Day 6: Mill City Grows Part 2

Wednesday, May 27th was our last day of this Alternative Breaks Boston experience. Our last service was also our first service at Mill City Grows in Lowell, Massachusetts.  We met at the same location as the first day since it would be easiest to travel to.  I was part of 'team irrigation’ and ‘team cardboard and hay.’ The first part was the irrigation where a group of us were untwisting the drip irrigation lines, laying them in the middle of the beds and stapling them in place. At first it seemed like a simple task, but the irrigation lines were much harder to untangle than what I bargained for. I tried a couple of different strategies to see what was the most efficient way, but it turned out not mattering as it took a while no matter what strategy was used. 

After our group finished with irrigation, we had a water break, then became ‘team cardboard and hay.’ Recycled cardboard boxes or other random cardboard materials were taken by Mill City for use. The cardboard had its tape removed, and then it was submerged in water in order to make it easier to tear. The damp cardboard was then placed between the beds and hay was placed on top in order to prevent weed growth.

  The other group used knives to cut spaces through black tarp in order to suppress the weeds and allow the tomato plants space to grow. After they cut holes in the tarp, they stapled the tarp over the beds that had the drip irrigation lines. After these tasks were completed, we drove to their other location on Middlesex Street in the middle of Lowell. That was the location of the beginning of the Mill City Grows. The entrance to that location was an archway decorated with wood leaves. There were about 10 rows of crops on each side of the aisle. The color compliments were very serene and had a peaceful vibe to them. We ended up having our service and Mill City grand finale by planting two types of plants in a group then planting the groups slightly apart along the perimeter outside of the fence of the property.

   Once this was finished, we walked to their farmer’s market stand, which also happens to be mobile. It felt like we were coming full circle by seeing the results of our work in action. They have a little truck where they have their produce and have partnered with another local farm and a college program in order to offer more to the community. Overall, this was a very satisfying end to our service of our Alternative Breaks Boston trip.

- Cara Heilveil