Explore: Fall
October 31, 2023 • Anna Kelchlin, Farm Manager
The key to building soil health is photosynthesis, hands down. All life depends on this beautiful synergy between sunlight, water, plants and microorganisms. Our mission as farmers, as land stewards, is to constantly promote and encourage diverse growth in order to continue this cycle of life. I am excited to tell you about the importance […]
October is a bittersweet month on the farm, as productivity wanes and the season ends for some of our field crew members. Since April, they have stewarded the land with care, respect, and skill to help us grow fresh, organic produce for hunger relief. We thank them! In 2023 we were lucky to have Dayanna […]
July 14, 2023
Calling all photographers! Submissions are now open for Photography on the Farm, a special exhibit at Gaining Ground that will showcase the creative talents and perspectives of community artists. If you love making pictures of farms, gardens, and the natural world, we encourage you to submit your work. The deadline is August 11, 2023. All […]
November 21, 2022 • Christine Savage, Communications Manager
On Saturday, we held our annual pre-Thanksgiving distribution of fresh, organic produce in Concord. In coordination with Concord and Carlisle’s Councils on Aging and Community Services, we use this final Food for Families market to give away hefty amounts of nutritious greens and storage crops to more than 100 households experiencing food insecurity. At this […]
June 28, 2022 • Gaining Ground
Calling all artists! If you love to paint, draw, collage, or take photos, we want to showcase your creativity on the farm. Gaining Ground is hosting Art on the Farm—an outdoor installation of artwork along a walking route through our fields and beds—beginning September 10, 2022, and ending October 31, 2022. Pieces will be displayed […]
October 29, 2020 • Anna Kelchlin, Wash and Pack Manager
Without water life does not exist. Water makes up 60 percent of the human body, 70 percent of the earth, and almost 90 percent of many of the vegetables we grow, like cucumbers and tomatoes. This season I have spent my days surrounded by this sacred substance—using it to spray, dunk, shimmy, and shine our vegetables.
September 15, 2020
September is the time for testing soils for maximum benefit.
Check out this video where Farm Manager Doug Wolcik explains the reasons for taking soil samples and then demonstrates how to do so with a variety of tools. Your garden soils will be healthier if you follow his guidance!
October 9, 2018 • Fan Watkinson, Program Manager
By participating in the Concord Food, Farm and Garden Fair on the second weekend in September, Gaining Ground jump started its fall community activities. On Saturday, September 8, the farm hosted a tent at the Ag Day Farmer’s Market, alongside Concord’s other farms. Board member Jen Flint created a hands-on activity that attracted the attention […]
October 19, 2017
I recently attended a lecture at an unnamed old university in Cambridge. (Thoreau dismissed a degree from that school, writing, “Let every sheep keep its skin.”) The professor’s topic was social justice and food activism. One of the messages was that nonprofit hunger relief missions, like ours at Gaining Ground, are misguided and ultimately ineffective. […]
October 17, 2017
As the growing season starts to wind down, I start to get excited about the winter months and the planning process for next year’s growing season. I can’t help myself. As a farmer, it is so ingrained to always be thinking two days, two weeks, even two months ahead at any moment. But on days […]
October 11, 2017
“Those are carrots. Reindeers eat carrots.” —A 4 year-old talking to her friend at the Head Start market “The market is an opportunity to see all the colors, all the vegetables. Kids feel important when they shop.” —Teacher at Head Start in Lowell “We’ve tried new vegetables, and I’m learning how to cook.” and “This market […]
October 9, 2017
Gaining Ground offers us an outlet that exercises our minds, bodies, and souls. Meditation is largely inaccessible to our restless young minds. Over the years we’ve sought methods of clearing our heads like yoga and hiking, but nothing seems to do the trick like weeding for two hours. The satisfaction of clearing a patch of […]
October 6, 2017
Cooper has volunteered with his family at Gaining Ground since he was five years old. Now thirteen, he continues to enjoy doing something that positively impacts the community, while having fun and getting to know the farm and farmers. This summer Cooper decided to capture various aspects of volunteering at the farm on film. Here […]
October 5, 2017
For the past two years, the Pottery Club at Middlesex School in Concord has participated in the Empty Bowls program and raised more than $2,000 for Gaining Ground. Empty Bowls is a national program that has been helping to raise money and awareness in the fight to end hunger since 1990. Throughout the school year, […]
October 4, 2017
Hard to express in a few words, my experience at Gaining Ground has meant growth, empowerment, challenge, and fulfillment. It’s also been sweaty. I came into this season with very little farming knowledge. For many years now, I have studied plants—how to identify them, draw them, understand their biology. I have spent many countless hours […]
October 2, 2017
This year, Gaining Ground participated in the Concord Food, Farm and Ag Weekend on September 9–10. On Saturday, we had a tent at the farmer’s market where we kicked off our conversation about the connections between vital soil, healthy food, and hunger relief. On Sunday, over 200 folks attended our Community Harvest Celebration that featured […]
September 29, 2017
On September 24, under sunny skies, 11 cyclists rode for Gaining Ground in the Three Squares New England 6th annual Ride for Food. They raised more than $13,000 to help further Gaining Ground’s mission to grow organic produce and donate it to hunger relief efforts. Five volunteers donated their time by checking in riders, marshaling, […]
September 28, 2017
The Board and Staff would like to express our sincere gratitude to all those supporters who have given generously and shared their time and talents with Gaining Ground this season. Belmont Day, Fenn School, Nashoba Brooks School, and Thoreau School, for raising over $14,000 for our Read for Seeds program National Charity League, for providing […]
August 23, 2017
One of the joys of farming is that each season is a fresh start, bringing new challenges and new successes. Until you are in it, you never know how it will go. Farming forces you to be present, to live in the now and depend on the elements. You can plan as much as possible, […]
At the beginning of the summer, Gretchen Nelson, head of the board’s Recipient Committee, and I scheduled visits to the amazing organizations that distribute our produce. With growing season in full swing, seeing our vegetables filling tables, shelves, and bags was clearly going to be powerful. I had been told that our produce is often […]
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