It has begun!!
After a blistering May and a relatively cool June, the crops don't know whether to explode or hunker down. It's been interesting to see the first tomatoes set in the field at about the same time that our first round of broccoli is ready. !?!? Changing and unpredictable weather patterns really should be no surprise at this point, but I'll still spend at least a paragraph talking about it! ;)
Oddly enough, the second half of June seems like a turning point towards the end of the season (crazy talk, i know...bear with me), as CSA begins and the weather warms, and the weeds take root and the pasture matures, and the last cover-crop is mowed, and the melons are transplanted, and the first over-wintered crops are seeded in the greenhouse, and shade cloth is pulled, and early-spring beds are transitioned into summer cover or fall crops, and the color comes into the raspberries, and the potatoes are mounded for the final time, and the zucchini is uncovered in the field, and the flea beetles launch assaults on our summer brassicas, and the final sweet corn is seeded, and the garlic harvest begins, and the onions show some shoulder, and the cherries drop like jewels, and it all just happens in a swirl of sweat and laughter and uncertainty.
We look at the crop plan with great wonder and curiosity, marveling at the fact that we only have a few weeks of carrot seeding left (until the window for fall harvest closes), and that the Summer solstice is actually the beginning of our descent into shorter days. This shift is perhaps one of the most powerful astrological cues on the farm, b/c day length is the signal for many morphological transformations that we try to harness in our domestic crops: flowering/fruiting, bulbing, elongating, rooting, senescence. The solstice is like a bridge between birth and death, when we begin to enjoy the full bountiful splendor of our creative labor, while holding simultaneously the tender truth of our transitory flourish in the sun.
Maybe this is all to say that as we begin our season of food with you, we are overwhelmed with gratitude for this moment in time, when the farm blossoms in its entirety, when life is big and bright and full of birdsong. And strangely enough, it is at this same time, when we roll out the CSA, that our mind begins to shift away from the maniacal wrangling of Spring's opportunity to the more measured consideration of maintenance and harvest and preparation for the inevitability of Fall. The farm asks that we remain present and while we revel in the light, we do not forget that the bounty is a gift, that our future here is not perpetuated by control, but by preparation and gratitude. And by you, our community. You give this space meaning, because you care about the food and the land and its people.
We've said it before, and we'll probably say a few hundred times more - this is your farm as much as it is ours. We are the VERY privileged individuals that get to live here and call it our home, but none of this exists without eaters, without community, without people who imbue their sustenance with heart and conscience. I know we are all spinning through this crazy time, trying to find ways to be better humans, to dismantle our own racism, to create a more just, peaceful and meaningful future for our children, to be pro-active and helpful participants in a community-based solution for our health and our institutions. We must continue to do this hard work, and we must also continue to eat. It is no secret that having the choice to eat this way is a privilege in itself, but we cannot shy away from that fact. We have to use our station in life to make meaningful change. This farm is action, and it is by no means static. We are learning, and leaning-in, and we promise you that we will continue to seek ways to be better, to redistribute resources for an equitable society rooted in ecological and social justice.
Thank you for reading. Please enjoy the veggies this week. If you haven't yet set your preferences in Harvie, please do so. While the inventory is limited in the Spring, there is less opportunity for swaps and changes, and so your preferences are all the more important for building a share to your liking. Please give us a call anytime if you have any logistics questions about your share, or pick-up. We want this to be easy, and we strive to be available: 503.759.3969
Your Farmers,
Conner + Sarah
