Across River Road from the intersection with Church St in Norwich, is a long narrow farm field with an equally long history of organic farming. 40 years ago, the field, now owned by the town and under a conservation easement by the Upper Valley Land Trust, was part Jake and Liz Guest’s Killdeer Farm. Today, this field grows organic vegetables for Upper Valley residents facing food insecurity.
For the past three years, the field has been managed by Willing Hands, whose headquarters is just a third of a mile up Church St. River Road Field is the newest of five gardens managed by the nonprofit. While the others are set up as market gardens, growing a variety of vegetables throughout the season, the goal at River Road is to produce a select number of popular crops: potatoes, sweet corn, and winter squash that take all summer to grow, but then can be stored and distributed all winter long to food shelves and other food access partners throughout the Upper Valley. These foods are particularly sought after, making River Road an important addition to Willing Hands’ growing spaces.
Just a few years into cultivating this piece of land, Willing Hands Farm Manager Ehrin Lingeman is still getting to know this plot, learning what thrives here and what sort of attention it requires. But one thing she knows – even the most basic long-season crops like winter squash, corn, and potatoes need the same dedication, attention, and care as any other crop.
Lingeman is also working to cultivate community around the garden. Willing Hands’ gardens are tended largely by volunteers. Weekly sessions at specific gardens are always welcome to newcomers, but they rely on those individuals who return week after week and often year after year, forming relationships with each other as well as with the land. The community around River Road Field is still developing. Lingeman sees this as an opportunity for folks to build something new, and to help the nonprofit determine its role in the legacy of this historic piece of agricultural land.
“I hope people will consider joining our weekly Thursday morning sessions,” she says, adding that there’s no skill requirement, or need to commit to coming more than once, though she certainly hopes people will make it part of their weekly routines: “Come get your hands in the soil, meet new people, and be part of something that grows far beyond the garden rows!”
Those interested can visit the Willing Hands volunteer portal to sign up for sessions Thursdays, 9-11 AM all summer long.