Golden Days of Summer

"August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time."

- Sylvia Plath

August is a strange time for a Vermont farm. It's still high summer, and peak production time. We've moved on from planting and prepping to harvesting and selling. We're churning out pounds and pounds of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggplant, and summer squash. The abandoned plum and peach trees on the farm have been producing more than we can harvest, and I've loved taking any excuse to walk by and munch a piece of fruit. The melons are ripe, and last week we harvested the first ears of sweet corn and sliced into the first glorious watermelon--two of my favorite summer indulgences.

The first watermelon of summer

Yet...you can already sense things winding down in preparation for the cold months to come. We're beginning to till some of our beds, and the mornings and evenings are getting the tiniest bit chillier every day. A few weeks ago we turned under our snow and snap peas, which we had been harvesting since the earliest days of summer. And even our precious sungold cherry tomatoes--quite possibly the most delicious tomatoes ever--have seen better days (although we're still overwhelmed by our weekly tomato harvest).

I love this paradox: the land is giving and producing in full abundance, even as we begin to prepare for hibernation mode. I love the transition of the seasons, enjoying these last golden days of summer while eagerly anticipating brisk fall air, apple cider, and the legendary New England autumn colors. And I love feeling so in tune with the changing seasons, knowing that every change in the weather, every change in the day's length, is impacting how our crops will produce.

But fall is not here yet! This week has been a scorcher, with temperatures and humidity that make me think I'm back in DC or Georgia, not balmy Vermont. It's pretty rough being in the fields when it's this hot (and one of the big reasons I think I couldn't be a full-time professional farmer--I don't do well in heat!). But some little piece of me kind of likes it...harvesting beans in the midday sun may make me want melt into a puddle, or go hide in the walk-in cooler, but it still feels good to be outside and feel the sun on my arms, instead of in an unnaturally climate-controlled building.

I'm on CSA rotation this month, my first rotation on our home farm. The CSA and farmstand rotations comprise the harvest crew, since we're the two groups that distribute our produce to customers. I love being on harvest crew and having a real sense of just how much the farm is producing right now. The cooler is filled an insane amount of food, and it's so fun to pack up the CSA boxes on Tuesdays and Thursdays and imagine how excited our members will be to see this week's goodies. After all, growing food for other people is why we do what we do! I love getting to see all our hard work pay off in feeding our community.

Peppers galore

Yes, it's sad to see the summer go--not least because we've now crossed the halfway point in the program. Everyone seems acutely aware that we're on the downhill slide of our time here, making the last days of summer all the more precious. I'm starting to think more seriously about what I want to do after I complete the program and will start researching and reflecting more intensely in the coming weeks. 

But there's still more fun to be had, and I'm taking advantage of all the sun, swimming, and lazy warm days I can before they're gone. Some farm friends and I participated in the Farmer Olympics last week, which was a fun opportunity to hang out with some other local growers. We tried our hardest, but sadly didn't place; what we lacked in skill we definitely made up for in enthusiasm. My sister was here this past weekend, and we spent a few perfect summer days enjoying the farm, farmers market, and Vermont's natural beauty and delicious food. I'm looking forward to basking in a few more warm sunsets on the shores of Lake Champlain, farm-fresh watermelon in tow.

Summer in Vermont can't be beat

Harvest!

The farm really came alive in July. All the planning, planting, cultivating, tending, and patiently waiting has paid off in more lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, eggplant, peppers, radishes, beets, basil, cilantro, onions, garlic, kale, chard, peas, carrots, and flowers than we know what to do with. Farm tasks the past several weeks have consisted mostly of weeding and harvesting, and not much else. We're in full-blown production mode!

