Even though it was raining, the fields at Thimble Farm on a recent morning were being picked by enthusiatic strawberry aficionados and contented workers.
This time of year a fresh strawberry usually travels thousands of miles to Island grocery stores. But at Island Grown Initiative’s Farm Hub, fresh fruit and greens thrive all year long.
Island Grown Initiative is inviting the public to come get a look at the food-related work going on at their Thimble Farm property on Monday, August 31 from 4 to 6 p.m.
Expanding operations at Island Grown Initiative’s Thimble Farm were a topic of concern among neighbors during a hearing at the Tisbury selectmen’s meeting Tuesday, when IGI president Sarah McKay appeared before the board to secure permits for four existing propane tanks.
Island Grown Initiative is one step closer to transforming Thimble Farm into a local food source for Island schools.
His passion is soil, but his career has been inside greenhouses.
Now, as the new manager of the former Thimble Farm property in Oak Bluffs, Keith Wilda will get to do both.
“I have the best of both worlds,” he said in a brief interview following a tour for Island farmers of the property owned by Island Grown Initiative.
Mr. Wilda moved to the Island full time two weeks ago with his wife and twin two-year old daughters to run Island Grown Farms.
A vocal gathering of Vineyard farmers heard about plans for a campus-style educational agricultural center during a tour of the former Thimble Farm property this week.
Sponsored by the Island Grown Initiative, which bought the 40-acre farm in the center of the Island last year, the tour sparked a lively discussion among some 30 growers about how best to encourage growth and also ensure survival for the burgeoning network of small farms on the Island that operate with little or no subsidy. Opinion was far from unanimous.
