In the heat of the summer like this it’s important to remember the incredibly hard working people behind the vegetables who are working in the hot summer sun and showing up for their shifts every day and every week. They demonstrate reliability, consistency, and a deepened sense of character. How lucky I am to know such hardworking folk. I swear, farming attracts my favorite kind of people. They’re a hardy, sturdy and resilient breed.
The farm crew is athletic. They lift heavy bins of cucumbers down the rows in the heat of the day. They lift their summer squash bins and carrot bins and come back for more. They walk miles on the farm every day. They toss and catch cabbages (and soon to be melons). They twist and bend and reach and crawl and squat sometimes. They walk on uneven ground and even go barefoot when the conditions are right. We even get rained on from time to time. And get this. Wait for it. We even get dirty. Air-conditioned, temperature-controlled, stationary jobs are much more popular to go into.
I especially love how working on the farm exposes us to the temperature fluctuations of the day. The temperature outside is. Always. Changing. Sometimes we’re uncomfortably warm or cold and I think that is actually good for us- to a degree- no pun intended. New research shows there are health benefits to exposing ourselves to heat and cold. It doesn’t need to be a sauna or a cold plunge either, we can get it just by being outside!
Interestingly, farm work is skilled. Much to the surprise of many. A person must first know the difference between a weed and a plant when weeding. Plant identification is a skill I have to teach people who come here-a skill fewer and fewer people have anymore. I am even learning the names of new plants in my 40’s and I’ve been living in the country only my adult life. They must know when and how to harvest a fruit off of a plant. They must be able to sense a reasonable flow for a task and bend and move their bodies as they work. Bodies that move and sway and bend on uneven ground are rare. Not only is it skilled, I say, it is endangered.
I feel lucky in a way to continue to find people in our community who are willing to work here. Many farms need to import their helpers because the locals won’t and can’t do it. I’m not opposed to bringing in helpers from another country if I can’t find any help here, but it sounds logistically complicated. And what if they have troubles getting here or getting home in the off season?
Did you know that in our country, we’re down to just 1-2% of our nation who are employed in agriculture? In Wendell Berry’s essay, The Necessity of Agriculture, he predicts that we will have to actually go hungry in our country before we see the value in doing farm work again. Most people think that farmers are dirty and they have to work hard and they don’t make a lot of money. But I don’t see anything wrong with that. In fact there are even health benefits to using your body and being dirty! And if no one is growing food anymore, there is bound to be money in it.
It’s encouraging to me to know there are still people left who are drawn to work with the land. Grow food. Know plants. Work outside and Farm. I love these people. I’m honored to know them and to get to learn from them and work alongside them.
It’s also encouraging to me to know that there are people like you too. You’re not able to be here, but you’re literally putting your money where your mouth is and directly supporting a local organic farm and eating seasonal produce. We need you too. Like Berry points out in his article, “for half a century or so, our informal but most effective agricultural policy has been to eat as much, as effortlessly, as thoughtlessly, and as cheaply as we can, to hell with whatever else may be involved.” I love that we’re working as a community to re-write the future story for our children!
What’s in the Box?
Red Cabbage– Cute little heads of red cabbage this week. So fresh!
Cucumbers– 5-6 per member this week. We have two successions of cucumbers producing right now, so we’re really getting a lot at the moment!
Zucchinis and Summer Squash– 4-5 The squash love all this heat and humidity, so they’re really going strong still too!
Carrots– 1.3lbs This is the most carrots we’ve given in a summer share before! Usually we give around 1 lb, so that’s 30% more! I just love how fresh carrots have their little white tips on them and they seem to glow somehow.
Broccoli and Cauliflower- 1 of each per member. A few people may have received two small cauliflowers. This is the end of the broccoli and cauliflower season for the summer until the Fall Successions begin.
Lettuce x 2- Two heads of lettuce per memeber this week. One may have been smaller. Keeps best in a plastic bag in the fridge.
Onion- One white onion per member this week. We will do the big onions harvest this week and cure them in the greenhouse starting soon!
Garlic– One small head of garlic per member this week. Fresh garlic does have a thicker membrane around the cloves. You can allow your garlic to sit on your counter and ‘cure’ if you’re not in a hurry to eat it, then the paper around the clove will be more like paper. But if you or you eat it fresh you can observe the thicker, live membrane around the cloves which I always think is fun to see. When else do you get to eat garlic this fresh?
Celery- One head of celery per member this week. The Celery this year have been loving all of the rain. Usually local celery is a little dry on the insides of the stalks if they aren’t irrigated regularly and have a stronger celery flavor, but this year many of them were very juicy. They still have a darker green color than California celery and are bursting with celery flavor. The greens of the celery plant can also be used in soup, garnish or however you like! Keeps best in a plastic bag in the fridge. Also, there will be celery now for a few weeks in a row, so get your celery mojo workin’!
Next Week’s Best Guess: Carrots, Cucumbers, Summer Squash, Zucchini, Celery, Eggplant, Onion, Sweet Corn, Melons, Beans, Collards?, Lettuce
Recipes-
Greek Pasta Salad with Tomatoes, Zucchini and Feta (Use your Summer Squash too)
Baked Yellow Squash and Zucchini Parmesan
Chicken Salad with Grapes and Celery
Lentil White Bean Pilaf (for carrots and celery)
Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
Cucumber Salad with Chickpeas and Feta
