Friendly Reminder to Self

     It's crazy to think that we have already been working on the farms for three weeks. The time has just flown by. The initial thrill is beginning to wear down and I have begun to fall into a pleasant routine. It's funny to think that as a kid I would do anything to get out of weeding the garden and now I don't mind it. Being able to simply be outside and feel like I have accomplished something for the day is truly rewarding. As we discussed after the movie Dirt! academics has its place and the classroom setting can be valuable but nothing beats getting down into the heart of things and working.

     Today, our day off, Sophie and I went blueberry picking. I guess you could say that we just couldn't stay away from the farms. The blueberries in our fridge are now quickly disappearing as the taste of our hard work can't be beat. Pushing past the heat and exhaustion is worth the benefits and I believe more people need to feel this unbeatable feeling. What makes this mornings work even better is the fact that we picked on a share, meaning the owner kept half of what we picked and we got to take the rest for free. These avenues are becoming more and more available for people to become a part of. With food stamps being taken at farmers markets and share harvesting, it's getting harder and harder for people to justify not eating good food.

     Going into this extra hot week, I know it's going to be important for me to remember all these benefits and reflect on the reasons I joined this internship. Heat and I may not get along, but I am determined to not let it defeat me in the next couple of days and keep a positive attitude. 

How To: Approaching Frustration

This week I faced my first experience of doubt. On Monday we spent 90% of our time hoeing a field of beets, strawberries and carrots. It only flashed through my mind momentarily as I acknowledged the burning sensations in my shoulders from the repetitive movement. I found myself wondering how individuals can do this work everyday, whether on their own farm or on another's just for a miniscule hourly wage. As the work day came to a close and I was falling asleep, all I could see behind my eyelids was the hoe cutting through the roots of the morning glory and thistle guided by the handle and my hands - over and over and over. Hoeing that day did not make me feel as though I was incapable of farm work but it was one of the first times that I felt the physical exhaustion WHILE working - instead of afterwards. Wednesday supplied us with a nice reprieve from the repetitive motions that David works very hard to keep us away from. We spent the majority of the time harvesting and washing produce which is always the most satisfying. These are the days that I will come back to in my path toward handling the frustration that comes with some duties of the farm.
It was then Thursday afternoon when Jessie and I were given the tasks of clearing JUST the thistle out of the beet and cabbage rows. It sounds very simple in theory and it really is fairly mind-numbing if you allow it to be - in practice it proved to be the most mentally trying task we had faced since beginning our journey at becoming "knowledgeable". When I was feeling this creeping sensation of anger come across my skin and spine as I felt the burning prick from thistle after thistle, I began challenging myself as to how I can make this enjoyable. This was a task that needed to be done and no part of me wanted to do it. As the frustration would wane and crest as the amount of thistle in a single area would grow and fade I began finding my emotions to be hilarious. I was actually physically, mentally and emotionally ANGRY at these damn thistle! I even said to Jessie, "if this thistle had a face it would be punched many times". This was a product of my tolerance for pain decreasing, the air becoming hotter and time passing and it all was out to get me - I was sure of it.
Looking back on the emotions I was feeling during the thistle extraction I have reflected on how I am to move forward from those feelings of frustration with farm work and how I can apply it to the rest of my experience. One of the main motivations I found from that afternoon was that I am allowed to be annoyed at what I am doing. That is what motivates a farmer to get out on the fields every day and weed for hours is so they can NOT have the experience of pulling mature thistle out of a delicate beet row. Everything that we do at Gaining Ground and at any organic farm is fight the forces of nature with raw endurance. From this trying afternoon - and week for that matter - I have had the realization that farm workers and owners - as long as they are fighting the constant attacks that come from organic farming - have the most patience out of any other job. To be able to fight the battle but never quite win the war - day after day - would require serenity beyond belief or one heck of a sailors mouth. I hope that I am able to muster half the patience that these individuals carry at some point in my life but hopefully before I enable my dream of owning my own farm.

Dirt and additional thoughts

I just finished watching the documentary for this week and all in all I thought it offered a new change of pace. Even though the film discussed and went into the social and human element of soil, dirt, and living styles... I really appreciated the movie diving into a scientific lens. For me, it was really interesting to hear the parts about microorganisms, the compounds, and all of the different uses for dirt, soil, etc. I also really enjoyed that they brought different cultures into the picture and hit various parts of the globe in the documentary.


A reoccurring theme in the movies and in different stories I have heard, is prison inmates using gardening as a way to overcome their troubles and poor situation. A number of years ago I heard about this type of thing for adolescents in juvenile detention and I think it is great that this has been tested with adults as well. It is clear that this has served as a positive avenue for many individuals. It seems like such an easy program too. It doesn't seem like a whole lot would have to be overcome to start programs like that everywhere because it is not like there is a financial burden.


