I've
always seen fresh fruit and vegetables as ingredients, a box of
possibilities to try a new recipe or share a meal with family and
friends. Now, for the first time I looked at a box of produce and saw
my hand in its creation and not just a box of ingredients. I've
experienced pride in creating culinary dishes that people enjoyed,
but I never truly appreciated how it all comes together until I took
part in the growing process.
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| Our June boxes feature lettuce, onions, strawberries, carrots, radishes and rosemary |
One
of the joys of working in a garden is watching your hard work yield
tangible results. A few short months ago, I started here helping Gary
(our head gardener) plant out various types of produce and learned
how to care for each different plant depending on it's life cycle,
the weather and other factors. I learned how to properly water and
feed certain types of plants, how to prepare the beds and how to
transplant newly germinated plants into pots and then move seedlings
into the beds. Each type of vegetable and fruit requires it's own
unique form of care and it is satisfying to see all of the nuances
for each item create such beautiful and, more importantly, delicious
food.
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| Our CSA box ready for delivery |
Our
CSA is in full swing now and each Monday I help harvest the produce
that will go into our boxes and deliver them to our members. I can
look in each box and have a connection to it that goes beyond simply
planting and watering. When I see the heads of lettuce I vividly
remember sowing the seeds in trays and watering them at each stage,
transplanting them into the beds and spending time making sure the
water puddles in the right amount when they are young in the beds.
Later inserting hoops and protective cloth over the lettuce beds to
protect them from predators and too much sun until they matured and
were ready to harvest. I have similar memories of our carrots and
radishes, which were sowed directly in the bed and required many
hours of thinning to make sure that as they grew, there would be
adequate room for each vegetable to reach its optimum size. Each item
in the box has a unique story that I was a part of and that gave me a
new perspective.
On
top of that revelation, I also delivered our first batch of boxes to
our Clayton location and got to witness the happiness others had at
receiving our boxes, which made me even more satisfied about the work
we all put into getting everything ready. I have to say that the best
part of process of growing food in our garden is the joy in other
people's faces when they get their box; I can see the community in
community supported agriculture and I can pass along the box of
possibilities to the next person.
