This fall, we were excited to be a part of the 7th National Farm-Based Education Conference held in Baltimore, MD from November 8-13, 2019. As part of the organizing committee, Red Wiggler organized a Social Care Farming Track which included workshops and a Social Care Farming Meetup for other farms working with vulnerable populations. Read More …
Year: 2019
2019 #GIVINGTUESDAY
This year, Red Wiggler provided employment to 15 adults with developmental disabilities. Our Growers worked over 6,700 hours and earned more than $80,000. Throughout the season more than 400 youth with and without disabilities came to the farm for educational experiences. Our Farm to Group Home and Farm to Food Bank programs made it Read More …
Red Wiggler’s Wash Station with Grower Sam
Grower Sam Sheehan has worked at Red Wiggler for 12 years. On November 12, 2019, Sam was part of a team that presented at the 7th National Farm-Based Education Conference in Reisterstown MD. Here is a modified essay of her portion of Red Wiggler’s presentation, “Matching Abilities to Farm Jobs and Tasks.” Sam spoke about Read More …
Thank You & Good Luck to our 2019 Crew Leader, Liza Zechini
Liza (left) with Grower Kim We bid farewell to another seasonal Crew Leader, Liza, last month. Here is an essay from Liza about her Red Wiggler experience. Goodness, how do I sum this up? I started at Red Wiggler by some miracle. The farm manager took me in knowing I had little to no Read More …
Thank You & Good Luck to our Intern, Todd Carter
Here is an essay from Todd about his Red Wiggler experience. I had a unique experience where I started out as a volunteer during the fall season last year (2018) and some of the winter program. Then I started as an Intern in early April 2019 when the spring vegetables were being direct seeded Read More …
Farm Market at the Inter-Faith Chapel at Leisure World
Red Wiggler would like to thank the Inter-Faith Chapel at Leisure World of Maryland in Silver Spring, MD for having our farm market back this August every Thursday from 9 am – 11 am. We also would like to thank all the wonderful residents of Leisure World and community members from Montgomery County who visited Read More …
Team Harvest: Potatoes!
We spend 5 days a week harvesting in the month of July. Usually that means splitting into teams and spreading out all over the farm. However, there are a few crops that require a team effort. Here’s how we harvest potatoes.
Our visit to Marriott International’s Test Kitchen!
Each year Chef Tom O’Gara and his fantastic chefs work with our vegetables to create the dishes served at the Farm to Fork Dinner. This year, as a way to engage our growers further in the dinner, Chef Tom invited a group of them to his home base, Marriott International’s Test Kitchen in Bethesda, MD.
2019 Seasonal Crew & Interns
We’re excited to introduce our 2019 seasonal crew and interns. We love having new faces and fresh energy in the fields These folks have been working hard all spring and are ready to kick it into high gear for the summer season. Here’s an introduction to our fabulous new crew! Hi I’m Ali. I’m happy Read More …
What I’ve Learned: The Benefits of Cover Crops
After 12 years of growing Red Wiggler employee, Sam Sheehan, has learned a lot. Read about the importance of cover crops, and how they help us farm sustainably. Cover crops are used in different fields throughout the growing season. If a field is not being used for crop production, that field will have a cover Read More …
Healthy Eating, Active Living
There’s no better workout than farming on a fine spring day. We get our steps in, our muscles toned, and find ourselves in some yoga-esque poses. Check out all the ways to work(out) with us. Accurate planting starts with measuring the bed. Getting measuring tape around the curves of a hill makes farming a team Read More …
The First Day of Spring
Crocuses are appearing and signs of spring are popping up all over the farm. There is nothing better than some spring color to motivate us to go into the fields. These flowers remind us that the harshest parts of winter are over, and we have a wonderful new farming season to look forward to. One Read More …
Volunteer Spotlight: Super Volunteers
While hosting the 2018 Mid-Atlantic Care Farming Summit we were introduced to the term “super volunteers” — those regular faithful volunteers who continue year after year. We decided it was a great way to describe our volunteers who join us each week all season long, for multiple seasons. These folks dedicate their time and energy Read More …
Work, LEARN, Grow
At Red Wiggler, people with and without developmental disabilities come together to work, learn, and grow healthy food. Check out how we keep our brains and hands engaged in learning on our farm and in the community. The Future Harvest CASA conference was an opportunity for the team to take classes, meet vendors, and Read More …
Greens, Greens, Microgreens!
On an average day in the summer everyone has the opportunity to engage in meaningful work, interact with colleagues, taste fresh organic produce, and get some exercise. Who would want to give that up for the first 3 months of the year! With that in mind, the Winter Program was started. This will be the Read More …