Strawberries & Summer

Jun 5

The strawberry beds are bursting with berries, so we know it’s time for Summer! Last Friday was also the final Bistro - our special “Volunteer Appreciation Lunch,” and this week I worked with the students to compile their annual keepsake Recipe Books, which signals the end of yet another delicious school year! It always amazes me at what the students are able to accomplish on our Bistro days and it has been a real gift to watch, and help, them grow over the course of our nine months together!

So far, 2024 has been full of new endeavors and May was no exception! The first weekend of the month, I made it through a cold, wet weekend as a first-time food vendor at the Master Gardener Plant Fair - selling hot calzones as quickly as I could make them! The following weekend, I hosted my first all adult workshop: “Fun with Flour and Flowers” - and enjoyed a lovely afternoon of crafting and baking with some great women! A couple days later, I co-hosted a team-building, flower arranging workshop with Waterleaf Farm, and then later in the week, made my debut at the Rogue Valley Grower’s and Crafter’s Market selling smoothies!

Amidst all the events, I’ve also been enjoying Spring on the Farm - providing multi-discipinary field trip experiences, getting the rest of the garden planted, and snacking on the Sugar Snap Peas we planted way back in February! We’ve also been starting preparations for some super fun summertime events - camps and parties, along with some new opportunities to share this beautiful land with the community! Stay tuned - we’ll be adding events to our summer calendar soon!

June promises to bring some big berry harvests, loads more peas, the first broccoli, cauliflower, heads of lettuce, spinach, and probably even some purple cabbage! Before my first camping trip of the year (for my birthday on the 13th), we’ll be hosting our biggest gathering to date - a joint birthday party for two of our regular campers - sisters celebrating their 4th & 6th birthdays, with a big Frozen-themed party! The middle of the month will also bring our first week of Summer Camp and the Summer Solstice! And I’ll be trying out the Tuesday Ashland Grower’s Market toward the end of the month.

Summer is most definitely my favorite season and I look forward to sharing it with you all!