6/7/2023 0 Comments Summer...is the favorite.Summer. In the hush of winter and hopefulness of spring, memories and stories of the season to come comfort my longing for sunshine. Morning mist and dewy grass wash away the respite of winter. Harmonies of chirping of birds and hums of bugs become the soundtrack of my days. Blossoms turn to leaves, azaleas and peonies burst open. The bees come back around. I smell bonfires and hear the familiar echoes of laughter on the porch. Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start to summer, school is out and the pool opens up again. Farmers markets are back in full swing. My freckles come out from hiding, but suntan lotion is in the air. Burgers on the grill served with that beloved blue and red berry medley, cool whip on top if we are lucky. Towels laid oceanside littered with strawberry stems and sand. Tomato sandwiches and salad, everyday. Summer is the favorite. June 21st stamps the northern hemisphere with the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. I love the Midsummer traditions celebrated in Scandinavia, honoring the season of abundance and fertility with dancing, bonfires, flower crowns, and feasting. Summer is an occasion to celebrate with loved ones. At Third Way Farm, we have a big community dinner every week, potluck style. I love coming together with everyone over the fortunes of farm fare that we all had a hand in getting off the ground. Feasts celebrating such should be more often. While summer is often a period of recess and holiday for most, farmers are only getting started. All the work from last season to present, comes to fruition in summer. With sunshine ahead and summer rain storms in tow, the fields erupt overnight. Crop beds turn to rainbow seas of green, purples, pink, yellow, red, and blue. Riches of growth and life are evident in the abundance of beautiful vegetables, flowers, and fruit. Yes, fruit.
My mom always reminds me of her summers picking blueberries and the buttermilk pancakes her grandfather would make with them. And her bus driver, who also had a small you-pick strawberry farm. Few sounds compare to the satisfaction of the pop that comes from picking a strawberry of the plant. Few smells compare to that of a blue cardboard quart overflowing with berries. Few feelings compare to being sticky and red from the juiciest fruits. All year, we wait for the berries to come -- strawberries are the catalyst of the plenty to come. Raspberries, perfect for eating after capping them on your fingertips. White and black currants host a jelly-like tartness in their small fruits. Gooseberries are a sibling to currants, having a similar tartness. Goumi berries too are juicy and tart, akin to rhubarb and perfect for jam. Seasonality of fresh food has been washed away from our culture. All year, grocery stores are stacked with plastic crates of produce unblemished and fluorescent. Strawberries bigger than a golf ball in January, tomatoes soaked in pesticides. I recall eating berries so sour that only snowcaps of sugar would make them halfway sweet. This is not to say that there are not people growing these crops organically and mindfully out of season (hydroponic and greenhouse growers are rockstars). We remember the seasons outside the home, but forget to honor seasons of food in the kitchen. In a convenience oriented world, we forget to practice patience in so many ways. My heart explodes when I visit the farmers market and I see the community come together to support local farmers and artisans. Farmers dream of the days when everyone shops and eats locally. As long as the earth endures seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.
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4/10/2023 1 Comment The Work Behind the BeautyHello friends, family and neighbors of Third Way Farm! I wanted to let you know that I, Tommy Shireman, co-owner of Third Way Farm, will be offering this month’s Return of Robinhood blog post with some reflections on the beauty of spring and the unseen work that lays behind it. We will miss our dear friend and intern Kate who has done an amazing job writing blogs this past year. I hope you enjoy a change of author for this new season! As the dawn breaks on the dew-covered blades of springs’ lush young grass, we witness the world awakening again from its winter slumber. Alas, by April, spring is, at least in Maryland’s climate, already well into its “rise and shine” process. On the farm, we joyfully welcome the pasture’s flush of rich new growth that heralds an end to the labor of lugging hay out to the cattle and sheep. Each day now these ruminants anxiously await our arrival to let them into their new daily paddock, brimming with the tender, nutrient dense forages of new spring growth. The chickens cluck with renewed excitement at the prospects of worms and other bugs surfacing amongst these same bright green grasses. Adorable new lambs are born almost daily on the pasture, as their mothers breathe sighs of relief after a long winter carrying and nurturing them underneath their thick warm wool.
