Farming with Friends

We can't wait to share our farm fresh produce with Bainbridge Blooms' customers! 🥰

First Blooms of the Season! 🌼

Look what’s starting to bloom in one of our newly upgraded raised beds! Our first calendula and statice flowers are opening up, marking the beginning of an exciting season for our 2026 Flower Farm Project.

These beautiful flowers represent our ongoing commitment to creating an accessible, inclusive farm where people of all abilities can learn, work, and grow together.

We are incredibly grateful to our project partners and supporters who helped make these raised bed and accessibility improvements possible:

💚 Thank you to the Catholic Campaign for Human Development-Diocese of Cleveland (CCHD)
💚 Thank you to the Akron Garden Club (AGC)
💚 Thank you to the Old Trail School Community (OTS)

Because of your support, these beds are becoming spaces where opportunities bloom alongside the flowers.

We can't wait to share more as the flower farm grows throughout the season!

💚 The Backbone of Farming with Friends 💚

Our farm runs on community, and we are incredibly grateful for the volunteers who show up week after week to help make our mission possible.

A special thank you to our regular volunteer crew, Krista, Andrew, Karla, and Will, whose dedication, hard work, and willingness to jump in wherever needed help keep everything moving forward. Whether we're planting, harvesting, welcoming visitors, or tackling the never-ending farm to-do list, they are always there when we need them.

We're also excited to welcome our newest regular volunteers pictured here (left to right): Julia, Shayla, and Amanda! 🌱

Julia and Amanda join us through Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD)'s Community Work Experience Program, where Julia is gaining valuable workplace skills while contributing in meaningful ways to our farm community.

Shayla was referred to us by our friends at Grace Church, Bath Campus, and we are so thankful to have her positive energy and helping hands on the farm.

Volunteers are more than helpers at Farming with Friends. They are teammates, mentors, friends, and an essential part of creating an inclusive community where people of all abilities can learn, work, and grow together.

Please help us thank these amazing individuals for being part of the Farming with Friends family! 💚🌻

From tarp to squash patch! 🌱🎃🍉

Here’s a little behind-the-scenes look at how we’re building our winter squash and melon patch at Farming with Friends:

1️⃣ First, we pulled back the tarp we laid down last year to naturally kill the grass underneath. No heavy tilling needed!

2️⃣ Next, we used garden forks to break up the soil underneath. This helps loosen the ground for better aeration and water infiltration so roots can grow deep and healthy.

3️⃣ Then came the fun part — adding compost! We built mounds on top of each loosened section to create rich planting spaces packed with nutrients.

4️⃣ After that, we shaped and spaced all the mounds by hand, getting everything ready for planting day.

5️⃣ The result? 49 planting mounds ready for pumpkins, acorn squash, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, delicata squash, and watermelon! 🎃🧡

6️⃣ And finally, a proud mother-and-son moment 💚 Ginnette and Sam have poured so much love, hard work, and teamwork into this farm, and this patch is just one more example of what grows when community comes together.

Now we wait for sunshine, vines, and lots of squash! 🌞