Challenging the Cult of Speed

I've read a lot of about multitasking and the negative effects of this method.  Even while I've learned that it's not good for many reasons, I succumb to it's draw.  While I'm posting, I have a thank you letter to write on my left, pictures to transfer from phone to laptop, book club dates for 2016 to send out, etc.  We all know the drill.  It is seen as an asset in today's culture.  

I've found another approach to limiting my multi-taskedness and that is to embrace slowness.  Yes, slowness.  It was this article from Shane Parrish, on Farman Street that helped me realize steps I could take to slow myself, my work, my mind...down.

Points that made sense to me were: We live in a world with more information than ever yet we understand less.  Understanding comes from focusing, chewing, and relentlessly ragging on a problem.  Thinking requires time and space.  It's slow.  It means saying I don't know. We're expected to have an opinion about everything and yet our time to think is near zero. we have more opinions than ever but have less understanding.

Instead of thinking deeply, or letting an idea simmer in the back of the mind, our instinct now is to reach for the nearest sound bit.  In modern warfare, correspondents in the field and pundits in the studio spew out instant analysis for the vents as they occur.  Often, their insights turn out to be wrong.  But that hardly matters nowadays: in the land of speed the man with the instant response is king. The electronic media is dominated by what one French sociologist dubbed "le fast thinker" - a person who can without skipping a beat, summon up a glib answer to any question. 

"Fast and slow do more than just describe a rate of change.  They are shorthand for ways of being, or philosophies of life.  Fast is busy, controlling, aggressive, hurried, analytical, stressed superficial, impassion, active, quantity-over-quality. Slow is the opposite: clam, careful, receptive, still initiative, unhurried, patient, reflective, quality-over-quantity.  It is about making real and meaningful connections - with people, culture, work, food, everything" The Red Queen Effect, Shane Parrish.

Fast eats time.  One consequence of fast is that we make poor decision after poor decision.  Poor decisions eat time.  And in a culture where people wear busyness as a badge of honor bad decisions actually lead us to think that we're doing more.

 

 

 

Organic is about being Observant

Many of my perceptions and understanding about farming and growing things have changed dramatically since I started my apprenticeship at EarthDance Farms.  Trying to list them would be difficult because they morph into each other.  One way to capstone this would be to focus on observation.

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My childhood experience of observing would be to note when the plants needed watering, weeding, harvesting and removal.  I learned what a mature green bean, eggplant, tomato or strawberry looked like and became adept at harvesting.  Weeding, while it took understanding of what was/was not a weed, was a simple yet constant task in our farm garden.  Overripe fruit was always a treat to find, especially if a sibling or shed was nearby to receive a rotten tomato or cucumber boat. 

We would observe our auntie’s gardens too, if we choose to go on the Sunday strolls through on them on their farms.  I would usually start off with the tour but rarely made it to the end, unless it was fall and we’d end up in the apple orchard.

But that was the extent of my observing.  Perhaps it was my age but I am convinced it was more the setting.

At EarthDance Farms these past four months, I’ve been taught how to observe many things.  Flight paths of the honey bees, chickens that are ramming into the electric fence, beans falling over because of their proximity to the green house fans, just to name a few!

Monicas earring

Monica’s gift of observation and ability to teach us how to observe has affected how each of us engages with our fieldwork.  We don’t grab a bug that we find crawling across the zucchini leaf but we first observe.  We decide what kind of bug it is in order to figure out if it is harmful or beneficial to the plant.  If we don’t know what kind of bug it is, we ask snap a shot of it on our iPhones and google the image to see if we can learn more about it.  If it’s a new bug we are unfamiliar with, they we observe it to see what we can learn. 

Observe her cherry tomato fashion statement.

When we all were getting stung by our farm bees for several weeks, Monica observed that it was the probably because of the new constructed high tunnel.  It was in the way of the bees’ flight pattern to/from their hives and they were confused. 

One day, when I was harvesting kale with another Farmy, Steven, we noticed there was a chicken outside of the fence.  Another Farmy, Daikon Dave, picked up the chicken and returned to inside the fence.  As we watched the chicken join up with the brood, we noticed that other chickens started ramming the fence from the inside trying to get out.  It was such odd behavior.  So, of course, we went to Monica.  She observed the chickens for a bit, looked around and thought aloud, which I appreciate a lot!  Monica noted that on this particular day on the farm, there was a road being constructed through the farm.  There was a dump truck and a bobcat making all sorts of noises…loud ones. While we were not affected by this commotion, evidently the chickens were.  Monica believed that they were trying to get away from the noises that were less than 50’ from their coop and fence.  AMAZING!

