More Help Needed at Cropsey Community Farm

If the weather didn't cooperate with your Earth Day volunteer efforts this past weekend, there's still time to help with projects at the Cropsey Community Farm in New City.

The farm organizers sent out a call for volunteers late last week for Earth Day, Friday, and they managed to plant green onions, leeks and shallots.

On Sunday, the farm team was in the field planting the bok choy — although the work was pretty muddy because of Saturday's rain.

Today, the farm organizers plan on doing more planing and say they could use volunteer assistance from 9:30 a.m. to noon, or from 1:30 to 5 p.m. Even farmers take a lunch break, from noon to 1:30 p.m.

If you feel more abitious, farm organizers say they also need volunteers from about noon to 3 p.m. to work on digging a French drain in the lower parking area at the farm on Little Tor Road. The drain, a pipe with many holes, collects water to carry it away from wet areas.

You don't need any special skills to help out at the farm. Just come prepared to get dirty — wear work clothes, boots and gloves. Bring a trowel and shovel if you have them.

Cropsey Community Farm is an operation of the Rockland Farm Coalition, which has a lease from Rockland County and the Town of Clarkstown to farm five acres at the Cropsey Farm site — preserved as open space by the county and the town. Retired farmers Jim Cropsey and his wife, Pat, still live in their longtime family home on the farm site. The Cropseys have their own little family garden behind their home.