Someone asked me recently how many staff members we have here at the Farm this year. I didn't mean to, because it seemed rude after the fact, but I actually laughed out loud. Staff? How many? Well, let me see, 90% of the time, there is the Farmer and there is me. And this year, the Farmer's time has been cut dramatically, due to illness.
This has been a long and ardous year for us here at the Farm. Without the Farmer at the helm much of the time, many of his duties have fallen to me and I will be the first to admit that I am, depending on the task, about 30-50% as good at almost everything that entails. I always appreciated how much he did and how hard he worked, but now that appreciation is 10-fold. However, much of the time this year, it has just been me. I do all the picking, prepping, packing, going to markets. Planting, weeding, etc., I get my share of those chores, too.
While the Farmer has been out of commission much of the time this year, we have had volunteers come out to help on many occasions...and believe me, I am thankful and more grateful than I can express for their help. We couldn't have done many things this year without them. In fact let me take a moment to thank them.
This has been a long and ardous year for us here at the Farm. Without the Farmer at the helm much of the time, many of his duties have fallen to me and I will be the first to admit that I am, depending on the task, about 30-50% as good at almost everything that entails. I always appreciated how much he did and how hard he worked, but now that appreciation is 10-fold. However, much of the time this year, it has just been me. I do all the picking, prepping, packing, going to markets. Planting, weeding, etc., I get my share of those chores, too.
While the Farmer has been out of commission much of the time this year, we have had volunteers come out to help on many occasions...and believe me, I am thankful and more grateful than I can express for their help. We couldn't have done many things this year without them. In fact let me take a moment to thank them.
THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!!! THANK YOU!!!!!
THE REST OF THE STORY....
If you have ever grown anything organically...food plants, flowers, etc....than you know that it is a constant dance between man and nature, trying to find that comfortable balance where the chaos is reduced to a level you can live with. Trying to control Mother Nature is an exercise in futillity, so the best you can do is to try to go with the flow. Unless you are using noxious chemicals and implements of destruction that rape, pillage and plunder the land (if you don't get the implication there, I am talking about conventional farming methods....), the best you can hope for is that your dance will be a classic ballet, instead of a frenzied Cossack dance.
Nature is one of the strongest forces in the universe, is in a constant state of flux and always searching for balance. When man attempts to control that force, be it organically or artificially*, it creates a situation in which chaos is invited to the dance. You open even a small void and a horde of things are standing in the wings waiting for the change to fill that void...kind of like the ambitious understudy standing in the winge, waiting for the prima ballerina to break her leg. (I am really enjoying this dance metaphor...totally fits.) Insects, weeds, birds, deer, groundhogs, the neighbor's unleashed dog, disease, fungi, viruses, bacteria, chemical reactions and natural decay....living things and inert substances...everything just waiting for their chance to step into the opening.
If you have ever grown anything organically...food plants, flowers, etc....than you know that it is a constant dance between man and nature, trying to find that comfortable balance where the chaos is reduced to a level you can live with. Trying to control Mother Nature is an exercise in futillity, so the best you can do is to try to go with the flow. Unless you are using noxious chemicals and implements of destruction that rape, pillage and plunder the land (if you don't get the implication there, I am talking about conventional farming methods....), the best you can hope for is that your dance will be a classic ballet, instead of a frenzied Cossack dance.
Nature is one of the strongest forces in the universe, is in a constant state of flux and always searching for balance. When man attempts to control that force, be it organically or artificially*, it creates a situation in which chaos is invited to the dance. You open even a small void and a horde of things are standing in the wings waiting for the change to fill that void...kind of like the ambitious understudy standing in the winge, waiting for the prima ballerina to break her leg. (I am really enjoying this dance metaphor...totally fits.) Insects, weeds, birds, deer, groundhogs, the neighbor's unleashed dog, disease, fungi, viruses, bacteria, chemical reactions and natural decay....living things and inert substances...everything just waiting for their chance to step into the opening.
Trying to figure out the best and most effective way to deal with problems, without compromising principles, is something that we deal with on a daily basis. Vigilence is generally the best option and keeping an eye on things is never ending. Averting situations before they occur is preferable to having to find a solution once a problem arises. That serves us well here.
*Of course this is my personal opinion but it is based in fact and on my own experience. I consider conventional farming methods to be "artificial". Before the first seed hits the ground, the soil is assaulted with machinery and chemicals that destroy rather then build anything useful. Herbicides and fungicides are applied because the monocultural systems that are prevalent in conventional farming are so unnatural that even more artificial means are required to control weeds, disease, etc. Some (many?) crops are now planted with seeds that are not even natural in origin, which is another entire soapbox subject. Organisms that belong in the dirt are destroyed and trace minerals are leached from the soil, until it is as inert as sand. Because anything the even resembles something life giving has been depleted from this dead soil, food crops have to be pumped up with water and fed with artificial and chemical fertilizers. Give me my organic methods any day of the week. That'd just be my opinion....
