Eastie Farm is a grassroots effort to give East Boston a space for growing food and building community
What began as an overgrown, abandoned lot is now a thriving urban oasis, a place where people can come relax, enjoy nature, and help out.
Volunteers learn about rainwater conservation, waste management, and other eco-friendly urban farming methods, all while getting to know their neighbors and having fun!
Visit our Volunteer page to get involved, and scroll down to see what we’ve been up to at the farm!
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Although chilly, this past Saturday at the farm was certainly productive! We’re only a handful of weeks away from putting down our work gloves and instead adopting a more administrative focus on Eastie Farm, but there was quite a bit to do before we could feel comfortable enjoying hot drinks indoors rather than spending Saturdays in the soil.
First we emptied all the rain barrels to prevent frozen water from cracking them, taking care to siphon the water away from neighboring residences (flooding some basements would not be a great way to positively impact the community!).
Then we tidied up by clipping down or removing the remaining crops from this past season, and harvested the remaining herbs. Once dry, they’ll be perfect to showcase at Taste of Eastie this winter!
We also removed unwanted items to clear a safe space for children to play in the snow come winter, and planted some beets for harvesting in the spring. It may seem far too cold for planting seeds, but it’s possible and productive! Learn more about fall planting here.
We then spent some time at the East Boston Greenway, talking to passersby about the art instillation currently up for public display near Marginal Street. FUTUREwaters|AGUASfuturas shows 2030 and 2070 flood levels, which many people walking by found startling. What’s even more worrisome is that the depicted levels are conservative predictions. Stop by the Greenway before December 9th to check it out yourself!
The end of warm weather always feels a bit bleak on a farm. As harvest season winds down and the plants you’ve so lovingly tended to all summer die back, what more is there to do but wait drearily for Spring?
Plenty! Here at Eastie Farm, colder weather means the arrival of our much-anticipated greenhouse. We spent some time last Saturday rearranging the raised beds to make make space for this structure.
The most effective strategy for moving a bed turned out to be rotating it while lifting and pulling in a certain direction. Many hands made for somewhat easy work!
We have also been planting our cold season crops, which, despite being put in the soil a little late this year, will hopefully give us some hardy greens before winter. While planting garlic in preparation for next summer’s annual Garlic Festival, volunteers were surprised to find some garlic and spring onions yet to be harvested from this past season.
Additionally, we harvested the ears from our incredibly tall El Salvadorian corn, which turned out to be much taller than it was productive. There were only a handful of ears to taste, but that said, those few were certainly delicious! We made sure to save some seeds for planting next spring.
There’s still work to be done before winter, so come on by to see what we’re up to! Despite cold temperatures, work parties will be held for the next few Saturdays from 10am to 2pm. Please reach out via Facebook or email to be added to the volunteer list. Hope to see you at the farm!
Like someone who is leaving a party half-heartedly, winter is taking its time with a long good-bye. So we were lucky to have a nice warm day today to keep things moving at the farm: more cold-weather crop seeds in the ground, more organizing the space for easier access, protecting the young Persimmon and Asian Pear trees, sheet-mulching in spaces that were eroded, and planning, and chatting.
A cute little neighbor came by with his grandma to say Hello, and provided a report on his first visit to the barber shop. He is the same age as our young farm, and we can’ t believe he’s ready to go to day-care.
Seedlings are safely indoors, but it’s now time for some direct-seeding. It’s perfect weather for cold-weather crops. Let’s get started. Sign up to be a volunteer:
Eastie Farm is a grassroots effort to give East Boston a space for growing food and building community
