Reflections from Ellie Brown, Farm Apprentice
It takes a lot to plan an orchard: a lot of dreaming, a lot of time, a lot of hands. It’s exiting to work on planning a project that will have such a long lifespan and influence in this place. I will be here to plant the trees, but probably won’t still be on the farm to see the trees bear fruit for the first time. I am still just as invested in the project, thinking about all the people in the future who will pick apples from these trees.
Over the past months, we have been working to turn part of the side lawn of the Gatehouse into a suitable site for an orchard. We measured out on the lawn where each tree would go and pounded stakes into the ground to mark each spot. Then came a layer of cardboard around each stake to kill the grass. On top of each ring of cardboard, we piled manure, duckweed from the farm pond, waste hay, and wood chips.
If you type in “485 Chewonki Neck Road Wiscasset Maine 04578” on Google maps, you can zoom in on the farm and actually see all of the stakes in the yard. From above it looks like an orchard, little apple trees just beginning, each one representing endless possibilities. I can’t wait to plant them.
