Tuesday, April 27, 2010

a whole new world.

What the? Where did the last month go? Its all a blur of strawberries, beans, onions, and dirt. Needless to say, we are not growing computers with wireless internet, so I have not exactly had a lot of access to upload my thoughts and pics.

So what the heck have I been doing?

Every day I step into my new office...aka...Joseph Fields Farm on River Rd (much roomier than the cubicles and shared office spaces I had gotten used to). My co-workers are all splitting up into their individual tasks for the morning: picking, packing, planting, weeding, watering and well... the list could go on infinitely. The staff is a mix of local Johns Islanders, Mexicans, and Guatemalans plus myself and two others that are directly involved in selling to chefs. Most people have a pretty regular schedule and know their jobs when they arrive, with the biggest factor being what to harvest, which field, and with whom.

Joseph Fields, my new boss.

At some point I get been pulled into one of the above listed jobs...

When I work with the field workers, I pick first thing in the morning then wash and pack the produce for one of seven markets and dozens of clients. Half of my thoughts are lost on how to translate my conversation into Spanish and the other half are focused on mastering the art of quick picking. What exactly am I picking, you wonder? Well, what is in season of course :-) Right now that is peas, strawberries, all kinds of greens, turnips, carrots, onions, and broccoli.

As the weeks progress I find myself harvesting specialty items on my own...quietly working my way down the field listening to the sounds of the farm. Last week I found myself surrounded with rows of English peas, cheering on ladybugs as they hunted aphids...the glory of organic farming!


When I am not picking, I am shadowing the rest of the crew in various jobs. So far I have: planted potatoes, weeded, helped lay plastic and irrigation line (tractor attachment to the right), shelled peas, learned a little arc welding, built a play table for the goats, painted some signs, worked the farmers markets, gone on deliveries, and given quick tutorials on the farming equipment. Everyday is different from the previous, which makes my weeks pass quickly.

The one constant in my days is the animals. Since I was gravitating towards them every morning anyways, I have inherited critter duty. I could spend all day feeding peas to the chicks, scratching behind the ears of my favorite three-legged goat(left), and trying to convince the lone friendly rooster "Roy" to let me pick him up.


The hardest part would be getting into the laying coop...oh how those roosters (fighting cocks, really) protect their ladies. Sweet jesus, they are mean. Joseph said he picked two varieties that are known to fearlessly fight to the death against ANY predator. We are talking lethal, bloody thirsty, fighting machines. Okay, so maybe I am over exaggerating, but they are nasty little birds. Regardless, just imagine stepping into a five by ten room and having two 5 pound flying, spur happy, pecking birds coming at your legs and head simultaneously. Meanwhile, you are simply trying to provide them food and water (how predatory of me). Joseph confidently strides in with a one by one tomato stake and pushes these birds around with finesse. Meanwhile, if they see me coming near the door, they will rush it, ready to attack.

Doesn't he just look mean?

Last week, I opened the door only to have one fly straight at my head and escape. I slammed the coop door before the rest followed and with no defense, I had no choice but to run. Yes, I ran...all the way to the house. And that little punk chased me (they are really fast by the way) all the while I was screaming for Joseph like a five year old yells for her father. I stopped running when I heard the sound of chickens fighting and turned to see Roy, my friendly rooster, defending my honor! I was so proud of my little voice-cracking, outcast, little bird friend. He continued to protect me while Joseph and his wife corralled the nasty one back into the coop. Since then, I have not attempted to re-enter the coop... I will leave that to Joseph. Instead I spoil Roy, the chicks, and my lovely goats.

Roy, my hero, stands guard in front of the coop.
(I think he is quite handsome.)

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Farming Apprentice: Week One

Moving forward, there is a good chance that I will also be doing a blog for Lowcountry Local First that is exclusively on the farming program, at which point I will continue with this blog while also linking to the farming one. In the meantime, I am simply going to share it all here as I have been :-)

Today marks the first week of my working in the program and so far we have focused on paperwork, getting to know each other, and figuring out the program. Here is the daily breakdown for the past few days:

Monday: Johns Island for Field's Farm tour in the AM and Rosebank Farm tour in the PM
Tuesday: Beaufort for Habbersham's Community Farm tour
Wednesday: Mcclellandville for Our Local Foods/Thornhill farm tour
Thursday: West Ashley and Charleston to meet with all seven restaurants including: Med Bistro, Al Di La, Glass Onion, McGrady's, Fig, Monza, and Fish.

Here are some pics from Wednesday at Our Local Foods:



Everyday we also take time to talk about logistics, funding, and schedules since this truly is a pilot program. It is really interesting coming into a new program in which you are able and expected to be a part of the decision making and development team. I am one of three apprentices- all of which have very different backgrounds. My last few months has been spent running a program, case working, and starting a garden. Matt graduated from CofC last spring with an English degree, decided to stay around and work in restaurants while working in his garden. Josh had been working as an Engineer in Orlando, FL but wanted an opportunity to get into organic farming, so he quit his job and moved here. Needless to say, we all have something different to the table.

We will all live with each other at some point in the house on Johns Island but there is always one apprentice living on the farm in McClellandville. Regardless, we will see each other every Thursday when we bring all of our produce together to sort and deliver. In addition to the apprentices, there is also Elizabeth who is running the Sustainable Ag program and Julie who is helping her specifically with the pilot. We have been spending our days squished together in cars at at tables for the last week and it seems as though our personalities weave together quite nicely.

From this point, we still have one site visit to do tomorrow at the Limehouse distribution facility to see how a program like ours operates on a large scale, which should be facinating. Then Monday, we all go to our farms! I start at Fields Farms for the first two months, transition to Rosebanks for two more, take classes during August, and then head to McClellandville for three months. Let the farming begin!

Monday, April 5, 2010

Celebration!


Although I did not get a vacation in between my job transition, I did however get to go up to my hometown in NC to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday. My friend Sarah Whitmeyer is a professional photographer that was there for the weekend to capture a few shots of the family. Check out the photos on her blog HERE and HERE.