Week 11, Summer 2023

Hi everyone! It’s been over 2 months since Summer started and we’re slowly coming to an end. Read up on how this week went in Sheldon and please remember we have a 2x matching grant going on right now! Donate with our sponsor The Good People Fund and mention you’d like the funds to go to Zumwalt Acres to have your donation matched! 💙💛💜

On Sunday, we let our perennial-loving & basalt extraordinaire Daniel out into the world. Daniel is heading back to Brandeis for his junior year, and we’re so proud & excited for him! 🌳🌳

Acacia’s been out of town for the last couple weeks, and drove back Sunday night. We’re so excited to have their expansive horticultural knowledge and supremely comforting energy back in the house 🥰

On Sunday, we hosted a Family Farm Food Fest where folks from all over Iroquois County joined us for an afternoon of chatting, farm venturing, and cooking. While we had expected the cooking to be more popular among adults, the kids ran the show, layering the lasagna, mixing the zucchini-fritter batter, and frying them up. We also ran a raffle with some exciting kitchen-related prizes and explored the whole farm. Thanks to everyone who showed up, we had such a wonderful time! 🫕

Monday:

In the morning, we stumbled upon a magical fairy circle (of poisonous green parasol mushrooms) nestled in the cow pasture – a reminder that enchantment is never far away. After a long weekend of hosting people at the farm, we spent Monday afternoon doing a deep clean of the house. It hasn’t looked this clean in… a bit too long. But we were jamming and it was fun to have so many people in the house! The day was a productive one, filled with another round of fending off pests from the squash and the application of diatomaceous earth (DE) to keep our crops healthy from beetle pressure. We had crazy winds in the evening after a midday rainstorm which made sitting & watching the sunset after dinner spectacular.

Tuesday:

Tuesday brought up emotions and group hugs as we said goodbye to El, Zoe, and Olivia. We spent the day harvesting produce for the food pantry, learning how to prune tomatoes together, and welcoming a new friend, Molly — they quickly went to work on pruning tomatoes & weeding throughout Goat! Malia & Lev bagged a substantial amount of flour, helping fuel our future culinary adventures (like insane Challahs and matcha cookies).

Wednesday:

We started the day with another group hug goodbye to Malia, adding to the sad series of goodbyes this week as the summer session ends. We checked on & reburied potatoes (an abundance of potatoes, some would say). The day concluded with a wild amount of pickling, preserving the season's flavors & cucumber abundance for future generations (well, maybe not that long).

Thursday:

Molly’s quick departure marked another farewell, and we’ll miss their stories and free-spirit which embody our community well. Thursday was a day of tomato harvesting – a task that always fills us with satisfaction. After a long feud with the high water table, we were finally able to clean the basement & mushroom tents, putting our mushroom buckets back into their rightful homes. 

Friday:

With so many people gone, we spent the morning harvesting for the farmer’s market and familiarizing ourselves with the process to send produce to market. The day held another goodbye, as Claire's departure left us with tears in our eyes. This week has been long with a large focus on learning & continuation, since so many of our apprentices held knowledge & applied their knowledge throughout the season. We’re going to miss their faces at our Shabbat dinners (and hopefully they come back soon!).

Donate to ZA by going to our sponsor’s page and mentioning Zumwalt Acres!🙏