Then there's the green beans. They were growing well, beginning to size up and then suddenly all of the plants were lying down, looking like something had knocked them over. Indeed it had.  Monica observed that the green house fans had kicked in during the hot spell we were experiencing.  The fans were blowing air out of the green house into guess where?  The green bean paddock, so the beans were blown over by the green house exhaust fans.

I’ll conclude with a quote from one of my favorite farmers, Wendell Berry and a fabulous fennel for you to observe.

If we represent knowledge as a tree, we know that things that are divided are yet connected. We know that to observe the divisions and ignore the connections is to destroy the tree. 

To Market, To Market

Our August 18th EarthDance field talk was about Wholesale Marketing. Matt LeBon did a great job of explaining all the steps of marketing your vegetables to the wholesale audience.  In summary, this is what he explained.

Before marketing, you’ve already decided what you want to grow – and why you want to grow it.  Does your space lend itself to greens or orchards or a multiple array of vegetables? Do you just want to grow berries?  Once you’ve figured this out and you begin to grow food, then its time to thinking about how to to market it.

If you are going to start growing in the spring and hope to supply your produce to local chefs, start the conversation in the fall.  Make an appointment with the restaurant chef and then take in your wares for them to sample.  Always take in a sample of what you’ll be producing next season.  While this may be difficult to do sometimes (e.g.  I won’t have berries until June), sampling is key.

Pricing:

Always have an idea of what price you will ask for your produce.  Typically, the price will be about 20% less than what you’d sell the produce for at a farmer’s market.  A Price Sheet shows not only professionalism but understanding of your business, your clients and the relationship you are building.

Early Orders:

The optimum arrangement is for chefs to tell you what they think they’ll want prior to the season.  For example, a chef may order 20# of kale for the 12 weeks you’ll have kale.  Or mixed greens for as long as you can supply them.

Relationships:

Matt sends his chefs pictures throughout the week of what is looking good on the farm.  This allows the chefs to think ahead and plan for the week to come.   Also, if a chef is expecting husk cherries from you and you are out, try and find another farmer to supply the produce.  When you check on your chef’s order early in the week, you mention that even though you’re out of husk cherries, farmer XYZ will deliver the cherries instead of you.  This saves the chef the legwork and makes you more of a partner in his business.

Farm Visit:

Matt suggested a farm visit for your chefs…this makes a huge difference when they can see where their food is from…just like everyone.  It creates a connection.

Since chefs are our #1 marketing, by sharing our produce with their customers, giving us a nod when they do “EarthDance Salad” on their menus, like Chef Rex Hale does at The Restaurant at the Cheshire

EARTHDANCE FARMS LOCAL GREEN SALAD  Lemon Anchovy Vinaigrette, Soft Boiled Farm Egg

While I’m not sure how and if I’ll be marketing like Matt suggested, it was good to learn the fundamentals of what to do.  This coming Saturday, I’ll be working the Farmer’s Market for EarthDance.  Excited to see what this will be like!

Matt inspecting a freshly harvested fig from 7th Generation Garden at EarthDance.

Matt inspecting a freshly harvested fig from 7th Generation Garden at EarthDance.

Creating space for land and people to care for each other

Farming has become even more exciting the past month.  It wasn’t a spiral of silence initiated from my blog, but rather a lack time to write for the blog…when I was writing a proposal.

Yes, it's true.  Last week, Glen and I delivered our Centene Farm Proposal and it was met with great approval and enthusiasm.   The Centene Executive we presented to is ready to take the idea forward, first of all to his peers for internal shepherding before approaching the President/CEO.

His appreciation of the goodwill it would create in the local community, coupled with the connection to national models of urban farms and businesses as well as the boost to the health of employees made it a big win.  Glen's idea to compare the community benefits other large St Louis companies provide to what the Centene Farm could bring, hit the ball out of the park.  

It was a herculean effort to create a presentation from 6+ feet of brain-boarding to tell the story simply.  Three of my dear friends, Aimee Muirnin Zander, Nicole Westrick and Audra Frick all swarmed in to deliver their expertise on the project.

