Explore: Farm Update

Celebrating YOUR Impact!

Winter months on the farm are prime time for reflection, and when we look back on the 2023 season—from sowing seeds to reaping abundance—we see YOU, our amazing community of supporters, at every step. Thank you! Without your generous contributions of time, talent, and treasure, Gaining Ground simply could not farm as we do, exclusively […]

Farmer Spotlight: New Growth with Farm Co-Managers Kari Bender and Chrissie Edgeworth

If you’ve spent time at Gaining Ground in the last few years—or attended one of our free no-till training sessions—you’ve likely had the pleasure of working with and learning from Kari Bender and Chrissie Edgeworth. Combined, Kari and Chrissie have almost a decade of farm experience, including their leadership last season as Co-Assistant Farm Managers.  […]

Farmer Spotlight: Welcoming Director of Agriculture Mark Congdon

Last year we announced that Gaining Ground had embarked on a milestone farm expansion, to bring another 5.1 acres of historically-significant Concord land into cultivation so we may grow and donate more fresh, healthy food for our neighbors in need! To ensure our success as we more than double our footprint, we created the new […]

Cultivating a Legacy

Since 2021, Gaining Ground has thrived under the leadership of Farm Manager Anna Kelchlin, a skilled grower with more than 12 years of experience who also brings a strong philosophy of mindfulness, care, and gratitude to her work.  Season after season, Anna has led the dynamic Gaining Ground crew to produce hundreds of thousands of […]

A Year of Plenty: Looking Back on the 2023 Season

As the farm settles in for its winter rest, we reflect with gratitude on the year’s successes and challenges. The fields are quiet now, blanketed beneath cover crop, mulch, or salt marsh hay. Gone are the spirited laughter and chatter of volunteers. The barn and pavilion are packed tightly with distribution tables, banana boxes, tools, […]

Cover Cropping for Healthy Soil and a Harmonious Ecosystem

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 […]

Digging Into Summer Break with the High School Farm Team

We welcome thousands of volunteers to the farm each year, and almost half are youth.  Typically classrooms and families visit once or twice during the season. Yet one particular group, the High School Farm Team (HSFT), spends all summer helping our crew in the fields.  Since the program began in 2016, the HSFT—comprising students from […]

Stronger Together: La Colaborativa

Up-tempo music and conversations among neighbors were the soundtrack on a recent afternoon for the open-air food pantry that convenes twice a week in Chelsea, at a Route 1 underpass, coordinated by the Latina-led nonprofit La Colaborativa.  In the shade, community members chose from vegetables, fruits, grains, flours, dairy, eggs, proteins, and canned goods.  “All […]

On Servings & Pounds: Measuring Impact on the Farm

What’s 115,000 pounds, but just a tiny piece of the big picture? The weight of our annual harvest! Numbers command attention. They tell a story. And poundage in particular is a prominent metric on the farm.  Accurately recording the weight of each harvest helps us understand production rates; track patterns in crop performance; gauge the […]

The Power of Flowers at Gaining Ground

Summer is in bloom, and the flowers at Gaining Ground are alive with colors, aromas, and even sounds, like the hum of wasps in the celosia. Each year, in addition to powerhouse veggies and herbs, we are proud to grow and donate a wide variety of cut flowers through Food for Families, a program we […]

Photography on the Farm: Call for Submissions

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 […]

Gaining Ground Expands to Minute Man National Historical Park

We are thrilled to share the news that Gaining Ground plans to expand our farming operations to five acres of land within Minute Man National Historical Park. The new land will help us meet growing demand for fresh, nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables at emergency food programs in Greater Boston and the MetroWest. “Food insecurity continues […]

Farmer Spotlight: Rachael Walton

June is not only a turning point in our harvests, it is also the first full month of the season when our farming staff is at maximum capacity. New to the team this year is Field Crew Member Rachael Walton, a former Gaining Ground student volunteer who now brings her passion for sustainable agriculture and […]

Adding Winter Microgreens to the Mix

This past February, even as fresh snow blanketed the farm, it was warm inside Gaining Ground’s greenhouse. It might have been the middle of winter, but the farmers were filling trays with potting mix and weighing out seeds before dusting them onto the soil.  Led by Co-Assistant Farm Manager Kari Bender, Gaining Ground undertook an […]

A Big Picture Look at Gaining Ground’s Farming Practices

Gaining Ground grows over 50 different types of vegetables, fruits, and flowers on three acres of land with just over a half of an acre under tunnel production. We do this using no-till, regenerative methods that we see as beyond organic—meaning they meet and surpass organic growing requirements.  Many of the farming practices we employ […]

Farmer Spotlight: Maddie Weikel

This month’s newsletter offers us a great opportunity to check in with Assistant Grower and Assistant Volunteer Leader Maddie Weikel, who now has a couple months with us under her belt. We’re grateful to have Maddie on the team for the 2023 season, and to introduce her to the whole Gaining Ground community. Where is […]

Making a Good Plan

A question I am frequently asked come November is, “What do you do in the winter as a farmer?”  One of the primary focuses during these cold, dark months is crop planning. Although the bulk of the crop planning work takes place in December and January, the process is unending and involves observing, reflecting, note-taking, […]

A Farm That Yields Much More Than Food

Gaining Ground’s 2022 growing season was a resounding success with 115,373 pounds of vegetables, fruit, herbs, maple syrup, honey, and cut flowers distributed to our neighbors experiencing food insecurity. Thanks to a team of hardworking, experienced farmers led by Anna Kelchlin, as well as the helping hands of more than 3,100 volunteers, production increased 17 […]

Hand in Hand: Reflections from the Volunteer Committee

Gaining Ground’s Volunteer Committee includes members of the organization’s Board of Directors, staff, and dedicated volunteer community. Participants include long-term volunteers, members of our Community Farm Team, teachers whose classes participate annually in our Read for Seeds program, and a representative from the National Charity League, a service organization with whom we partner. Last year […]

As Patient as the Land: A View from the Land Committee

One of the goals set out in Gaining Ground’s 2022-2027 strategic plan is to extend the farm’s reach in order to increase our impact on food insecurity. One way we’re doing this is by exploring and testing opportunities to expand our food production beyond our current land constraints. Ethical management of our farm means that […]
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