the Dirt & the Dish

Should a farmer miss the tractor in the winter, running a snow plow can be a nice substitute. I quite like snow plowing, at least once I’ve suited myself up for the cold. (The transition can be difficult sometimes). Similar to how crops [...]

Sitting on the phone disputing fraud charges is not a great place from which to write about gratitude. But then again perhaps it is.  I have long since felt that our culture creates many social spaces in the form of acceptance, where complaining [...]

Imagine this. You haven’t eaten gluten (except for maybe the occasional bite of a cookie your kid made or taste of their birthday cake) for 5 years. Then the doctor tells you they want to test you for Celiacs disease…. but to do that [...]

Before we dive into this week’s news, a HUGE thank you to everyone who donated to our mobile pantry fundraiser last week. We raised a whopping $11,200! Dude. Bro. Girl. WOW! Our memberships’ generosity astounds. This amount came JUST [...]

I’m sure you’ve been hearing the news. November SNAP benefits have not gone out to the recipients who depend on them.  A couple facts stick with me regarding SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.  1 in 8 Americans [...]

  Chilly temps and indoor work start our mornings now. Office work for me and Michael. Our skeleton staff washing and bagging vegetables in the shed. We wait for the day to warm up. That can literally mean waiting for frost tolerant crops like [...]

(a beloved reprint to end the season just right) One of my favorite parts of farming life is how the work I do and the food I eat connect me so directly to the natural world in which I live. This ability to connect ourselves to our environment [...]

Every year right around this time, when the mono crop fields around us have gone tan and the reds, faded yellows, and orange colors are just beginning to spread across tree branches, it’s time to say goodbye to the pigs.  You know us as [...]

Squeaky Wheel #1:  Today is a big day. Our eldest daughter passed her driver’s test! I’m so very happy for her and proud of her. I am also a big old soup of feelings about it.  I am thrilled I will not have to get up at 6 am on [...]

I’m not going to lie. This weekend when I looked ahead at the forecast, I said out loud to myself, “What the fuck.” Every part of me is done working in temperatures over 85 degrees.  No doubt I knew my crew was going to have [...]

Sitting on my desk is a clipboard with a hand-written list of farm skills and the employees who have requested to learn them. Teaching through this skills list is one of my favorite things to do. All employees, especially those new to our farm, [...]

Tia was the coolest cat we’ve had at this farm for a long, long time.  He came to us on a cold November night, the day after the presidential election. A fellow farmer has a feral kitten issue on her farm and asked if anyone could take [...]

Despite the cooler weather, we have several weeks to go with the summer share.  Having said that, I wanted to highlight a couple of things coming up at the end of the season.  Party Time! Please mark your calendars for our annual barn party! We [...]

Sometimes August feels like it will never end. The heat of the summer wears on us. Every employee reports in their check-in how hard August feels. The slow down their body feels with the accumulated heat of the summer, week upon week. And then [...]

With the sudden turn in weather and back to school right around the corner, I want to pack in the fun and flavor of these last summer nights with my girls. Last night I made BLTs and coleslaw. I save the bacon from the pigs we raise for almost [...]

Over the years, many members have reported that tomato time is their favorite time of the season. The flavors of August… sweet corn, melons, the first peppers, and tomatoes are their favorite.  Tomatoes in particular are one of the [...]

Recently I began to notice cicadas’ throbbing coming from the trees. The sound takes me back to being a kid. It’s the kind of memory that’s not a specific event, rather a feeling, a knowing that lives in my bones. The sound [...]

Hello members! Wow I can’t believe it’s August already. This season is flying, and has been one of the most enjoyable I have had in years due to an AMAZING crew and overall awesome growing/working conditions! As we are rounding up to [...]

It’s sweet corn season! This morning we started the day with a sweet corn picking training. Like all trainings, I cover both the system of how we do things to stay organized and what we actually pick in terms of quality and readiness. [...]

I am on vacation with my  3 girls. I am pre-writing this newsletter on Friday night. I will spend a whole week in northern Minnesota enjoying my children and the other folks we vacation in community with each summer. Maybe I’ll be reading [...]

Tacos, our Girls, & Tasting the Seasons Tacos are my favorite food.  It might be because they are the central American version of a sandwich, and I’m gluten free. But even before my gut decided it could no longer tolerate gluten, I [...]

Work that Lifts the Spirits Last night I sat around a bar table with a close group of friends. Together we sat and tried to encourage and support our friend to make a career change. She feels locked into a job she’s had for a very long [...]

Mary Oliver’s Blueberries The very first farmer I worked for used to quote Mary Oliver in the fields. I have never been much of a poetry reader, but this winter at an airport bookstore I found a collection of Mary Oliver’s poems. As [...]

Busted Knee & the Team Shines The longer I do this job, the more I consider myself a person who puts out fires. Aka problem solving. Farming is full of the unexpected and constantly requires us to change plans.  Usually we are pivoting based [...]

Last week the first red berries (trash red lipstick is what we call them) became visible in the field. As I always do, I took out our new crew members and proceeded to do a training on how we pick berries at our farm. Usually I would jump in a [...]

I can still remember at my first farm job, 23 years ago, when my boss, Farmer Claire, said to me: Lettuce is dumb, but kale, I’ll make my million with kale. At the time, I didn’t really understand what she meant. I was brand new to the whole [...]

The other day I was walking with a dear friend whose husband is an apple farmer. In our life catch-up, she mentioned how November seems to be a really hard time for her partner. You ever have a moment where someone describes your experience so [...]

Dirt-Washed Jeans Fashion fads crack me up. I now love to wear what we used to call Mom jeans when I was a teenager. My teen now wears the same style of corduroy pants I wore in high school. Meanwhile, my middle daughter really wants to find a [...]

Farm Family About a year ago, our 9-member, all-woman pack line volunteers started a book club. The boss doesn’t always get included in the social going ons of the farm, so I was tickled when I got invited to be a part of it! Over the last [...]

Where’s the Implement? The film, “My Old Ass” is a lovely film about growing up, living in the moment, the power of love and the passage of time. I passed part of the gloomy Saturday afternoon watching this film. I would [...]