Aimee, of Navigating Networks, helped me develop my business canvas. Thinking through my value proposition, key contributors and revenue streams helped me define what differentiated me.  It was arduous and she even made a house call during the thick of it all.

Nicole, an associate provost at Temple University, arrived from Philadelphia for our weekend together, unaware of the hours she's dedicate to combing through the presentation, tightening it up to a mere 9 pages.

Then Audra, of Frick Design House, took our concept and added visual design that provided a fantastic, flawless finish to the presentation.

Before these talented friends pitched in their support, a gifted nephew, Jesse Richards of JR Videos created a motion typography segment to promote the Centene Farm.  

So, as we wait to hear about next steps, I'm updating my CV to include "Urban Farm Advisor"!

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"You don’t have to save anyone, you just have to show up," Father Greg Boyle

On Monday, June 29, Greg Boyle of Homeboy Industries, spoke at a nearby hotel.  Vanity Gee, a partner on another project Nothing Yet had told me about Greg and his ministry.  I visited his the Homeboy booth at the famer’s market in Santa Monica a few months back and our book club is reading his book, Tattoos on the Heart, next month.   So Greg came highly recommended and I was overwhelmed by his simple, straight message.

Greg Boyle is a Jesuit priest, typically Jesuits are more involved in social justice and helping the wounded in life.  His words sang a sweet song to my soul.  Here are some of the items he shared.

We are called to stand at the margin.  Mother Teresa said, “We’ve forgotten that we belong to each other.”

Kinship is key.  With no kinship, there is no peace.  We lionize service and forget that it’s about connecting. 

Service is the 1st step that gets you in the hallway to someone’s heart. Why do we have to look at us and them?  It’s hard to demonize people you know.

Why can’t we realize that we are all healing?

What’s all this measuring about? 

WOW!  This one struck home with me…why are we constantly measuring?  Not as smart, as capable, as quick, as funny, as savvy…ugh!!!

Greg explained an interesting concept that I’ve thought about in other situations.  He said that tonight was "not what I go to, it’s where I will come from".  Every event, interaction, contemplation changes the way we go forward.

Our own wounds welcome the wounds of others.  If we don’t heal our own wounds, we cannot help the wounded. 

Joy is loving the enemy.  Are we fear driven or joy driven?  If you are ruled by sadness and fear, this is a sign you are off-center.  The key is to focus on hope and joy.

It’s about the joy of the gospel, not the demand of doctrine.

Tenderness should be our methodology.  

And this is the one that has resonated in my heart time and time again since I heard Greg speak:  God is too busy loving us to be disappointed.

Greg spoke at Chautauqua Institute this past Wednesday.  My dear friend, Rebecca Manor heard his message this week. I'm excited to compare notes.

You don’t have to save anyone, you just have to show up. Powerful.

Greg Boyle

Tally #3 - Operation Food Search changed my life!

My friend, Sunny Schaefer invited me to tour Operation Food Search, as she cleverly put it: “You’ve traveled across the country to learn about food security and haven’t visited the hunger relief in your own neighborhood.”  Off I went to tour Operation Food Search…and left amazed, awed, intrigued and perplexed.

Sunny introduced me to several staff members, all interesting and engaging.  Gary, works with the No Kid Hungry program which finds and supports sites across the city to provide nutritious lunches to children once a day during the summer.  Gary manages the deluge of paperwork that the USDA requires so that people serving the food can focus on feeding children.

The warehouse was orderly providing easy access to the volunteers from local food pantries, (currently around 220) who show up to gather food for their clients.  Sunny explained how the warehouse is organized and seeing the stacks of food waiting to be delivered was exciting.  All I could think about were the hands that had touched those products so far in their journey to place it into hands of hungry people. 

Operation Backback purchases food to send home with children on free lunches so they can have nutrious meals over the weekend.

After we toured, Sunny invited the OFS Strategic Director, Lucinda Perry to have a conversation with us.  Several topics of interest that percolated during our time together was the massive muscle of manufacturers in food choices.  Many times large grocers are fingered as those who aid the national obesity, malnutrition and poor eating practices in America’s homes. But it is the major manufacturers (e.g. Nestle) who make the decision as to what is available in the store.  Nestle had more than $100 billion in sales and more than $11 billion in profits in 2013. Imagine that amount of money supporting the health of the people eating their products!