Even more vividly, the beautiful colors of tulips, ranunculus, and daffodils explode out from their long winter dormancy. The white arugula and yellow kale flowers stretch up quickly on their way to producing seed, the next generation to carry on the species into the already dawning new season. How much more beautiful and breath-catching these bursts of color and life are against the backdrop of the long, bleak, mostly colorless winter we’ve come through? In our modern world of “have it now” instant gratification, it can be difficult, especially when we are not regularly in touch with creation, to fully appreciate these wonders of spring and all that needed to happen to make them possible. You see, each of those radiant pastel tulip blossoms was actually many months in the making, underground in the dark. While winter’s winds and biting cold keep us cozy inside by a fire, flowers, trees, and even vegetables like garlic or carrots are lying dormant but yet alive and active despite these harsh conditions. For months their roots or bulbs are storing up and carefully allocating sugar and carbohydrate reserves that they accumulated throughout the prior season of growth and photosynthesis. Thus in fact, in some ways we can say these bright buds and blossoms of spring are actually about a year in the making! Similarly, our ewes persist for 5 months through the challenges of winter still feeding and nourishing the growing lambs inside of them, a tiring and demanding work of motherhood. There is serious time and work put into these wonders we are privileged witness. Thus, the brilliance and awe of spring’s colors and new life are most vividly beheld by they who understand and recognize the incredible work and perseverance that lay behind them. It isn't so unlike the journey of self-healing, or the inner work we must do at times when we face trauma, personal crisis, or just “growing up.” For many of us, it might take numerous long, grueling winters to ever get a glimpse of our first spring “buds” of transformation or hope. It can seem impossible to believe that spring is coming for us when we go day after day seeing no changes on the surface - a numbing monotony of bare branches, brown grass, a ewe’s womb still holding that lamb inside. But yet, as with the flowers and the mother sheep, it is only because of this unseen but deeply important work going on underground and inside that the moments of true joy to come are possible. What do we know of that person’s journey who was rude to us at the checkout counter? What kind of roots are being grown beneath the tears and anger of our teenage children? And what stored wisdom and potential for new life are waiting to be born in you when you refuse to see that a “spring” of renewed life may be just around the corner of your March? For spring’s bright and exhilarating colors are only beautiful in that they are viewed from the eyes of those who have trudged through the muck and mire of winter. So may you, if you find yourself struggling to smile at that pastel pink tulip and gloss over the vibrant green hue of April’s pastures, be reminded that your strivings are not in vain! Your spring may yet be to come. In fact, April isn't the only month of spring! Every year on the farm I’m reminded that each crop, each plant, has its own timing. Even though our plum, cherry, and Asian pear trees are budding and flowering right now, these stubborn Jujube trees wont budge until May! But doesn't that make some of those “late bloomers” all the more spectacular to witness? Perhaps it is the longer process, the more inner work and underground rooting that needs to happen so that your bursting forth in a palette of unparalleled color can be truly appreciated for the miracle it IS. And therefore, may you find the richness of spring’s color, sweetness, and new life all the more rewarding this season, as you remember the often hidden and hard work that undergirds it! 3/13/2023 0 Comments The Animals are OutCurrently we have our largest sheep group, the ewes, on our pasture adjacent to Chapel Road. If any of you have been driving on that road for the last couple of weeks, you probably have noticed those little babies out there.
Well, have you noticed that they have been moving around? They do not stay in one paddock for more than one to two days. Soon enough they will be out of that field entirely, on to fresh forage. And you might be wondering how and why we do this. It would be much easier to simply leave all the animals in one designated spot. That way we could just build a permanent fence round them, maybe even have a water source right there. Which would mean no more lugging around those hefty 5 gallon buckets. This practice in the regenerative agriculture sphere is called rotational grazing. And yes, it is exactly what it sounds like. We rotate the animals around on the pastures constantly. We do this with movable electric fencing. We utilize two kinds: net fencing for chickens and sheep, and reel-based fencing for cattle and pigs. Rotating the animals is important for their health because they will always be given fresh grass to eat (well not so much in the winter months when we supplement with hay). Also, since they move often, they will not be exposed to their own excrements which can harbor parasites and cause illness. But providing fresh forage to our livestock is not the only benefit of this technique. It is vital for encouraging thriving land. This is because it gives the land time to rest and regenerate after the animals have munched down on all the plants in any given paddock. As the animals are on the move, they will not have the opportunity to overgraze the pastures. When pastures are overgrazed, they become weaker and more susceptible to erosion. This is because they have fewer leaves to capture sunlight to turn into energy and help encourage thriving root systems. On the other hand, when pastures are optimally managed and given time to rest, the plants are ready to sequester more carbon, develop strong roots, and resist erosion. Another benefit of this system is minimizing costs for us farmers. There is no need to spend exorbitant amounts of time or money on installing permanent fencing systems. Although, I’m not going to lie, sometimes I wish we had some permanent perimeter fencing for those times when the animals escape. The moveable fencing has many advantages but it also comes with the risk that we may fail to dot all our I’s and cross all our T’s when setting them up. When this happens, animals escape. And they can be a pain to corral back in. You all remember what happened with Mildred, right? She booked it through our net fencing and ran all the way to Route 40. Rotational grazing also saves money on inputs that conventional farm systems rely heavily on. This includes herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizer. How is that possible? Well, rotational grazing increases the overall productivity of the land and when Mother Nature is healthy, she can take care of herself. For example, grazing various species of ruminants (which many different animals are on any one piece of land in the wild) on the same pasture is a good approach for weed management because they find different plants palatable. So having a combination of these animals may help minimize many weed species. Finally, the animals are healthier overall because they are eating what their bodies are designed to consume, not being fed grain. They also get to move around much more than they would in a factory farm. They live happy lives. And, of course, their time at Third Way is limited because all those little piggies do make it to market. Since they live happy, healthy lives, the meat we eat is more nutritious than conventionally raised meat. You could dive deeper into the importance of rotational grazing, but I just wanted to share with you a basic overview of why it's such a vital component of regenerative agriculture. I encourage you to read more about it and support farmers who are committed to this way of raising animals. Be on the look out when you drive by the farm next time and see if you notice the animals moving around. Until next time, Kate |
The Return of RobinhoodNestled into a hidden woods on Robinhood Road, in Havre de Grace Maryland, exists a picturesque farm community; a place of green pastures, beautiful woodlands, and colorful fruits and vegetables. And in this thriving place, a place called Third Way Farm, there is also a community on a mission to build a better world through a holistic and regenerative approach to agriculture; a mission grounded in our faith and our belief in a world where all have a place at the table. Where, when we give back to the land, and to one another, all of creation thrives. Archives
January 2024
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We are farming on land that was once inhabited by the indigenous peoples of the Piscataway and Susquehannock tribes. We recognize that this land was unjustly taken from them without their permission. We hope our lives upon and care for this land will honor their legacy and wisdom in living harmoniously with this place.
Third Way Farm, LLC
Barn Store Hours
Tuesdays 3-5:30pm
Fridays 3-5:30pm
601 Robinhood Road
Havre de Grace, Maryland 21078
717-669-1351
Barn Store Hours
Tuesdays 3-5:30pm
Fridays 3-5:30pm
601 Robinhood Road
Havre de Grace, Maryland 21078
717-669-1351