“Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.”
-Albert Einstein
Hello from Sophia, a violinist, knitter, and student who loves tea, campfire,
and being outdoors. I took interest in interning at a CSA farm, because wanted to learn
more about sustainable agricultural practices and to be a part of a community that
builds relationships surrounding wholesome food. I suppose I originally got interested
in sustainable agriculture when I read Barbara Kingsolver’s book, Animal Vegetable
Miracle in which she and her family spend a year living off only what they grow on
their own land or what they can get from their neighbors. In an ideal world, that would
be me…knowing exactly where my food came from, who grew it, and how much work
it took just to get it on my plate! It is very rewarding to be a part of the full cycle: the
planting, cultivating, harvesting, cooking, preserving, and composting. I guess you could
say it is a way the food sustains my soul as well as my body.
I have spent a number of semesters studying anthropology at St. Olaf College,
which has shown me the importance of communities to culture, and really human
existence. Perhaps this is a plug to get more of you to come to the farm for a visit, but an
important idea of the CSA is that members engage in a community supportive of local
food and sustainable practices. Without supportive members, small local farms can’t exist
and without small local farms, the relationship between our food and us gets increasingly
distanced. Building solidarity around growing food more locally and with a better
environmental conscious is a great outcome of an engaged community, one that I hope to
continue to be a part of.
When I go back to St. Olaf in two weeks for my senior year, I will miss the
beautiful hills and bluffs, the billowing clouds that are impossible to miss over your
head, and of course not being able to go out and harvest my own food daily. I hope to
always be able to grow my own food to some extent in the future and be able to share it
with others who appreciate the community required to produce it and the earth cycle we
become a part of by growing it ourselves.
Farmer notes
- We feel fortunate having received a half inch of rain each of the past 2 Mondays
- We are beginning to plant lots of crops for fall deliveries
- Sweet corn is some of the best I have had with full ears and very few worms
- Great salad fixings with romaine, cucumbers, radishes, tomatoes, peas
- Tomato and basil are so tasty together – eat with a bit of olive oil, black pepper and mozzarella cheese
- Prepare summer squash on the grill with tinfoil – add some oil/butter, s and p
- Peas are mostly past their prime and only in full share boxes
- Cabbage and broccoli is a farmer’s choice this week
- Anyone coming down to visit us this summer? – we are lonely
- Wash all produce before you eat it
