Veggie and Flower Farming Apprentice, The Neighborhood Farm, Wayland

The Neighborhood Farm is small, all natural vegetable and cut flower farm in the midst of a
big transition! 2018 will be our first season entirely on our new land at the historic Mainstone
Farm property in Wayland.

We leased this land in 2017 and began the process of moving our farm from our old land to
our new land. Last fall we grew some of our late season crops on the new land. Over the
winter we built a greenhouse, a high tunnel and moved our infrastructure and equipment.
We're looking forward to a full season of growing on the new land.

We grow vegetables, herbs, cut flowers and seedlings for farmers markets, our CSA, our on
site farm stand, and for several restaurants. We grow a little bit of everything, but we're best
known for our many varieties of specialty garlic, endless heirloom tomatoes, and thousands of
seedlings.

This year will provide fascinating experiences for anyone interested in the process of starting
a farm, breaking in new land, and developing new marketing channels. We will be building
infrastructure, developing systems, establishing new planting areas and expanding our on site
farm stand.

We grow and market our produce year round. We grow some crops through the winter, both
in the open field and in our new high tunnel, but we also put a lot of crops into storage to
expand the availability of local food throughout the year.

We are a fun, friendly, hard working farm. Many members of our team return year after year,
but we still need a few more sets of hands this season, especially those considering making
farming a career. Year round work might be available for those interested.

Our apprentices work alongside the rest of our crew on many aspects of vegetable, herb and
flower production including, planting, weeding, irrigation, greenhouse work, harvesting,
washing, packing and selling at farmers' markets and the farm stand. However, we try to
provide a broad experience base for apprentices, exposing them to all aspects of farm
production. Additionally, if apprentices are particularly interested in a certain topic, we can
often provide more experience and responsibility in that area.

Previous farm experience is great, but not as important as listening skills, dependability,
enthusiasm, and a willingness to work hard. Working on a farm has many rewards, but it has
its challenges too, and so we look for people with a positive attitude, who enjoy being part of a
team, and who can remain upbeat even when it's raining, or hot, or when you just wish you
were at the beach. Weather conditions often alter our plans, so we look to hire people who
are flexible and are able to change direction easily. Candidates should be able to lift 50 lbs,
repeatedly, be willing to work outside in all weather conditions, and be willing to push
themselves to work quickly and carefully. Candidates must also have reliable transportation
(car, bike, feet) – we are not accessible by public transportation.

Compensation starts at $11/hour depending on experience level, willingness to assume
responsibility, and commitment for the season. Apprentices also get lots of vegetables,
seedlings and flowers from the farm.

If you are interested, please email Kate and Jude at theneighborhoodfarm@gmail.com for an
application. In your email, please include the position you are interested in applying for (in this
case Apprentice). For more information about the farm, please visit our website
www.theneighborhoodfarm.com. Please contact us with any questions.