I have started to reevaluate the way I want to live my life in the future. During the movie today I was blown away by the man and woman who were building homes in LA using dirt and that when it dried, it was very strong and durable. I never really knew these types of options existed. There seems to be so many alternatives to the status quo that I have been ignorantly unaware of and I'm happy that I'm starting to understand these better

Duncan and Urban Roots

Thought I would take a moment to reflect on a couple of experiences from last week and this week. First, I can't get over the moment during our trip when the SUV pulled up next to us blasting some serious rap music.. only to be outdone by our very own sustainability coordinator. It still makes me laugh to think about... in fact... I'm laughing now. The power of humor!

On a more serious note - I watched Urban Roots last night and was very inspired to see a movie essentially filmed about people coming together to make something out of nothing. Many of the people they had on the film were impoverished, had little education, and some were criminals, but they all came together over their gardens. As we talked about... this shows a situation where there really is no other option for these people, but I was very much so encouraged to see that humans can rise above unfortunate circumstances to make something positive happen. If these people can do it, then is there a reason why we cant?

Empowerment

I was reflecting over the last week a few days ago and decided that empowerment is the best word I could use to describe what I took away from all of my experiences. In one of my political science classes I took last spring (current debates in US foreign policy) our professor would always stress the need for there to be a "bottom line". Essentially, what is the takeaway for the listener or in this case, from the experience. So empowerment is the bottom line for week two. It is clear to me from my time on the farm last week and the trip on Friday that almost every person around the country has something they could be doing to lift themselves on higher ground when it comes to our food system.

When I think about Barbara's farm I can't help but think of how happy she is to be doing what she is doing. She is constantly smiling and always giving us positive feedback. It is clear to me that she took her opportunity and ran with it when it comes to agriculture. During our trip to Portland, I was genuinely blown away by the ability of people to gather and plant a garden in the middle of an empty lot. I know we have talked and read about this, but to see it first hand really inspired me. If these people can do this in the middle of Portland, then is there any reason that could hold me back from doing this same thing? During Friday's shenanigans I was constantly feeling the need to enact all of these positive changes that were occurring all over the city. I hope one day I will get this chance and I'm confident I will.

You don't have to go into organic farming, start a farm to school program, or become a politician and advocate for food justice. These all could be great things, but at minimum I feel like we all have the capacity to make small changes hat would not only benefit ourselves, but those around us as well.

Plant Them 'Maters Deep! (Thoughts from week #2)

I am undoubtedly enjoying the tid-bits of information that I am picking up from Barbara and Tom Boyer out at the River Ridge Farm. I aim to create and maintain my own garden of sorts one day and this knowledge I am obtaining will allow me to do this effectively. For example, I learned that tomato plants can be planted deep in the soil. Most crops cannot be buried too deep or they will fail to properly sprout and grow. Yet tomato plants have small pores running up the stems that, if planted deep enough, will sprout new roots. With more roots comes the ability to absorb more water and nutrients from the soil. This improves the growth of the tomatoes. Hence, don't be hesitant to plant your tomato plants deep!

I have learned various tips such as that. I understand that right after planting seeds or transplanting crops into the garden, the area must be watered immediately. This allows the plants to immediately begin absorbing water and nutrients, which allows them to flourish in their new homes.

After dealing with various crops in the garden that needed to have the roots pulled out when being harvested (such as radishes, onions and garlic), I learned that this practice should not be reciprocated with asparagus. This is because asparagus needs its rhizome left in the soil in order to produce the edible stock the next year.

According to Tom and Barbara, pea plants are one of the fastest growing crops. Plus, when they become ready to be harvested, the pea pods are plentiful. Tom said that the most abundant growing crop, though, are zucchini plants. In a joking manner, Tom said that "One zucchini plant could feed a valley if it were re-harvested."

For my project, Jake Baker and I are going to use the high tunnel that Barbara and Tom have on the farm to plant a series of crops. Our first step is to have a soil test conducted by Oregon State University in order to decipher what crops would be best for the area.

Out on the farm, there has been a rapid change of surrounding personnel. The first week on the farm brought about the blossoming of friendships between us interns and a pair of WWOOFers. Yet when we showed up this week, they had up and left the farm. It was unfortunate not being able to say goodbye as I respected the knowledge and morals of Gus and Megan. Also, the two dogs on the farm, Freida and Pablo, disappeared over the weekend. After contacting the local dog pound, asking neighbors and putting an ad in the newspaper, the Boyers have been unable to locate their dogs. Yet Barbara always sees the positive in a seemingly negative situation. She said that if they don't come back, it would enable Tom and herself to build a chicken coop and raise chickens. It was simply too dangerous before with "Freaky" Freida around. Overall, I am enthralled with the knowledge I am gaining and the experiences I am undergoing.

