notes from a farm-virgin.

so i started working for a farm about four weeks ago.

this was the veryfirst time i had ever been on a farm or actually used a hoe. the first time i had ever seen baby turkeys or newborn piglets. it's not so much that i didn't know that farming existed, but i had just never had the opportunity to learn about farming. or, i didn't know i had the opportunity.

see, many of us live very near to farmers and never even realize it. i know i didn't! when i pictured farms, i saw big sprawling acreage at least an hour outside of our big city. i thought of the long drive. the unfamiliar backroads. and some farms are like that. but the farm i volunteer for two days a week is fifteen minutes away. five minutes from the biggest, fanciest mall in my city. and on the same street as the boutique goodwill that sells designer clothes.

so when i was following the directions to the farm i felt for sure that i was lost. i passed the goodwill. a shopping center. a retired housing community. and then the road ended and there were trees and the paved street turned to gravel and there it was! the barn. the 19th century farmhouse. and there are 25 acres of land used for pastured cattle, pigs, and chickens, rows of seasonal crops, a greenhouse. there is a lot of life collected on this fairly small farming plot. and yes, you can still see the retirement community apartments from the fields, they will watch us from their balconies with binoculars. sometimes i will squint up at them and wave.

i only work twice a week on harvest days. on a normal workday, i will go out and begin by picking blackberries. it is a nice, methodical work-- picking vegetables. you fall into the rhythm of looking, checking for ripeness, and gathering. it often becomes a kind of meditation. cherry tomato picking, big tomato picking, swiss chard cutting, beet thinning, green bean plucking. it is a lot of bending over and standing up, squatting and parting the thick tangles of plants to find their small ripe fruits. it is exciting to be so connected with the word bounty. there is so much-- so much blessing-- and i get to be a part of bringing that to someone's table.

but there are so many obstacles on harvest days that can make the work less meditative and more unpleasant. i don't think i ever come away unscathed. scrapes, mosquitos, biting flies, and itching cuts from stinging nettles. not to mention the threat of sunburn or dehydration out in the field. both of which i've experienced now, i'm sorry to say. it is an interesting lesson in patience and endurance-- there is a job that must be done regardless of the conditions of nature. people will arrive to claim food during the CSA (community supported agriculture) pickup times, so food has to be there!

all this work has opened my eyes to why locally & responsibly grown food is so expensive. that half pint of blackberries you just bought? i spent fifteen minutes per half pint digging through thorny bushes in the 95 degree heat! and every vegetable or chicken has a similar story. and the point isn't to make you feel guilty for not being able to afford local food. the point is, that there IS a story behind each item you buy. somebody took the time to grow, care for, and harvest that. a real person with a life and a family and time that they sacrificed so you could eat food that doesn't harm your body. someone who didn't take the easy way out with pesticides and fungicides and chemical fertilizer. who weeds by hand and tends each plant in the field. and isn't that worth paying a little extra for? or like me, if you can't always afford it, buy what you can and work for the rest! it has been a invaluable learning opportunity to see first hand how crops are grown and harvested. how eggs are gathered. and (i hope one day to see) how chickens are slaughtered. it has given me such a great respect for the land and the people tending it. it has given me a relationship with my food that no grocery store or chickfila could ever give. don't get me wrong, i still eat at chickfila, but when i do, i miss that relationship. i think about the chicken and i don't know where it came from, and for the first time in my life that makes me sad!

this is meant to be an encouragement to you. if you have always wanted to learn about farming, or you want to support your local farmers but don't have the money to buy from farmers markets all the time-- you can! if you don't have any friends with connections to farms, look online for organic produce farms in your area. or visit your local farmer's market website-- it should have a list of farmers who are near to you. then, just start the conversation by emailing or calling the farm and telling them you'd like to volunteer. most farms would love to have additional help, they just can't afford to pay anyone. so let them know you want to learn and what days of the week you could commit to helping. my farm is so generous-- even though they can't pay me, they let me take home some of what i help harvest. i haven't been to the grocery store in weeks! there are even some programs for littles that introduce them to gardening and farming on a small scale. no investment into your local farms is too small!