 

One of Lucinda’s current projects is to deepen the sense of advocacy for the nation’s hungry. It’s one thing to bring a can of food to work for a food drive, but how do you broaden the perspective so that people are motivated to act, make decisions, reach out and care for the hungry people in our city?

This question stirred me to step by from my desire to teach others how to grow, prepare and enjoy real food to a bigger stage…one that causes a change in culture, of attitudes, of motivation.  Sunny shared an interesting quote.  In the 1940’s, FDR said we at War against Poverty.  Now, we are at War against those who are in Poverty.  Sadly, I could understand exactly her point…impoverished people can be considered to have brought this on themselves.  This approach views the situation as hopeless for both sides:  poor people don’t know how to help themselves, those with means believe they could help themselves. 

Surely awareness as a necessary first step but then what?  Relating her past experience at the State of Massachusetts, gaining the attention of the youth is how to make the biggest impact.  We agreed that youth usually aren’t hardened by “it’s the way it’s always been” nor are they willing to stand for atrocities that could be solved.  Social justice matters to most younger people.

Suggesting that starting with churches already established seemed like a natural avenue for me.  After the Food and Faith Seminar at Eden, I see churches as a people group interested in compassion and care for others. 

Weeks later, I’m still noodling this important and immense topic…how do we create a greater sense of advocacy for people who are hungry?

Lucinda had articulated the intertwining of access and education to real food, neither can stand alone. One thing we can all do (here in St Louis anyway) during the month of July is to participate in Tomato Explosion.  Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?

It's July...time to find a good restaurant and try their tomatoes!

 

 

EarthDancing - Finishing out June!

Jane is looking like the Miss Jane she is, I need a little waking up!

Jane is looking like the Miss Jane she is, I need a little waking up!

I wanted to make up the shifts I missed when I was traveling in late April so I signed up for a Friday morning shift.  I was walking to our meeting spot and noticed a familiar face, Jane Keating!

Jane and I met at Crossroads Presbyterian church many years ago and shares many loves.  Love of Jesus, of books, of gardening, of theater and so it was a treat to see her at EarthDance.  Jane volunteers on “Tidy Friday” and helps out in many ways.  She also referred me to some other people to connect with to realize other opportunities in the gardening and farming world of St Louis. 

I worked some different shifts to make up for time spent away in late April.  It's great to meet other crews and see the different ways the farmies fellowship!  Sarah and Steven enjoyed harvesting this fantastic garlic scapes.

 I used mine in a garlic scape dip made with quark, yogurt and a little cheddar cheese. I served it with summer squash and salad turnips as an appetizer for a dinner party the next day.  YUM!

 

I used mine in a garlic scape dip made with quark, yogurt and a little cheddar cheese. I served it with summer squash and salad turnips as an appetizer for a dinner party the next day.  YUM!

The heat is on…finally.  All of the shift so far have had wonderful weather, breezy and cool.  This last shift, not so much.  But I guess it is summer in St. Louis, right?   As I headed to our meeting area at the beginning of the shift, I noticed these gorgeous mushrooms near the rain garden.  Beauties aren’t they?

 

 

 

Monica explained what was going on with this kale.  The insect pressure had intensified so much that she had sprayed this kale with BT.  She carefully explained that this is the last line of defense against bugs in an organic farm.  Even though BT is organic, spraying is always a last resort on organic farms.  Crop rotation, trap crops and row covers are the preferred methods of lessening pest pressure.  You can’t really see the damage to this kale, but it was significant. 

 

 

 

 

Near the kale beds, were the nasturtiums.  Even though I knew they were edible, I had never tasted their leaves.  Spicy and nice!

 

While a lot of other amazing things happened at EarthDance, I'm moving into July...the eggplants...the tomatoes...the cukes!  

EarthDance - Day 6

Amidst the cool, moist days, EarthDance vegetation has been slowly gaining strength.  This week’s harvest was ample with more garlic scapes!  The new show stoppers this week: arugala and squash! 

Picking the squash was fun, serious fun.  Pulling apart the giant green lush leaves, finding the little colored gems inside and then using a razor sharp knife to cut them with an inch-sized stem.  Monica said that her mentor taught her that no sounds should be heard while picking squash…caring for them tenderly is the key to keeping them beautiful.  My favorite was the Zephyr, a bi-colored longer squash.  I plan on serving them Saturday evening at our dinner party…with a garlic scape cheese dip.

