Hazel, Chestnut, and Pecan Pickers Needed!

 The hazels, chestnuts, and pecans are all LOADED with gorgeous crops this year, and we’re looking for folks who are interested in helping with harvesting any of the three crops, from early August through early October. Hands-on experience is BY FAR the best way to learn about all of the various aspects of growing advanced woody crops, including the reality of the work that’s involved. And we love to share the knowledge! We regularly have visitors and harvest workers tell us that they learn more in a few days here – picking nuts, asking questions, experiencing all of the sights and sounds of the farm at its peak – than they do in months (or years!) elsewhere.

The hazel crop is often difficult to see when it's still on the bush (the nuts hide - on purpose!), but this bush is pretty showy. Aside from the visible clusters, you can tell how loaded it is by how much the branches are bending over from the weight of the crop, even in mid-July.  

Harvest is a rush! And it’s the most beautiful, inspiring time of the year to experience the farm, and to see the future of regenerative farming in the Midwest for yourself. It’s already here! Check us out!

There they are! There's A LOT to pick! Details below.

Details

Compensation: We’re offering $10/hr. in credit towards plant or seed purchases from our greenhouse. Plant genetics you can’t find anywhere else! No credit is given for the first day of picking, which involves a significant amount of time for orientation. We’re also open to your keeping a portion of the crop that you pick as payment, if you would prefer that over greenhouse credit.

Accommodations: Primitive camping, bring a tent! We can supply drinking water and a shower bag. We’ll do communal meals depending upon the number of harvest workers at the farm at a given time, but it’s a good idea to bring some of your own food and the tools to cook it. We’ve got all the campfire wood you could possibly want!

Length of stay: Anywhere from 1 day to 2 months to 10 years! We ask that you commit to at least one full day. We’re also looking for longer-term entrepreneurial farm partners, particularly people who are interested in greenhouse plant production, animal management (we have an expanding Icelandic sheep flock, 4 horses, and a mule – all critically important to the management and production of the nut crops – and we NEED a pastured poultry flock), and coppice wood products at Badgersett. Working the harvest is a great opportunity to check us out, and see if you’re interested in more.

Contact: Please contact Mark Hamann at 617 922 0196 or marknhamann@gmail.com or https://www.facebook.com/people/Mark-Hamann/5516776 to coordinate.