A truck full of freshly harvested garlic, ready for curing

The abundance of summer is visible everywhere. I spent my July rotation at Half Pint Farm, owned and operated by Mara and Spencer Welton. As the name implies, it's a tiny farm (2 1/2 acres) specializing in tiny vegetables. They may be small, but they are mighty! During my four weeks there, we harvested carrots, onions, scallions, hot peppers, baby cucumbers, summer squash, potatoes, string beans, and more. I really love Mara and Spencer's farm philosophy: their guiding principle is grow what you love, and sell what you grow. They only plant what they enjoy growing, and they're excited to sell it. They work hard but love what they do, and it shows in their finished product. It was really inspiring to see how they've turned their little farm into such a productive and satisfying business.

Our farm is now home to 200 chickens! The day-old chicks arrived on the farm in early July and got nestled in the brooder coops that we built for them. Now a month old, they're fully feathered, gangly teenagers. We took them out to pasture last week, where they'll live their lives roaming one of our fields not currently in production, scratching up the soil, eating grubs and weed seeds, fertilizing the land with their droppings, and living happy little chicken lives--while simultaneously improving the field for future planting. At night, they get herded back into their mobile coop, which is moved to a new patch of field every three to five days. They are true free-range chickens.

Wee little chicken babes

Our chickens are meat birds, and I know meat is a fraught issue that elicits strongly-held opinions in many people. I truly believe that meat animals can be raised in a way that is both environmentally sustainable and honors the lives of the animals. In a small-scale operation like ours, we can use the chickens' natural instincts and habits to improve our land for future vegetable production. On some farms, where the soil may be too problematic to be used to raise crops, animal grazing is the best way to make the land effective at producing food for humans. Large-scale meat production is a big, dirty, inhumane, and unnatural operation. Animals are kept in confinement, pumped full of hormones and antibiotics, and live in filthy conditions. Why? Because it allows consumers to have cheap, easily available meat--three times a day, every day. If customers continue to demand meat in the quantities that they currently do, we'll continue to rely on Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) to meet the demand, regardless of the ethical, environmental, or health implications.

Honestly, I think meat should be a luxury, to be enjoyed only occasionally, or in small quantities. It should be raised in a way that requires care and attention to the animals' needs, and that level of attention should be reflected in the price. We can't continue consuming meat at the rate that we do, unless we want to continue degrading the environment and subjecting animals to horrific conditions. If we viewed meat as an indulgence, to be eaten only once or twice a week (or less); committed to purchasing only high-quality grass-fed beef, or pasture-raised chicken or pork; and paid a price that takes into account the care that went into raising these animals--it could go a long way in minimizing the meat industry's impact on the planet, and would vastly improve the health and happiness of the animals whose lives we take for our sustenance.

Ok, I'm off my soapbox now. :)

Summertime off the farm has been just as delightful as on the farm. The past weeks have ben full of swimming, watching the sunset over the mountains and Lake Champlain (or, in the case of Fourth of July, watching fireworks over the lake), and potlucks with friends. My mom came to visit, and I had a wonderful time showing her the farm, shopping at the farmers' market, exploring Burlington, and--my favorite--eating creemees. And just a couple weeks later, three of my dearest friends from DC came to visit! The last week of July was my mid-program vacation week, so Lauren, Alix, and Jay came up to spend the week traveling in Canada and New England with me. After a weekend in Burlington, we spent a wonderful day and evening in Montreal, then drove to Acadia National Park in Maine, where we spent three days camping and hiking. We returned to Vermont, spending one night in the northern part of the state, then came back to Burlington to close out the week. It was a wonderful vacation, and so great to spend it with friends. And my sister is coming to visit this week! I'm really liking having a new round of visitors every couple of weeks, and getting to show off Burlington.

Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park

A closing thought: what good is the bounty of a farm if you don't get to enjoy the abundance? There's a real beauty about eating a meal made entirely of produce that you grew yourself. It feeds the body and the soul. My roommate Isabella has all but turned our kitchen into a commercial kitchen, turning out tomato sauce, ratatouille, kimchi, jam, pesto, more pickled veggies than I ever thought you could pickle, and delicious dinners on a regular basis. Yeah, it's good to be a farmer.

Farmer friend Corinne and our overflowing farm stand