This past weekend, we hosted our second volunteer work day of 2026. Our main focus was finishing our greenhouse construction and getting our garden ready for planting. The weather was perfect for working outside, and we had our best turnout yet! We had over 20 volunteers, representing all generations from ages 3 to 60+.

Last fall, we acquired an old 40 foot hoop-style greenhouse to aid our garden planting efforts. We were able to set up the wooden parts of the structure at a previous volunteer day, but still needed to acquire and install the plastic outer layer to get it ready for our seedlings. We had a humbling experience a few weeks ago, where we learned through experience that greenhouses require one continuous sheet of plastic, rather than the rolls of poly we found at the hardware store. With the correct plastic in hand, installation was a breeze, and we were quickly able to move volunteers to other projects. This was an exciting step forward for our capacity to produce our own food, and also created a new warm hangout spot for chilly, windy, and/or rainy days!

 

The bulk of our volunteer labor went towards preparing the garden for planting this year. Wendy headed up a gaggle of volunteers in pulling out old plants, taking down old structures, tilling new ground, and laying out fresh wood chipped paths between rows.

While we generally practice no-till gardening to promote soil health, the soil up here is very clay-rich and dense, making it difficult for non-native plants to establish roots. We elected to do one initial till on our newest plot, and now will leave it to establish itself. The tilling itself was done without fossil fuels, using a vintage wheel-and-claw tiller along with hoes, shovels, pickaxes, and lots of elbow grease. The next stage will be to plant large root vegetables such as beets, rutabagas, and daikon radishes to increase the depth of the loosened area.

Last year, we elected to build soil on top of what was already there for our initial planting. These are effectively raised beds that we plan to build up a little bit more each year with compost, straw, and horse manure. Our volunteers did a great job of re-establishing the wood chip paths between rows, creating clear lanes for us to fill in with soil as we are able to collect it. I made an attempt on Saturday, but our horse pasture is so soggy it gobbled my wheelbarrow right up as soon as I had it loaded. That task is now top of the list for this week! We are now ready to plant in some areas and nearly ready in others as our last frost date approaches.

The final project was installing a new garden gate, as the old one had a gap between it and our fence that allowed the chickens to sneak into the garden and scratch at our seeds and seedlings. While we weren’t able to finish on Saturday, we prepared posts from maple trees we harvested off the land, and dug post holes. The next step is to build the gate and mount it on the posts, and we will be in business!

We also led a couple of tours for first time visitors, and some volunteers were able to help Ellen with horse care. We have a couple of new yearlings rescued from the latest horse auction who received some TLC from a handful of horse-friendly volunteers. They appreciated the tender care and socialization, and we appreciated the help in welcoming them to their new home.

 

We closed out the day by feeding our volunteers and villagers a delicious feast of chili and cornbread, and singing our dinner gratitude song on a full deck overlooking our swimming pond. Spirits were high as laughter and conversation filled the space.

 

Overall, the work accomplished by our volunteers this weekend might have taken us weeks– if not more–without their help. Everyone showed up with a great attitude, and many new friendships and joyful memories were made along the way. We are immensely grateful to everyone who came out and donated their time and energy; it was amazing to watch it all unfold and see, once again, how many hands make light work. Thanks to those who came, we hope to see many of you–and some new faces as well–at our next volunteer day on Saturday May 16th. You can RSVP to attend that event by filling out our visitor form.

Love from the Village,

Moses