A funny looking Zephr squash with a funny guy, Chris!

A funny looking Zephr squash with a funny guy, Chris!

In the afternoon, we did a long field walk checking out the trees that have been planted on the farm.  Matt showed us the grafting marks from the fall’s work on the trees.  I look forward to watching them grow.  Matt also modeled a belt bucket...handy for harvesting fragile fruits.  

I learned how to use the walk-behind tractor.  Monica and I attached the rotary plow and I made this gorgeous trail in the bed.  Monica is a wonderful teacher, thorough and patient, listening to questions and answering with kindness and always ready to laugh.  She’s amazing.  I taped Katie running the walk-behind tractor.  It looks like an overgrown rotary tiller.

A newly furrowed bed, thanks to the walk behind tractor!

A newly furrowed bed, thanks to the walk behind tractor!

Evening class was by led by Missouri homesteaders, Eric and Joanna Reuter from Chert Hollow Farm. They were honest and inspiring…they are homesteaders because they like to eat good food, simple enough, but the work can be hard.  Very hard. 

Molly Rockamann, EarthDance’s Founding Director add some great advice to a question posed to the Reuters at the end of their talk.  One of our farmys asked what to contemplate when buying farm land.  Molly’s response was that there are three things to contemplate in the purchase of a farm:  1) Neighbors, 2) Code and 3) Existing Infrastructure.  Powerful words, thank you, Molly! 


 

Farm parcel #2 - Across the street from original Clayton Farm

So, it gets better.  As I walking back home from walking Glen to work on Monday morning, look what popped out.  Another property for farming - just across the street to the west from initial parcel!

Best thing about this property, it has a house on the top of the hill. It looks solid and has been recently used as a business office.  10 S Lyle could be the caretaker’s home for the Farm.

Found my farm...in Clayton!

Great news on the farming side of things.  As I was walking to church last Sunday, I asked Jesus to show me how he wanted me to employ my passion for growing things.  As I was waiting to cross the street about 4 blocks from our home, I noticed an empty parcel of land.  It is between our house and Glen's office at Centene.  What an incredible answer from the Lord.  A farm within walking distance from our house?  

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The first thing I noticed was the pathway worn through the land from the footsteps of the workers who take the Metro Rail to their jobs in Clayton. Most people are in the service industry.  My first step is to create a nice pathway to keep them from walking in mud.  If they wanted, they could work on the farm and take home produce as they left Clayton.  Shipping/delivery done.  As I looked over this property and started thinking of ideas, I walked through the Ritz Carleton to enjoy some of it's beauty.  Then, I remembered the relationship Glen and I have with the executive chef, Melissa Lee.  I could source her kitchen with the produce we grow on the farm.  Her chefs could pick their own produce.  Next step, farm to table dinners at the Ritz.  

When I posed my idea to Glen his first response was to ask who owns the land.  Great question, but how was I to know.  We drove by the land after church and Glen again asked who owns the land.  I still had no idea.  We were enjoying a cocktail and making dinner, Glen asked one more time about the ownership of the land.  This time, he gave me the answer.  He know who owns the land...it's Centene.  The company where he works.   

The star is our house.  And Cen Corporation Health Solutions is Glen’s office.  The words Forsyth Metrolink highlight where the farm will be.  So, as I was sketching out the farm the next day, I realized that the county courthouse and jail are just several blocks beyond Glen's office. Work release programs...folks can come to the farm and work...for pay and for real food. 

My mentor, Sunny Schaefer, invited me to a luncheon at the St. Louis Club three days later.  I was able to show her the farm from the 16th floor, just two blocks away.  Her response, "It's perfect"!

Now, onto that pitch!

The Design of Healthy Lifestyle Living at Bucking Horse & Jessup Farm Fort Collins, Colorado - June 10, 2015

In December 2013, NPR explained how suburban farms are popping up instead of golf courses in new developments.  Several dear friends made sure I heard this show

It changed my life.

It made me believe that there was something out there for me to weave my life around…farming in the city.  Audrey can live with Glen.  Or, city living while farming.  Glen can live with Aud.

Suburban farms are ways for living creatures to enjoy the outdoors, and the fellowship of healthy living in community.  #1 way to do this, grow the food for your table….and your neighbor’s and his neighbor and …  #2 sit down together and eat those great foods you’ve grown.  Great idea, don’t you think?  This is one of my interpretations of what a suburban farm could be.

