There is quite a range of activity here at the nursery right now. Every day food is being brought in to be processed…..canned, pickled, or frozen. We’ve just harvested our first large crop of broccoli to be put into the freezer. Kale, chard, and snow peas are going in along with it. The summer squash and green beans are producing faster than we can pick them. Herbs and foraged plants are being collected for tea, or tinctures, and salves.
drying chamomile blossoms
Chamomile blossoms are set aside to dry, and St. John’s Wort flowers have been picked to make a tincture with. Our
WWOOFer Hannah has been enjoying our foraging excursions, she is quickly learning the botanical names of plants here at the nursery and the ones we collect from the fields and woods to make tinctures and salves with. I think she likes learning about the medicinal uses of the plants we grow and collect.
Adlumia fungosa
Corydalis lutea
Myrrhis odorata
‘ Sweet Cicely’
Rick has been collecting seed from the display beds, and plants like Adlumia fungosa, Corydalis lutea, and Myrrhis odorata are being potted up and put into the sales area.
The sheep are being moved every two weeks or so for rotational grazing methods.Hannah has been spending a bit of time picking through this spring’s fleeces readying them for the next step…..washing.
And then there is the weeding, mowing, and daily maintenance around the place. We continue to advance on the studio project, the second floor being nailed in place soon. Boy, oh boy, our days are full! We do love every bit of it though and feel thankful for this good life we live. And as I’ve mentioned before, there’s always plenty of food!
Lunch…..homemade pizza with zucchini, garlic scape pesto, fresh tomato, and olives
Adlumia fungosa ( also called Allegheny vine or Climbing Fumitory) is considered a threatened (or endangered) species here in Maine, as well as in the other New England states. Adlumia is fast growing, easily reaching 15 -20 feet by mid-summer and produces very light pink blossoms that resemble a bleeding heart. We have been growing it here for more than 25 years, it’s seeds are prolific and can remain in the seed bank for years, so every spring we find hundreds of Adlumia seedlings to dig and pot. I love it’s delicate and airy nature, long bloom ( June through September) and ability to cover the arbor in no time at all.
Fernwood Nursery & Gardens 