Wood Prairie's Katie Finemore Filling Corn Seedling Trays.  Longtime co-worker Katie had left for the day to pick up her Kindergartner son when we took photos of crew members a month ago (see April 20 issue of Wood Prairie Seed Piece).    So, now, here is Katie working in the cool outside air this morning, filling hundreds of tree seedling containers with Vermont Organic Compost.  We plant these deep cell containers with corn seed kernels in order to grow commercial crops of organic corn seed.  After growing in containers in the high tunnel for three weeks, we then plant the corn starts out in the field with our tractor-drawn transplanter.  This rigmarole is designed to turn the tables and conquer crows which in the past have laid considerable waste to our corn seedlings when the corn seed crop – such as Dorinny Sweet Corn - was direct-seeded.  Back then stealthy crows would pluck up many hundreds of corn sprouts to feast upon that single corn kernel at the base.   We can appreciate the past validation that our pure, organic open-pollinated corn is irresistible, but now it’s the crows who are frustrated.
     The ground is about ready and first of next week we’ll begin planting our potato crop.  Before we’re done, we’ll go through about 25,000 lbs of seed potatoes.  We’re conditioning our seed now as the ground warms up.
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 Caleb, Jim & Megan Gerritsen & Family

 Wood Prairie Family Farm

 Bridgewater, Maine

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"’A forest is much more than what you see,' says ecologist Suzanne Simard. Her 30 years of research in Canadian forests have led to an astounding discovery -- trees talk, often and over vast distances. Learn more about the harmonious yet complicated social lives of trees and prepare to see the natural world with new eyes.”