ELLICOTT CITY – There are many jobs at Little Portion Farm in Ellicott City – planting, weeding, harvesting and mulching among them.
Volunteer Anne Reed’s favorite chore? Picking okra.
“It’s a treasure hunt,” said the parishioner of St. Louis in Clarksville, as she gently combed through tall, willowy stalks with big flowers to look for finger-sized pods Sept. 13.
It wasn’t all work for Reed. Volunteering on the farm allowed her to enjoy “a little bit of quiet time,” she said, as she marveled at beautiful flowers.
A ministry of the Conventual Franciscans, Little Portion Farm is located near the religious community’s St. Anthony Shrine. Since its first harvest in 2019, the farm has grown more than 100,000 pounds of produce that was donated to the Franciscan Center in Baltimore.
“The first year we planted tomatoes, pepper, squash, cucumbers and sweet potatoes,” said Matthew Jones, the farm manager who meets with people from the Franciscan Center to see what they need. “After the first year, they decided to do salads every day, so we started growing lots of lettuce, spinach. They didn’t like hot peppers too much, so they wanted less of those.”
Until Kelly Neale was hired as assistant farm manager this summer, Jones was the sole employee. He has always welcomed volunteers and interns to help tend the farm’s three acres of fruits, vegetables and flowers.
Along with the same assortment of vegetables as was planted in the first year, this year’s garden features celery, watermelon, cantaloupe, okra, carrots, radishes and a variety of greens. An orchard outside the three fenced acres has 45 fruit trees including apple, pear, plum, peach, persimmons and paw paws. Fruit shrubs planted near the trees include gooseberry, currants and a variety of berries.
“We have harvested in 2024 every week of the year, January, February, March,” said Jones, noting the farm’s two high tunnels, (unheated, plastic-covered hoops) allow crops such as spinach, kale and lettuce to be grown all year. The farm’s greenhouse, which opened last winter, also provided the opportunity to start plants from seed, including peppers, tomatoes and eggplant for the first time.
Wildflowers can also be found at the farm, following St. Francis of Assisi’s belief that parts of a garden should always be left wild, Jones said.
“It would draw people’s eyes, and the beauty of the wildflowers would have them praise God,” said Jones, who added that the flowers’ other purpose is to attract pollinators and beneficial insects – such as praying mantis, ladybugs and tomato hornworm caterpillars – for pest control.
“We do not spray pesticides,” Jones said. “We still get pests, but usually not an infestation.”
Funding for the farm depends on donations, grants and fundraisers, such as the popular Wine at the Shrine, which features wine and beer samplings along with live music, hayrides, farm tours, cooking demos and more. That event also benefits the Franciscan Center and will be held Oct. 12 this year.
“We get a lot of donations,” Jones said. “The greenhouse allowed us to sell plants to the public in the spring. We grew extra with the intention of it being another fundraiser.”
Benches are also found throughout the garden as people are invited to visit and relax amongst the plants.
While Jones is responsible for running the farm and its harvest, Neale is responsible for organizing the volunteers.
“They find us,” Neale said, of volunteers. “A lot found us during COVID.”
No experience is necessary to volunteer, Neale said. School groups, Scouts and business retreats often sign up to help, she said. Other volunteers come with a friend, who tells a friend, and then they all come.
“Some know where to go and what to do,” said Neale, of regulars.
While she always has chores prepared to do for volunteers, Neal is thankful for whatever volunteers can accomplish.
“I don’t expect anything,” she said. “Whatever they offer is a gift.”
Pat Murphy, a parishioner of St. John the Evangelist in Columbia, has enjoyed volunteering on the farm. She said she was surprised when she was asked to peel garlic.
“That was interesting,” she remembered, of the unexpected request. “We sat in the barn, out of the sun.”
Reed and Murphy are always learning, they said.
“I like it when he (Jones) tells us why he’s doing something a certain way,” Reed said. “He educates everyone. I did not know carrots could be kept in the ground all year and grow sweeter.”
Murphy admitted she’s always asking questions.
“The people who run this place, Matt, Kelly and the friars are so welcoming and warm,” she said. “There is no judgment. Come when you can.”
Email Katie V. Jones at kjones@CatholicReview.org
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