parasitoid wasp that helps mitigate damage done to tomato plants by hornworm pests. Recently we found another example of this phenomenon, yet this time it is a wasp that parasitizes the imported cabbageworm, a major pest for crops in the cabbage family (including kale, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.). The wasp larvae spin their cocoons after emerging from the caterpillar, the yellowish clump shown in the picture above. One of the main reasons that we have sections throughout the farm dedicated to flowering plants is due to their ability to attract beneficial insects like these wasps. This provides an ecological control for our pests and allows us to flourish without the need for spraying chemicals.
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2nd Annual Wine at the Shrine
Saturday, October 17, 2020
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Little Portion Farm T-Shirts and Hats
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We still have T-shirts and hats available for purchase in the gift shop in the Shrine of St. Anthony. T-shirts come in white (with color logo), brown, grey, and dark green (white logo) and have a quote from our patron, Blessed Giles of Assisi on the back: “Those who lovingly work their small expanse of fields, reap enough for themselves and others.” Hats are $25 and t-shirts are $20 - all proceeds directly benefit Little Portion Farm!
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Spider web covered with dewdrops in the morning light on the farm
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"Everything is related, and we human beings are united as brothers and sisters on a wonderful pilgrimage, woven together by the love God has for each of his creatures and which also unites us in fond affection with brother sun, sister moon, brother river and mother earth."
- Pope Francis, Laudato Si', no. 92
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