Dear Farm Friends,
When you come to the farmstore next (and you really should, it’s loaded with goodness), you’ll see some big things happening. Despite how the south wall may look right now, we are not building a drive-in movie theatre. Rather, the construction has really started on the new packshed. August is really a terrible time for a farm to be attempting a building project, so this one has been possible only with some major help.
After a long search we were able to find and hire a building crew that understands how to work with both reclaimed materials and our budget. They value the work of the farm enough to work with our non-standard materials, and also provide the perfect combination of push and pep-talks to get it going. We needed some serious pep talks, because even with builders hired, there was a lot to prep on our end—reclaimed lumber to rip down, process, and trim to length. We were really not sure we had it in us, and yet without this packshed, we’d need to make massive mid-season changes to this and next year’s growing plants. All in the midst of a point in the season when the harvests are massive, the ground prep for fall is super-critical, planting deadlines for winter production are looming, and the cumulative effects of many months without a day off or nearly enough sleep are starting to pile up.
A massive push of help came in last Friday: a group of volunteers that was frankly slightly larger than we could actually manage, but also quite a force, showed up to process lumber, help with a bulk carrot harvest, and move our first round of onions into the curing space. There are no photos that really capture it, but there are many eyewitnesses. So many we never got a clear headcount. That was all instigated by our market neighbors Sarah and Stephan, who listen every week with patient concern as Noah lists the stresses and problems of the week, the central theme being not enough hands, not enough labor.
We are continuing our recruitment, both locally and nationally, for a full-time farmer to join the three of us (Mary, Noah, and Sabrina) who have been keeping the ship more or less afloat. (here’s the job description for that, if you know of any potential candidates) We are also hiring for several local part-time positions, especially with several of our current part-time helpers moving on to other cool projects and phasing out to help their kids transition back into the school year. Please see our website for full descriptions of the local part-time positions, which include harvest help, market help, and flower help. Also, since we know how much we and other small businesses have struggled to fill staff positions this year, we are bracing ourselves for needing to rely on some volunteer help from members and supporters. Please watch for signups coming for that.
And we ask, again, that you have some patience with us. Once again we have triaged the harvest list (there will be tons, but we’ll harvest first the things that will not hold in the field till the next harvest day). We are working harder than we ever have; not because we have grown or are producing more, but largely because we have never been this understaffed for this long. August wears down farmers in the best of times, and this year it is hitting especially hard—overuse injuries, short tempers, the likelihood of getting sick or making a dumb tired mistake that ends in a serious injury, all increase with this level of pushing ourselves. But as we have tried to explain, a farm, as a biological entity, can’t just shut down for a few days or a week. Everything, weeds and crops alike, will continue to grow (or die, if we stopped watering and tending).
And yet, once again, we have so much for you….it’s hosted farmstore day, Tuesday 3:00-6:00, and once again we have pulled our market helper Adrienne in to help us host, while the rest of us keep harvesting and/ or working on prepping ground for the fall and winter plantings. There will be tomatoes, hot peppers, basil, many kinds of greens, cucumbers, summer squash, beets and carrots and so much more. Please note that it may take us all morning to get to everything on the harvest list, so while the farmstore is abundant right now, the maximum variety will be in the afternoon, especially after 3:00.
The early onions are in, curing in the propagation house.
With a few cool days in the forecast, it’s a great time to consider some canning of salsa or pickles or tomato sauce, so we’ll have whole flats and bulk pricing to support your kitchen adventures! It’s also a great time for a roasted tomato soups and sauces—just cut up some big chunks of tomatoes, onions, and garlic, toss with some olive oil, and roast in the oven, 350-400, still they are soft and a little carmelized, then blend with good broth for soup, or with fresh basil for a pasta sauce or pizza sauce. You can include pretty much any other summer veggie that sounds good too—eggplant, summer squash, sweet peppers. It’s also still salad season, and there are big pesto-sized basil bags on the harvest list too; the possibilities for your summer kitchen are really almost endless! Come on out, see the progress, give us a cheering on, and Noah says keep the meals coming (we ate so well last week in part thanks to generous, delicious, lovingly prepared dinners from farm members and we are so grateful).
with gratitude,
Mary and Noah, SweetRoot Farm.
Beating the Sunday heat, husky-style. Malaya discovered the soaker/ mister hose on the trees, and basked in the damp for a few hours. It made a nice break from her dusty holes.
Not a wild-west movie set, not a drive-in theatre screen. It’s the south wall of the future wash-pack/ winter veggies storage space/ better farmstore/ big enough nursery. Since that’s quite a mouthful, we just call it “the new packshed.”
The beauty of August: sure, you can use recipes. Or you can just chop all the things, and cook them in your favorite skillet, and call it good.