Progress at The Farm at Stratford has been moving along nicely.  In fact, 39 days from the signing of the contract with the Town, Paul and Terry created a community garden and sustainability effort that appears as if they had been years in development.  There are now nearly 50 plots allocated and most have been planted or improved.  We continue to make improvements toward the permaculture aspects of the Farm and infrastructure.

Last week Paul, Terry and Jason planted over 30 fruit tress mostly apples and hardy peaches.  The trees were donated by the Adams County Nursery in PA.  We planted them along the Connors Lane fence and along the east end of the field.  Additionally, were began planting Blueberry bushes in certain areas and intend to increase the number of plants over time.

Pumpkins and Squash.  Some areas of the Farm are not well suited to general gardening but we have a plan to help those areas produce.  Ground has been prepared at the foot of the hill to plant a variety of pumpkins, gourds and squash.  We are hoping to plant a good amount of sugar pumpkins that can be used for pie making.  Almost all pumpkins can be eaten but the small pie pumpkin varieties are the best for baking and pickling.  The pumpkins can be gifted to food pantries, shared with gardeners or even sold as an earned income product for improvements on the Farm.

We have begun to establish the Farm Honey Bee yard.  We have the first hive in place and plan to have several more. Terry will be dividing a hive of his and brining the new hive to the Farm.

We have received many compliments from the neighbors about the improvements to the Farm.  Plans are in the works to build a tool shed, information kiosk and some grape arbors with benches.