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Volunteers at Patterson Field planting lettuce starts. Image courtesy C. Wager
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Updates from the Field!
The month of May marks the start of the busy season here at Aurelia’s Garden. The cool-season crops are being planted out in the fields and the heat-loving crops are still being attended to in our houses. The sun is getting hot during the day and our volunteers are starting to bring out their shorts and sun hats during weekly volunteer sessions. Want to join us in tending to our beautiful crops? We have SignUpGenius sessions available for both Medway and Wayland! We’d love to see you and have your help with all of the exciting activities in the field.
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Volunteers planting carrots in a freshly turned bed at Patterson Field.
Image courtesy of C. Wager.
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At Patterson’s Field in Wayland, we have planted a huge array of different greens, carrots, radishes, beets, peas, and onions. Every week, new rows are carefully weeded, broadforked, and gently tilled before drip line irrigation is laid for the season. Once preparations are complete, planting and mulching begin! At the ends of rows, and tucked into our perennial herb and flower patches, we are planting flowers to attract pollinators and bring beauty to the field. This month, Hannah and her crew from Terrascapes brought in dozens of bales of mulching hay which will help suppress weeds and retain soil moisture during the heat of summer. The tiny lettuce and Asian greens plant seedlings look adorable nestled into the hay, and will benefit greatly from the care we are putting into preparing the field. Waiting in the wings are hundreds of eggplant, pepper, and tomato seedlings that have been potted up, fertilized and hardened off. These staple crops will join us in the field in June, just as the heat really starts up. Join us in the field to spread mulch, plant seedlings and enjoy the sunshine by signing up on our Wayland SignUpGenius Page!
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The new rabbit exclusion fence at Medway Community Farm. Image courtesy of T. Ashok
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A little further south in Medway, the grant-funded rodent fence has been completed! The low, two-foot tall fence is made of galvanized chicken wire and has two gates for easy human access. The fence is a welcome barrier between the rabbits and all of the young peas, radishes, beets, Swiss chard, and lettuce that the volunteers in Medway have planted. Soon, these plants will be joined by onion seedlings and more greens. The team is also installing new hoops over the beds to support row cover for insect exclusion. These hoops are sturdier than what is currently in use and will allow for more distance between each hoop. The insect netting will be stretched over the hoops to keep out flea beetles early in the season, and other pests such as squash vine borers later in the season. If you want to come and see the new fence, help with transplanting seedlings, and enjoy good company, please check out the volunteer options on the Medway SignUpGenius Page.
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Rows of peas, chard, and lettuce next to bales of mulch hay at Patterson Field.
Image courtesy of C. Wager.
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Wildlife: Our Avian Friends at the Farm
One of the joys of working at Aurelia’s Garden sites is the surrounding conservation lands that support a variety of native bird species. Patterson’s field in Wayland is bounded on three sides by the Mill Brook Conservation Area, and the Medway Community Farm has Chicken Brook running through the fields. Both fields are within a few miles of large nature preserves and conservation land known for good bird watching.
Aurelia’s Garden supports these conservation areas and the birds that call them home. Our goal is to farm in concert with the world around us and support the health of the ecosystem with thoughtful land management practices. We employ low-till growing, strive to use little to no pesticides or herbicides, and are continually aiming to improve the health of the forest edges around us. We remove invasive plants and replace them with natives which support pollinators and wildlife.
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A Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina) in the forest edge at Patterson Field.
Image courtesy T. Smith.
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Birds are great indicators of environmental health because they play a large role in the ecosystem and are easy to observe. Concerning reports about the health of avian populations in the United States have shown that more than 1 in 4 birds has disappeared since 1970, including birds that are not generally considered vulnerable. Seventy species are considered at risk of becoming threatened species, having lost over half of their breeding population in the past 50 years, and are on track to lose another fifty percent in the next fifty years if no changes occur. Luckily, conservation efforts such as those at Aurelia’s Garden do make a difference. Wetlands conservation efforts have increased waterfowl numbers by 34 million individuals, demonstrating the success of rehabilitation and conservation efforts.
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A pair of Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) on the electric fence at Patterson Field. Image courtesy T. Smith
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The conservation lands around Aurelia’s Garden are home to four at-risk species - evening grosbeaks, prairie warblers, chimney swifts, and the mottled duck. Another six species have been identified as needing monitoring to avoid becoming at-risk species - canada warblers, cerulean warblers, eastern whip-poor-wills, mourning warblers, olive-sided flycatchers, and wood thrushes. While we might not regularly see these particular species as we work in the field, we are surrounded by dozens of species that might also be struggling in the changing world. The digital bird-watching platform EBird by Cornell University shows that 116 species of birds have been sighted in the Mill Brook Conservation Area, and less than five miles away over 200 species have been seen at the Heard Farm Conservation Area. We are surrounded by diversity, and we are striving to support and encourage these birds in our field and surrounding areas. We reduce our water consumption to reduce our impact on ducks and geese in nearby waterways. Our move to using insect netting over rows of crops reduces harmful pesticides and leaves a plethora of insects for the birds - especially important during nesting season. Planting native plants increases the health of the whole ecosystem, and provides food, shelter, and support for all the wildlife surrounding the field.
