Dear Farm Friends:
After an exceptionally dry February and March, the past week of spring rains has been a relief. Our newly dug garden beds are soaking up the moisture and our orchards, now in bloom, are taking a good, long drink. The lupines are in flower and the poppies are starting to appear. We’ve already got our first beets, squash, tomatoes, beans, and carrots planted.
To experience Alemany Farm in its full spring glory, please join us at one of our upcoming community workdays. In the coming weeks we’ll be busy with plantings of tomatoes, potatoes, more squash, and our first cucumbers.
You can join the fun:
Sunday, April 7, Noon to 5 PM
Monday, April 8, 1 PM to 5 PM
Saturday, April 13, Noon to 5 PM
Monday, April 15, 1 PM to 5 PM
And please mark your calendar for our 7th Annual Earth Day BBQ and Festival, SATURDAY, APRIL 20. We’ll start with garden tasks at 11 AM. There will be Farm tours around Noon and 3 PM. Kids will enjoy face painting and t-shirt stenciling (bring your own t-shirts!). As usual, we’ll be spit roasting a pasture-raised pig and will have plenty of veggie options on the grill. A local band will be providing music. Please bring a dessert or side dish to share!
We’re also pleased to announce that Alemany Farm is launching a Beekeeping Apprenticeship program in collaboration with San Francisco Bee-Cause (SFBC). The purpose of the Program is to train charitable and educational beekeepers who will actively participate in SFBC in future years.
The Program provides a structured opportunity to learn about honey bees and beekeeping through a combination of monthly homework reading and meeting discussions, as well as supervised and unsupervised hands-on learning. Apprentices will be divided into teams of 2 for the purpose of managing an assigned SFBC colony of honey bees through 2013, beginning with installation of a package of honey bees on April 21; managing the colony for honey production, swarm and disease/pest control; preparing the colony for winter; extracting and bottling honey. SFBC will provide apprentices with the use of all hive equipment needed, as well as honey bees. Apprentices will need to purchase their own personal protective clothing, hive tools and smokers.
For more information, including how to apply, go to www.sfbeecause.org.
We hope to see you at Alemany Farm soon!
Thanks, as always, for your work to make SF more food secure.
The Farm Team