The farm is waking up!
Your friendly Hawkins Farm farmers and farmhands are getting back into gear, and I am along for the ride! My name is Alex Yarrish. Some of you reading might remember me as a regular deliverer of your weekly CSA farm share (glasses, hair, shorts up past my knees, not Jabin, chatty).
This year, as well as making sure that your food makes it to your doorstep, I will be a part of the growing, harvesting, and packing process. Since I love to write, I have been asked to provide updates to CSA members, which means that you will be getting some perspective from a brand new baby green bean farmer.
Yes, you read that correctly. This is my first year working the soil. I missed out for 27 years, but I have finally made it to the source of that which sustains our bodies. We are starting from scratch this 2023 growing season (from the ground up). Have no fear though! The rest of the team has been doing this for a long while. So rest assured, your precious veggies are in good hands. Learned hands!
There has been a giddy, strategic energy since I stepped onto the farm two months ago. Zach, Jeff, Michael, and Erin all love to grow things. Their passion for the earth shines through. As the season develops I hope to tell you more about it (and to understand more of what is being said).
For now, I’ll just say that the preparation for the 2023 CSA has been going on all winter. When it is not warm enough to grow food, time is spent getting ready for the following season. So as the farm wakes up, new thoughts come into play.
New beds have been built. As we have sought after days that will hold growth, brand new growing spaces have been formed. Cultures have been left to mature, some even for the 2024 growing season.
As April made its way back around, we began knocking back perimeter grasses to buy us some time until the season is again wild with growth. We’ve cleared many weeds, including a lot of dandelions and thistles. I’m told it will be difficult to keep up the warmer it gets.
Tools have been sharpened, polished, and organized in the high tunnel. (During the process we found our first unfriendly injury--a very unfriendly splinter--that made us feel far more prepared to practice safety and caution in all activities.)
The farm is awake, folks. Seeds were planted weeks ago inside, and the soil outside is ready to hold them. To name a few: beets, snap peas, carrots, potatoes, and cabbage are in the ground already!
In many ways, I suspect that the farm is already leaps and bounds ahead of us. We’ll just do our best to keep up.
-Alex