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A Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) in the brush on the edge of Patterson Field.
Image courtesy of T. Smith
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Our efforts to invite in birds also have notable benefits for the farm as well. A 2022 study published in the Journal of Applied Ecology demonstrated that birds do less crop damage and carry fewer risky pathogens on farms with more wild areas than those without wild areas nearby. With access to more nutritious foods such as insects, seeds, and wild fruits, birds were not interested in the field crops. Other studies have shown that wild areas attract birds that reduce the amount of insect damage done in the field. We have often watched birds flitting in our field, picking away at bugs and caterpillars. Overhead, swallows and swifts pick away mosquitos, midges, and other pesky biting bugs. And the whole time, they fill our time at Aurelia’s Garden with color, song, and joy.
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A singing Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) - these little birds provide some of the loudest and most cheerful songs at Patterson Field. Image courtesy of T. Smith.
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Nest Boxes and Bluebirds, Buckets and Wrens
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A male Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) guarding a nest box at Patterson Field.
Image courtesy of T. Smith.
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At Patterson’s Field in Wayland, we were inspired by our neighboring conservation area to install nesting boxes for our local eastern bluebirds and tree swallows. Tree swallows are obligate cavity-nesting birds, meaning they must nest in a cavity space, while eastern bluebirds primarily nest in cavities. Both species face intense competition for naturally formed cavities from similarly sized starlings, house sparrows, chickadees, and titmice. Installed properly, nest boxes are an excellent way to invite these two birds to nest and raise young in the field. Nesting eastern bluebirds require large territories of about an acre, and will fiercely defend that area from other bluebird pairs. Similarly, tree swallows avoid nesting near each other, so providing two or more nesting boxes twenty feet apart supports both species with little competition. We’ve been delighted to watch our two nest boxes be chosen and defended by both a bluebird pair and a tree swallow pair this year.
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A pair of Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) guarding nest box a Patterson Field. Image courtesy of T. Smith
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Delightfully, one of our loudest and proudest singers, the Carolina wren, has decided to forgo all nest boxes and natural cavities this year to raise their spring clutch of eggs. Volunteers discovered a nest in one of our five-gallon storage buckets stored under our field pavilion. The wrens laid eggs and fledged their young all within the month, giving volunteers a sneak peek into the lives of these little birds.
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A Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) nest in one of our twine buckets at Patterson Field. Image courtesy of C. Wager
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Carolina wrens are known for choosing odd locations to nest, and the male wren will often build multiple nests for the female to choose from. Nests have been found in mailboxes, old flower pots, garage shelves, and even old coat pockets. We are so pleased our field and farm can support the next generation of birds!
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Carolina Wren chicks (Thryothorus ludovicianus) in one of our twine buckets at Patterson Field. Image courtesy of C. Wager
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Support Aurelia’s Garden!
- Donate to our Annual Appeal! We are still looking for support to help us reach our $15,000 Appeal Goal!
- Paypal Favorite Charity: If you are a regular PayPal user, set Aurelia’s Garden as your favorite charity to have the option to donate every time you checkout with PayPal.
- Our Gift Registry: Aurelia’s Garden now has an online registry wishlist! Farming requires a lot of tools and equipment, some obvious and some less so. The registry has a variety of useful things that we would love to have, ranging from storage equipment for our tools to weights for holding down row cover cloth. All of the items on the list will support our efforts to become a more sustainable organization as well, moving away from single use materials and focusing on well-made durable supplies.
- Donation of Spare Equipment: Have something in your garage that you see on the wishlist or think we might need? We welcome donations of used equipment as well! In line with our sustainability mission, we are always looking for used garden tools, old but functional power tools, and old weights no longer in use. Have something that you think we might like but unsure? Email us at aureliaspantrygarden@gmail.com and let us know! We’d love to hear from you!
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We deeply value your support. Contributions can be made securely online
or by sending a check to:
Aurelia’s Garden, c/o K. Martin
40 Beaver Pond Road
Lincoln, MA 01773
Donations to Aurelia’s Garden are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
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President Hannah looking awesome while preparing space to plant beets, radishes, lettuce, and more. Image courtesy C. Wager
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