The Plough and Stars Project is a year-long narrative by us - photojournalists Erik Jacobs and Dina Rudick - chronicling our family's attempt to become first generation farmers through The Farm School in Athol, Massachusetts. It is a weekly story, told in two parts - words and photos - about the challenges of living our values through life on the farm, the inspiration that sustains us and the lessons learned throughout. The first day of Farm School began on October 4th. You can start there or dive right into this week's post. Either way, please be sure to follow the 'more photos' link at the end of each post. Thanks for visiting!

Weed pressure: Low – Sense of satisfaction: High

Mary Mary Quite Contrary How does your garden grow? With vermiculite and florescent light And 57 days worth of photos: (1,059 photos to be exact) This is the time of year when we step out of the house and into the garden and feel like heroes.  The potential for a season of bountiful harvests is everywhere.  Floppy green squash leaves fan out all over the yard.  Curly bean tendrils reach out to grab hold of the bottom trellis rung.  Shoots of corn stand proud and orderly in their weed-free beds.... Read the Rest →

 

Class of 2014

Sadly, the Dorothys, our four Buff Orpinton chickens have laid their last eggs.  They are now post-menopausal and living out an early retirement in our backyard.  It seems early because we have only had them for two years and we weren’t expecting their egg supply to be exhausted so quickly.  But this is apparently normal. When they are born, chickens come equipped with all the eggs they will produce over the course of their life (like humans).  When we artificially supplemented the amount of light they got each day, it... Read the Rest →