Week Two: Sheep Wrestling
Enjoy Sam’s blog from Week Two, where Gappers focused on Farm Foundations and got to have some sheep adventures…
Misty day tomato harvesting.
Farm Foundations! From microbiology (i.e. soil nutrients and microbes) to macrobiology (i.e. sheep wrestling), this week the Gappers here at the farm were given a hands-on introduction to sustainable agriculture.
The instructor - and work boss - for the week was the venerable Farmer Sam, who started our lessons with readings on microbial soil health and the advantages of low-tillage farming. Essentially, maintaining frequently tilled fields requires using synthetic nutrients to keep soil healthy, which is both costly and damaging in the long run. The way to keep soil healthy long term is to nurture organisms that balance out nutrients naturally, using strategies such as crop rotation and micro-tilling (a job done by our hard-working chickens).
The week continued and next the Gappers - assisted by a few visiting eighth-graders - had a big ol’ harvest party to clear house for the end of season. Basically, this entailed stuffing our crates with as much corn, kale, lettuce, chard, arugula, tomatoes, basil, eggplants, parsley, husk cherries, carrots, beets, radishes and others as we possibly could. And wow, there was a lot of everything. We still have yet to harvest all the eggplants, or even half. Much of this bounty was donated to our local community kitchen in Keene, which the Gappers had the opportunity to tour a few days after the harvest.
After plants it was time to deal with the animals. Farmer Sam had the Gappers set up two different types of electric fencing - one for a new pig enclosure and one for the rams. While Sam had strong opinions on the pros and cons of both types of fencing, I sadly do not remember the names of either. One was poles with wire strung across and the other was a pre-build net/mesh fence.
The unanimous highlight of the week came when the Gappers assisted Sam in relocating the rams to their new enclosure. It was then that we became acquainted with Sarsaparilla, a hefty and haughty ram with, like all rams, a propensity for head-butting. Sarsaparilla’s sass was an immediate hit with the Gappers, and watching Sam wrestle him to the ground to get him in the trailer was nothing short of pure gold. With some pushing, corralling, and goading from director Mark’s toddler Hazel, the rams were put in the trailer and moved to the new area.
The week came to a close, but the weekend brought the Renaissance Fair to Glen Brook! All of a sudden we had a crowd of 200-something people dressed in medieval garb enjoying the rustic scenery of the farm. It was quite a spectacle. Gappers participated in archery and feasts, and were welcomed by our medieval brethren with open arms (and the signing of a waiver).
Tomorrow begins the week of Food Foundations! Will we make something delicious under the tutelage of Chef Robyn? Will knife skills claim anyone’s fingers? We’ll find out soon enough!
-Sam Dehmer, Gap 2023
Sam on Monadnock last week.