A week of firsts

The first week of the season is always a memorable one filled with new friends, sore muscles, fresh eyes, and the return of the comfrey.

At orientation, our first-year interns greeted each other for the first time and our returning folks were pumped to welcome new members to the farmily. Eli showed us safe practices for working together on a certified organic farm- it's serious business, folks! Together, we toured the farm, got a first look at the upgraded drying room (it's amazing), and enjoyed talking story. Casey taught us all about the bees, including the ins and outs of top bar hives. Many of us had never seen the inside of a hive before.

In our first few days working as a new team we planted onions and shallots (also a first here), bagged up a big batch of mint tea for the Lancaster Farm Fresh CSA members and Unite For Her, organized, mulched the perennials, weeded and composted, harvested our first round of nettles and garlic mustard, and spent time getting to know one another. In our spare time we even rescued a baby squirrel and got a new farm truck.

It will be great to be able to look back on this week of firsts at the end of the season and see how things have grown. Here's to a great growing season! See you on the farm.
                                     

                                                 ~Shauna

Photos by Slyorty

Coming Full Circle: You Reap What You Sow

We made medicine today. We talked and laughed. We put puzzles together and ate grapes. We garbled.   We are farmers. This is what we do. 

Today I realized that I have no idea what farmers do in the Winter. It is nearing, after all. The Autumnal Equinox is less than two weeks away. 

So I asked Eli, "What do you DO in the winter??" She snickered. "Lots," she said. "Order seeds, plan for next year, build, repair, grow, make more medicine." 

It seems that when most people think about farmers, they can only imagine them working in their fields, sweating in the heat of long summer days; images of tractors and hoes may come to mind. It's like when you were a kid and you thought teachers only existed in the context of the classroom. Well, contrary to popular belief, farmers do much more than bust their butts in the blazing July afternoon. 

Farming is a full time, all year round, nonstop, open 24/7-even on holidays kind of job life. It is packed full with schedules, plans, and deadlines. Mishaps occur, crops fail, and volunteers don't show up. All the while, there is work to be done and fun to be had. In February, seeds get started in the greenhouse. Soon new interns come to the farm, the CSA/CSM orders start, weeds take over. We sow, harvest, and weed, weed, weed. There IS a lot of sweat involved. When September rolls around, there is still plenty going on at the farm. Today's medicine-making session was the second to last of the season and it feels just as busy as it did in the peak of the growing season. 

It also continues to be joyful and fulfilling. Yes, we get a workout pushing tillers and building trellises, but we also get to play with babies, share lunch time every day, and put our love into our products. Oh, and there's nothing like the sense of purpose and fulfillment that comes from sowing seeds in the Spring, harvesting and making medicine from the plants in the Summer, and using their medicine to heal and protect your body throughout the year. 

Asparagus grows berries in the late Summer. Who knew?!

Autumn is just around the corner and soon after that will come the brisk chill of Winter. Seeds will be ordered, plans will be made, and we'll continue to make medicine, laugh, talk, and eat lunch together.  Ahhhhh, such is the sweet circle of life at the Farmacy.

Revolvingly, 

Shauna