The NPR show told how many suburban farms (~200 then) get started and thrive.  It also showed each farm as slightly different.  Many are truly woven into the fabric of the community.  I saw two of those this past week: Bucking Horse/Jessup Farm and Lyons Farmette.  I started at Bucking Horse/Jessup Farm.

chickens living easy at Jessup farm

I researched this development in interest as it was near my old stomping grounds of Colorado.  Plus the description was interesting.  So, off to Fort Collins I go!  Plans were made to meet Anne at a coffee shop before a tour.  The coffee shop had good coffee and engaging with Anne easy and interesting.  Anne is an amazing woman doing great things for kids…families…and real food.  She is my new hero and she has a GREAT TRUCK!

Anne explained starting the Fort Collins’ “Sprouting Up",  not-for-profit.  It teaches kids how to grow, cook and market vegetables.  This provides for a free farmers’ market in the neighborhood and adjoining areas.  In Ann’s case, she started with mobile home parks.  She employs kids who live in/near these parks to apprentice in the garden.  In addition to eating and cooking together, the kids prepare meals and invite families in as well.

She’s a gem.

Anne is also the farmer of Jessup Farm, the farm inside of the Bucking Horse development.

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Later on, Dino Campana is the Founder and President of Bellisimo, the development organization creating Bucking Horse stopped by and we spoke for quite a bit.  Dino was interesting…an entrepreneur since the age of 15.  He establishes and coordinates design-development teams, this time one to sustain healthy lifestyles.  Dino asked if Anne and I were aware that Bucking Horse/Jessup Farm was featured in an article in the latest Modern Farmer magazine.  I had it in my bag and handed it over. 

Dino is interested in developing Healthy Lifestyle settings that are sustainable and replicable. Simple as that.  He and his brothers are building this one in Fort Collins, Colorado in hopes to replicate it at some point.

Dino is a great storyteller, his story began with his teenaged boys not knowing how to work, so he bought a farm. Jessup Farm, gave the boys ample time in the dirt.  Then he decided to develop a community around the farm so others could learn how to grow, how to work together, how to eat and live well.  He developed a community with all types of housing options:  rentals to patio homes to estates. 

Then he asked me what I wanted to do.  I explained connecting ex-offenders with options to learn how to grow and cook food to eat and share.  Dino looked me squarely and said, don’t believe anyone who tells you no.  If you are making your vision come to life, don’t tell anyone what you are planning until you’ve got it going.  And more importantly, you don’t have to know what you’re doing to get it going.

After listening to Dino’s story and then answering his questions, I felt like Modern Farmer magazine portrayed Bucking Horse differently than what I saw on my tour.

Dino is a determined visionary.  He encouraged me to dream and go.

Adaptive Restoration is what Dino calls his application to the Jessup Farm property.  This building was the old farm house.  It will be a restaurant.

Adaptive Restoration is what Dino calls his application to the Jessup Farm property.  This building was the old farm house.  It will be a restaurant.

The farmhouse (becoming a restaurant) with a new kitchen.  Yes, almost the same size as the farmhouse.  

The farmhouse (becoming a restaurant) with a new kitchen.  Yes, almost the same size as the farmhouse.  

This is where the farm will be ... soon!

This is where the farm will be ... soon!

Adaptive restoration to the barn...it becomes a brewery and wine tasting loft.

Adaptive restoration to the barn...it becomes a brewery and wine tasting loft.

Next stop, Lyons Farmette!

EarthDance - Day 5 - Garlic Scapes and Goats!

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Harvest Day Again!  We harvested boatload of things this week: garlic scapes, carrots, head lettuce, mesclun mix and red bok choy.  Most of the morning is tied up with harvesting.  In addition to the CSA shares, we also harvest for wholesale customers,  usually chefs in the city.  Spinach was a big wholesale order this week.

Lily and Kristen with the red bok choy harvest.

Lily and Kristen with the red bok choy harvest.

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I learned how to spin the twice-washed spinach…in a washing machine relegated solely to this duty.  Matt explained the ropes to me and then I got started placing the spinach into large mesh bags, placing two at a time in the machine and then spinning for several minutes. 

