Dear farm friends,

Our growing season has started! From May until October, the farm will be a lively place full of vegetables, berries, herbs, flowers, and volunteers! Here's a lot of news about what we are up to in the month of May.

2026 Workshare and Volunteer Form & Harvest Training
Our harvest mornings begin the first week of May! Harvest training will take place from 8:00-10:00 AM on Tuesday, May 5, Friday, May 8, Tuesday, May 12, and Friday, May 15. Full harvest shifts will be from 7:00-10:00 AM beginning on Tuesday, May 19 and Friday, May 22 and continue weekly on Tuesdays and Fridays through October. We encourage all new and returning volunteers to attend both weeks of harvest training, if possible. New volunteers will learn the flow of a harvest morning, and experienced volunteers make great leaders during our training weeks. You can read all about what to expect at harvest on our website on our Workshare page and on our FAQ page. Here is a SIGN UP FORM to fill out if you would like to volunteer.

Volunteer in the Greenhouse or Misc. Times
We are looking for volunteers who would like to do greenhouse work for the next 3-5 weeks. The greenhouse is comfortable, cozy, and you can sit down while you work. Alice will train you on the various tasks, like watering, seeding, and transplanting seedlings. If you are interested - fill out the above survey, and text Alice at 978-471-8414. Do you want to volunteer, but our regular times don't work for you? Do you want to bring a group out to volunteer? Fill out our volunteer form, but also text Alice to see if we can find a time that works for you.

Upcoming Events
View more details about our upcoming events on our EVENTS CALENDAR For any RSVP's, please text 978-471-8414. For any RSVP's, please text 978-471-8414.

• May 1-3: Eco Theatre Lab Festival
• May 2, 9-12 PM and 1-4 PM: Work Day on the farm. RVSP helpful. Pack a lunch if you plan to stay over the noon hour.
• May 12, 6-7:30 PM: Community Song Circle at UU Fellowship led by Solveig
• May 16 from 10-12 PM: Annual Seed and Plant Share at the Romero House
• May 17, 1:30-3 PM: Farm Team Meeting at CPC (159 Sheldon Ave)
• May 9, 23, and 30th: We will have prairie plants, vegetable starts, and crafts for sale at the Farmers Market.Volunteer Sign Up
• June 6, 13, 20, 27: We will be at the Farmers Market with the same things for sale. Volunteer Sign Up

PRAIRIE PLANTS
We have so many prairie seedlings started, and every week we will have more ready to go home to get planted in your gardens. These native plants are beautiful! And research shows that even a small plot of native prairie plants can make a huge difference for our struggling pollinators, insects, and other creatures. Only a few of the plants will be ready for our first market, but by the end of May, and throughout June, we will have a wide selection. We have some exciting new varieties, so check out the 2026 Prairie Plant Inventory. When you are ready to order plants, please use the
2026 Plant Order Form.

Seed and Plant Share
Join Mustard Seed Community Farm and the Romero House for our annual PLANT AND SEED SHARE! We will have FREE vegetable starts, seeds, flowers, house plants, and more. You are invited to bring plants or seeds to swap, or simply take what you can use. We will also have a limited number of garden kits: these contain 10 easy vegetable and herb starts and an instruction booklet for setting up your very own garden. Hope to see you there!

Garage Sale Gratitude & Fundraising Update
Construction of the schoolhouse addition (processing kitchen and bathroom) is already underway, as are several fundraising efforts to work towards realizing this exciting vision! Members of the farm team have been applying for grants, exploring other funding opportunities, and have also launched a GoFundMe campaign. THANK YOU to everyone who donated items to sell at the garage sale this past weekend. We were able to raise over $2800 as a result of having SO MUCH GREAT STUFF to sell! We also applied and received funds from a Choose Iowa grant, the Franciscan Sisters of Dubuque, and a generous donation of $3500 from Overflow Thrift Stores. Sending so much gratitude to everyone who has contributed to these efforts - from the water project over the past years that led to this point and everything in between.

GoFundMe
You can make an online donation to our fundraiser with GoFundMe. We invite you to share this fundraiser with others who might like to support our project! We are planning to throw a party in September or October to thank everyone who contributes to our fundraising campaign.