This week on the farm: July 15th – 21st

Written by Ellen Petrie

This week our water tanks were filled, marking having water onsite for the first time since moving to the BiHi park! Many members of the Common Roots community came to pay the farm a visit as a result. Some old friends got to spend quality time together while watering and weeding! Indra, Chandra, Imelda, and Dorcus were able to laugh and have fun, brought together by Common Roots.

Another exciting development at the farm is the possibility of solar panels for the shed. On Tuesday three members from NSCC came to visit and explore installing solar panels to power equipment chargers. The visit was extremely positive and hopeful. Adding to this positivity was the fact that one of the NSCC members could speak Hindi and converse with one of our Bhutanese Farm Stewards.

The cherry on top of a fantastic week was a busy Friday morning. All at once we had a MetroWorks group called Edge, a group of employees from Teamwork for a plot orientation, and a YMCA camp group on site. It was fantastic to have the people from the different groups mix together and help each other to accomplish tasks. Additionally, it was nice to have the energy of the 4 to 12-year-old YMCA campers helping us move soil and plant. When discussing plants and what we like to grow one of the seven-year-old-campers exclaimed, “My favorite thing to plant is anything I plant with you guys!”. Not only is this heartwarming but it shows the healthy community atmosphere that has been fostered at Common Roots Urban Farm.

It would seem that that thriving community atmosphere can be felt by people new to Common Roots too as people came by the farm throughout the week, seeking gardening tips. As the season goes on and we settle into the new site we look forward to getting to know our community even more.