This year, Farm Manager Doug Wolcik, Assistant Farm Manager Hannah Lawson, and Market Manager Paula Jordan are leading a strong, enthusiastic team. We welcome Sage Hess and Alex MacLellan as field crew members, Blair Kimble as a summer field hand and volunteer supporter, and Macayla Cote as market intern. Sage is excited and grateful to be at Gaining Ground this season, where she says she is “learning […]
I definitely know that I love my job when I am more excited than ever for the growing season to begin, my fifth at Gaining Ground. And by “begin” I mean “continue,” as we have been harvesting and distributing fresh produce throughout the winter months. At the end of last season, we finally decided to […]
During the 2015 growing season, Gaining Ground participated in the Art and Agriculture Project, a collaboration between the Concord Agriculture Committee and the Umbrella’s Musketaquid Arts and Environment program. Eleven juried artists, working in a variety of media, were paired with 13 Concord farms to create works based on what they saw and experienced, witnessing […]
Although it was just the seed of an idea in March, June’s rollout of produce to our partner organizations is now transitioning into a steady weekly rhythm of harvesting, washing, boxing, weighing and loading. Our partners include: Tuesdays: Head Start, House of Hope, Loaves & Fishes, Pine Street Inn, Sudbury Food Pantry Thursdays: Bedford Food […]
This year Gaining Ground welcomed two talented, hard-working individuals to our Board: Theresa Cohen and Elisabeth Elden. Believing that everyone is entitled to clean, nutritious food, Theresa Cohen is delighted to join the Gaining Ground board. Trained as a civil engineer, she has worked for an environmental consulting business, built a recycling business with her […]
We are a five-person farm crew again this season, with Doug and Kayleigh co-managing the farm, Coleman Wadsworth and Alexis Mantis as our two seasonal apprentices, and Paula Jordan as Head Start mobile market manager. Coleman grew up nearby in Newton, Massachusetts. College led him to the University of Vermont, where he studied zoology and […]
In the spring, we asked our community to help us raise funds to build a barn. New and long-time donors, foundations, and our Board have responded, and a barn is coming. A dedicated group of our Staff, Board, and consultants, led by Board member Jeff Young, has been working on design and siting all summer. […]
Another record-breaking harvest gave our farmers a problem that was a pleasure to solve: we had to find another group to receive the bounty from our fields. Rosie’s Place in Boston proved to be ideal. It meets our criteria for distribution—it is located within 20 miles of our farm, has a “choice” pantry and refrigeration, […]
Don’t let anyone tell you that farmers have the winter off. Last year, we were installing our new irrigation system until the 21st of December. And for the first time, we were able to harvest greens in our new hoop house and distribute storage crops into December. Some of my favorite days as a farmer […]
We are delighted to have the seasoned team of Kayleigh Boyle and Doug Wolcik as our 2015 Farm coordinators. Kayleigh returns with six years of experience developing our farm programs, scheduling our volunteers, and planning our land improvements. Doug brings back two years with Gaining Ground; seven years farming in Massachusetts, California, and South America; […]
Even the old Greeks knew, “It will not always be summer; build barns.” (Hesiod) Over the years, volunteers, generous supporters, Board members, and staff have provided time and capital to help us “dig deeper” at the Virginia Road farm. Our goals have been to make our land more productive and to take good care of […]
Because of this year’s extreme cold combined with 110 inches of record-breaking snow, maple sugaring was late to start and slow-going. For the first time, our open house was cancelled entirely. Spring finally broke through in mid-March with sap flowing irregularly. Kayleigh and Doug collected from 200 buckets in Concord, but the extreme conditions prevented […]
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