JU-ly

Today I picked, weighed and sorted 342 pounds of summer squash and zucchini into boxes. Yep, summer crops are in full swing and extra tomatoes, squash and okra never cease to crowd our fridge. We are finally beginning to catch up on weeding and planting after an extremely rainy June and the place is looking pretty good. It has been wonderful showing off our hard work and sharing our fantastic meals with friends and family that have ventured down our way. June has also been full of workshops, fieldtrips to neighboring farms, explorations around the city, and an amazing chance to sit in on an intimate talk with wendell berry.

I have never eaten such amazing food, or had as much appreciation for the food that often so absentmindedly arrives at our dinner tables. The more I learn about our current food system in america the more disgusted I become. It is so frustrating to see the systems in place that have turned family farms into sprawling subdivisions or endless fields of corn, and stereotyped farmers as an uneducated and unecessary portion of our population. It has been extremely encouraging, however, to see so many farmers and organizations here fighting to make farming a profitable living once again, and something that can be done organically and locally all the while enhancing the health of the land, community and it's people. I am only beginning to learn the huge amount of knowledge necessary to run a successful farm and am continually amazed by the skills, stamina and energy of those I work with. Right now, however, I am proud and happily satisfied by an irrigation line successfully moved, a field of tomatoes tidily staked, a bed of chard neatly weeded, and the fall crops poking their heads out of the flats we just seeded.

squash and zucchini at the market.

garlic hanging to dry.

okra.

the hill field nice and weedless.sun gold tomatoes!
props to jenna sue for these last three photos... the riverfront downtown, dinner in the fields, and porch sittin at the farm house.