They came out so much lighter.  I was a bit concerned about being so rough with the spinach but Matt explained that 99% of the produce is just fine, there is always some carnage in the process.

The afternoon field walk was to visit the goats.  They have been “lent” to the farm to eat a poison ivy patch.  These four wethers are sweet enough and I volunteered to do some goat shepherding in the afternoon.  This required donning large coveralls (protection from the ivy) and creating a tether line that we connected to the goats’ collars. 

We selected the two most docile goats first, leaving Colby and Freckles, the more rambunctious goats, in the pen for the second shift.  Putting the “she” in shepherding, Meredith’s term was a likeable activity. Goats are much more like cows than sheep…with dog-like qualities as well in the ways that they observe us. 

EarthDance - Day 4

Harvest day #2!  We harvested Red Russian kale, carrots, beets, turnips, head lettuce, spinach, chives, dill and chocolate mint.  This time, I showed the day’s harvest coordinator around and then got busy digging carrots.  I was working with Chris and we started finding “best of bed” carrots that we saved aside. It was a fun but tedious process.  Most of the carrots were the size of my index finger. 

Kale harvest was fun.  Monica showed us how to put your fingers around the crown of the plant and just push down and the outer branches just snap off.  It looked easier than it worked for me.

This won the prize of prettiest of the day - Chive Flowers for a wholesale customer.  

chive flowers

After harvest was completed, I helped package the mixed lettuces and the spinach.  There were a lot of greens but the process EarthDance has developed is one of efficiency. 

Matt pointed out that if you always stack your bags of greens in rows of 10, there is no need to recount.  Sounds like a simple concept but applied across all of the separate of the harvest, packaging, storing, loading and selling, it makes a big difference.  You learn to eyeball crates and know immediately how many packages you have just by the arrangement.

Every week, I forget how much I enjoy being outside for an entire day, learning about pests or plants or implements, working with different people that are quickly becoming good friends.  Chris, in this picture is inspecting the herb spiral that we will be fixing is always sharing recipe tips with me.  He encouraged me to try roasted tomatillo salsa (turned out great) and then using that salsa to make chicken enchiladas (another winner).

I opened up my gift from Rebecca and Scotty this morning as I’d been saving it so a time when I could savor it…and this morning, I did!  Vegetable Literacy gets down to the botanical basics that the farm managers are explaining:  Brassicas, Solonaceaes,  etc. Now, I have the perfect book to explain these genus and species.

 

Vegetable Literacy

My first recipe to try from this book will be using the Apiaceae genus, making the Carrot Almond Cake with Ricotta Cream for our Master Mind meeting tomorrow!

EarthDance - May 12, 2015

First CSA Harvest of the Season!

Monica explaining what we will be harvesting and how we will weigh, wash and package the harvested produce.

Monica explaining what we will be harvesting and how we will weigh, wash and package the harvested produce.

Going on a harvest field walk is different than other field walks.  We were directed to the plants that we would harvest...and we learned how to harvest chard, spinach (it had been harvested 20 times before), cilantro, green garlic and other things.  

Going on a harvest field walk is different than other field walks.  We were directed to the plants that we would harvest...and we learned how to harvest chard, spinach (it had been harvested 20 times before), cilantro, green garlic and other things.  


Donned the rain pants and was off as the Harvest Coordinator!

Donned the rain pants and was off as the Harvest Coordinator!

After the tour, we had to choose our first Harvest Coordinator...everyone wanted to get out in the paddocks and harvest.  So, guess who was the first HC?

Weighing the harvested chard dry.  We weigh all produce dry.

Packed chard ready for the shares.

Chriswithflowers

We also packed up wild bouquets.  This is one of my new farmy friends, Chris.  He is an avid cook, storyteller and listener.  

EarthDance - Day 2

One week on the farm, two weeks away...returning to the farm and the new friends was soothing.

Some of the crew hula-hoeing the radish beds.  In the forefront is a paddock sewn to cover crops of rye and hairy vetch. 

Some of the crew hula-hoeing the radish beds.  In the forefront is a paddock sewn to cover crops of rye and hairy vetch. 

Watching this machine was incredible...!  It makes raised beds!  

And this is what it looked like afterwards.  The black plastic not only discourages weeds and keeps in moisture but is made from non GMO corn so it biodegrades in a year.

I'm finally getting caught up on my posts...so don't pay attention to the date at the top of the post...and look for several more soon!  

