The season for growing produce has come and gone. Our many valued customers helped us to have a very good year. We had some failures and some great successes. The rains all season long kept us from dong what we needed many times. Planting became at the very least difficult. The continual mud became our work out! Through all of the trials we did find moments of light. Our intern Brittanny was tremendous. We are so blessed to have the students from Augie and Brittany was a breath of fresh air.
This fall we were inspired to begin a new venture. I have vowed for several years that we would NEVER have livestock. The first Sunday of October we purchased our first hens. Things went well and things have grown from there.

I have raised livestock in the past, but I truly thought chickens were a pain and I would not have them(at all). These hens have changed a great deal of my thoughts. Each of them have personality and their own look. We have many different breeds and colors.

Linda and I have been very busy acquiring more hens and building coops for them. The hens walk around following us and making us feel the total dependence they have on us. The reward is the daily basket full of fresh eggs for our customers.

On my table at home sits a yellow squash. It’s not just any squash. To me, it’s sign of my hard work after picking green beans, and it will make a wonderful meal tonight because I know exactly where it comes from. Before five weeks ago, I’ve never stepped onto a farm before in my entire life. My idea of “farming” was the endless rows of corn and soybeans that grow in my hometown DeKalb. To me, produce was the shiny perfect apples and soggy wet lettuce in Wal-Mart. Where did it come from? I don’t know and why should I care? Some other poor soul has to the “dirty work.”

And here I was weeding strawberry patches, helping out in a community garden, and picking green beans (lots and lots of them). For once in my life, I realized the hard labor it took to put food on the table. That yellow squash did not magically appear in the aisles of Wal-Mart. I realized farming was not “dirty work” at all; it is pride in the quality and freshness of my food. If it was done right, it requires knowledge and love for the land to cultivate and grow a yellow summer squash. I’ve never had such an appreciation for a fresh, farm-grown meal, and it’s all because I know exactly who labored for my meal. As Dr. Peters would say, I’m not abstracted from the source of my food. So thank you so much, Linda and Jim!

-Justine Nguyen

Our class weeding the strawberry patches.

The season is moving in full force now. We started picking lettuce, spinach, radishes, and swiss chard two weeks ago. The lettuce is very good this year and we enjoy many meals each week with our own salad treat. We are growing 5 varieties this season and I am told 3 of them will produce well even in the heat of midsummer. Our cherry trees are producing well and we will enjoy our cherry jam next week some time.

Our pea plants are full of blossoms and will provide a bounty soon. That is the time of year I really enjoy. Nothing gets much better!

We put kale in for the first time in many years this year. This is one of the more lovely plants we have. We almost hate to cut the leaves on this plant very soon.

This year we moved to a dense planting system. It is working very well and we will increase the density the next round of planting.

We will see our produce continue to mature as the season progresses. This coming week we will open our farm stand for the summer.
See you all very soon!