By Alexis S
This summer the sun has come in full force, making the work on the farm even more difficult. From weeding to harvesting to watering this week I realized just how much work goes into maintaining the farm. However, even with all the work I couldn't deny the satisfying results from a hard week of work.
There are a variety of fruits, vegetables and herbs growing on the farm right now including, blueberries, pears, swiss chard, kale, okra, cherries, green beans, tomatoes, cilantro and more. On Tuesday I helped to harvest beets and green beans. Bethany, a farm intern, taught me that when harvesting beets I must pull just below the leaves, in order to gain a good grip so the root will pull out form the ground. Bethany then taught me how to clean the vegetables, make them look appealing, weigh them, and package them.
On Wednesday MAP had a the ground breaking ceremony for the new building. I was happy to be at the groundbreaking, it was nice to meet so many people that support and help make MAP possible. Greeting and checking guests off the list helped me to talk to strangers and become comfortable with everyone at the event.
After the ceremony my farm partner Javert and I went to Big Winter field to water the plants. In order to do this we had to drop a bucket with a rope down a cistern and distribute the buckets of water pulled up into smaller water canteens. I would typically get less than halfway through watering a row before I had to refill the water can.
On Thursday Katie gave Javert and me a tour of the farm. Then we weekend a few plots of land and ended the day by starting off new seedlings.
Although the work on the farm was hard, it felt good to see all the progress in the end - from weeding a bed and getting it ready for new seedlings, to observing the squash plants go from sad to happy with a little added water. I am very happy to be a part of the process of growing great food for the community.
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