Winchester's Raspberry farm - the Wright-Locke Farm

GETTING THERE:
Where: The entrance to the raspberry field is across the street from the West Side fire station, at the intersection of Ridge and Lockeland Roads. If you're starting from Winchester Center, take Church Street across Rte 3 and keep going until you come to the end with the fire station on your right and Mullen fields on the left. The farm is behind the hedges you'd hit if you kept going.

WHERE TO ENTER:
The field entrance is on Ridge Rd, at the right end of the privet hedge, directly across from the victory gardens on the fire station property.

PARKING:
At the right end of the hedge, there is a gravel area with room for 3 cars. (More parking is available in the Mullen Field lot on Lockeland.) The Town does not have access to the farm house or the large barn behind the house, and parking is NOT allowed on the driveways on the property.

HOW IS THE FIELD LAID OUT?
There are 16 rows in front and 10 in back. The rows have stakes with row numbers, but some are almost hidden by the raspberry canes by now! There is a wider aisle between rows 4 and 5 in front that you can take to get to the back half of the field. And there's a big north-south aisle separating the back and front.

FALL PICKING

The fall is picking time. Pick your own. Containers are provided. Pay by weight.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: Volunteers hand out picking buckets, tally pickers' totals, take payment, and do what needs to be done to keep the on-site operation running smoothly. Volunteer at www.mysignup.com/winberry

SUMMER WEEDING

THE WORK THAT'S NEEDED:
This changes every week. In the 2d week of August, top priority is getting remaining weeds out of the rows. This includes anything that isn't raspberry canes. (The word for the stems the berries grow on is "canes".) The bigger the weed, the more important to get it out. BUT IN ORDER TO AVOID DAMAGING BERRIES, THEIR CANES OR ROOTS, get it out by clipping it close to the ground rather than digging it out. The cane tops are quite fragile. If you are experienced using a weed whacker, we can also use some of that. Call Alan Field (617-729-6075) or Susan Youmans (781-729-4021) for more information about where it's needed.

WHAT TO DO WITH THE WEEDS AND CLIPPINGS:
There is a plastic garbage can tucked into the field side of the hedge you can use to help carry your weeds to one of the 2 compost piles. One pile is at the south edge of the field next to the wall where it's intersected by the large aisle that runs north-south dividing the berry field in half. The other pile is in the southeast corner of the property, under the fir tree at the corner of the property.

INVASIVE SPECIES ALERT!
One invasive plant has special destruction instructions! There is first year garlic mustard (see photo at right). The second year plants have all been removed (we hope). Garlic mustard needs to be bagged and taken home and taken to the transfer station conveyor belt.

WHAT YOU NEED TO BRING:
For sure: Clippers and gloves. Nice to have: Long sleeves, a hat and a water bottle. -- If you use some kind of weeding tool, it's helpful for prying out wild violets and other plants at the very edge of the rows.

WHEN TO COME
You're free to come anytime. IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR WANT A "WEEDING ORIENTATION", please call Susan Youmans at 781-729-4021. Your help is much appreciated!