Echo Farms...Extraordinaire...

Echo Farms mission is to equip people with agricultural resources and skills to reduce hunger and improve the lives of the poor, globally.  

Entering Echo.jpg

Time spent touring Echo Farms in late April changed my life.  From the Tippy Tap to the Moringa tree to the Aquaponic Fish ponds to the bicycles powering corn grinders…I can see the vast effect ECHO is making through study, education and teaching in your global Impact centers.  David Erickson, ECHO’s Chief Organizational Development Officer first statement that ECHO’s goal is to support the 4.5 million small-scale farmers world wide which can in turn make a difference in 2.2 billion lives still resonates in my mind.  

The Tippy Tap allows you to wash your hands with soap without touching anything.  Designed in Zimbabwe, Tippy Taps are simple, economic hand-washing stations made from locally available materials.  They are not dependent on piped water and…

The Tippy Tap allows you to wash your hands with soap without touching anything.  Designed in Zimbabwe, Tippy Taps are simple, economic hand-washing stations made from locally available materials.  They are not dependent on piped water and require a tenth of the water normally used to wash hands.

What sticks with me as I joyfully journey to Earth Dance organic farm in Ferguson where I’m apprenticing are the stories David shared.  From the doctor prescribing moringa powder to his pregnant patients, to the Mali farmer who learned from ECHO and is now the SRI (System of Rice Intensification) expert to the dramatic effects of Liter Lights in village huts, the effect of simple changes by human hands has a ripple effect on the people Echo serves.  

As I was leaving, David pointed out a quote that will have lasting effect on my next steps:   

The great aim of education is not knowledge but action.
— Herbert Spencer
                                                                      &nbs…

                                                                                      This is the third station of the aquaponics system.

Living in Eden

I’m going to start keeping track of how many times I say:  This changed my life.  #1. In early April, I attended the Food and Faith Convocation at Eden Seminary. It changed my life. Not only did I get to meet notable writers on this subject, Ellen Davis and Norman Wirzba, but I learned the vital connection that God is to the farm.

Growing up on a farm and going to church, I knew that we were to be thankful to God for many things, including the gift of the work he allowed for us, but I never saw the “soil as sacred”.  I saw dirt as something that was ubiquitous on my playground, for important things like making mud pies.

Dirt also created work for me as it grew weeds that I had to pull.  To learn that this dirt was actually referred to by God as fertile soil a few years later was a refreshing surprise.  God, man and the soil – a three way covenant.  This was clear during Ellen Davis’ speech Land as Kin: Renewing our Imagination when she quoted Leviticus 26:42:  “I shall remember my covenant Jacob, and yes, my covenant with Isaac, and my covenant with Abraham I shall remember—and the land I shall remember.”  The land is not an “it”, Ellen stated.  The land is a covenant member.  The land came first.  It is the first ancestor.  The triangle is:  God > Land > People.

Armed with this new knowledge, I reflected on my childhood in a different way.  Yes, dirt was everywhere…but this dirt matters to God.  Not just because it provides a livelihood but because he created it..just like the water I love…dogs…me! 

Ellen Davis started her talk with Genesis 2:7, “And the Lord God formed the human being (adam), dust from the fertile soil (adamah).”  Soil comes first; it is kin to the earth. 

Later, Norman Wirzba and Ellen held a round table and discussed why food should be at the heart of the church. “Agrarianism is not a way of thinking for farmers.  It’s for people who eat!”

“Never before have humans felt like the land was their stage.  This is new thinking.  Everyone before was connected to the land.”

Another speaker, Christopher Grundy, presented his ideas of “Our Daily Bread:  Recovering the Sacramentality of Radical Meal Practices”.   He led with a great quote:  “It’s never just about food, it’s about just food.” 

Then, it was time for my show-stopper, Norman Wirzba’s talk, “Food and Farmer: Why is Matters for the Church”.  He encouraged us to start by thinking about our cultural context.  We are in an experiment – for the first time in history more than ½ the population lives in cities. We have no connection to the ecosystem processes.  Therefore, we have ecological amnesia.

Norman pointed out something that Jaime from Fair Shares had explained to me. Consumers want food to be:  cheap, convenient and in big supply.  This attitude is destroying food. 

So, where do I go from here?  Echo Farms in Fort Meyers, Florida!  Next entry!