Potato Reflections from a Member: Veggie Share Week #14 – Wed. 9/7/22

This season we have been staffed pretty well and generally able to stay above water – aka not drown in food we can’t harvest. But potatoes, oh potatoes. These have been the major crop that we have struggled to have enough hands to get out of the ground. Luckily we’ve had a good growing year, so there’s lots of them! We are about 70% done with the harvest and already have as many as we did last year! But… our staff is still the same size. It’s hard to find time to get them out.

I feel super grateful for two things:
1) Potatoes can hang in the ground and be ready for quite some time. They aren’t quickly perishable, like say, strawberries. So when we can’t get to them immediately it’s okay. They won’t rot in the field, but rather hang out underground and wait patiently. Thanks, spuds. So many of the other veggies we grow don’t do that and are therefore way more stressful. Appreciative of that patience!

2) Farm members who have stepped up and come out to help in the fields. Oh wow, are we so thankful. Last Friday some members came out to help and it made such a huge difference!

One of the volunteers sent this lovely email to us after their time with us on Friday morning. I thought for this week’s newsletter, you might enjoy hearing about the farm experience from a member like yourself:
______________________________
Dated Saturday, Sept. 3rd
Hi Farmer Cassie,

Thank you so much for having me and others out to the farm yesterday! Yes, we came because you asked for help, but I fully recognize that having a bunch of volunteer members there is not nearly the same as having additional crew members – we get in the way, put things in the wrong place, ask stupid questions, and just generally are not as efficient as a typical crew member would be. So thank you for welcoming us and being patient as we learn how to be helpful!

I loved getting to work alongside the crew and get a small glimpse of what day-to-day activity is like on the farm. You do a great job of describing it in your weekly newsletters, but to experience it was a whole other level of understanding: getting to dig in the dirt, feeling the ache in my muscles (after only 3 hours!!), listening to how you and Michael carefully plan and re-plan and problem solve together, seeing how each person plays a part to get all the various tasks done.

My appreciation for all of your efforts continues to grow each year. Many thanks to you and your crew for all you do throughout the year to grow such quality food for our community. I’m happy to come back to help anytime.

Best,
An awesome volunteer (who prefers to stay anonymous)