Inspiration in Unexpected Places

     Week 2 ended on a high note. When thinking about farming, the first image to appear for most is wide open country side, not the middle of a cement covered city. That is what made the urban gardens that much more impressive. Seeing the variety of crops, layouts, and stages of the various community gardens provided me with a sense of awe as people figured out ways to get what they wanted in the most unlikely of places. Finishing our tour of Portland's green side with the ecovillage was something special. While our guide may have talked a bit too much, the concepts such as the rain collection and the elaborate farm that they had growing took me out of the city for a minute. To have an oasis in the middle of all the amenities a city offers seems ideal.

     On top of the fabulous tour, I was also given a key resource for my project. I know I want to work with Barbara in her campaign to get local food into the school system. I want to take that idea and make the cafeteria a classroom and develop a lesson plan to get kids closer to their food and involved in agriculture in general. Exactly where to start, I had no idea. Luckily, while at our final garden of the day I was given several resources that will give me a great place to start and already the wheels have been turning.

     I truly believe that kids need to see where and how their food is grown. They need to be a part of the process and taste the product that they had a hand in helping produce. Once kids get excited about something, it creates a chain reaction. They'll start to tell their parents about the great food and work they did and hopefully their parents will listen and get just as excited. I can't wait to get started and see what ideas I can come up and what the end results will be. 

The Blighted Chicken

As our first week came to a close and I was searching for project inspiration there was one upcoming event that I could not get out of my mind. Gaining Ground's chickens! They are to be ordered in the next few weeks and I want to be a fundamental part of their rearing. Once I decided that this HAD to be what I focused my project on I struck up a conversation with Mike - one of our farmers - about how I can contribute my knowledge and work force to these chickens. Through our conversations about his process of raising the chickens I was able to sense that the poultry business is much harder than it may seem - as well as a bit more unrewarding.
I never have pictured myself as being one to raise animals for any reason other than to give and receive love from one another. I think that this is one of the main reasons why I have this sudden desire to care for these meat chickens - so that they can experience the best possible life up until their slaughter. The conventional chicken farm as we have seen in Food Inc. is disregarding the fact that these animals have purposes other than to feed human mouths. Though the chickens in industrial farms were literally bred to be eaten by humans it does not mean that their personal purpose - as a living organism - is to become a nugget. This is getting further into animal rights but when it comes down to it one of the most unsustainable functions of our food system at this point in time is meat processing. Getting into the logistics of this is incredibly valuable but it will be covered very extensively by T. Love tomorrow. However, it is written on the wall that stockyards have the highest rate of methane and CO2 emissions than any other human-made structure on earth. This is unhealthy for the animals in these environments but it is also incredibly detrimental to groundwater, watersheds, soil health, air quality and the quality and health of the meat that comes off that lot. All of these plus the enormous amounts of fuel used to ship these creatures from the lot to the slaughterhouse to the processing plant to the packaging plant and then to the store that was built on farmland that collects thousands of cars to come buy these items. The amount of fuel that is required from the beginning of the meats' life to the shelf is incredible.
Coming back to why I want to be involved with this process - is so that I can see where a small organic farm can make a difference. One of the primary differences between small organic chicken farms and industrial farms is the middle man. When you are getting your chicken from a small farmer you are in contact with the farmer directly either through phone calls or visits to the market in town. There is likely an individual that does the slaughter and butchering of the chicken that is not the farmer but it is someone that can be identified fairly easily. Without this middle man, there is exponentially less fuel being added to the cost of the chicken. Because the use of fuel becomes strictly the responsibility of the farmer getting to the market and the customer meeting them halfway - the price of the chicken is actually going toward the tangible chicken rather than external costs that could only be tracked with intense investigation. With the purchase of the chicken from a farmer that is trusted to be organic and local it is also their responsibility to take into account the well-being of the chicken so it is a superior product. At Gaining Ground there is a really fantastic opportunity to make sure these chickens are of high quality for the consumers but also are given a high quality life as well. These are some of the main reasons that I want to be involved in raising the chickens at Gaining Ground.

Permaculture Convergence

Hi Everyone,

Here is a link to a permaculture convergence at Pacific University in the beginning of August:http://nwpermies.blogspot.com

GMOs and Health?

Interesting take on GMO's and health:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i8ZMFJG3wE

What we eat. (The royal we)

What do you think about this? Does this reflect your diet as an American? What about the diet of most folks you know?

Cause and Effect

One of the biggest challenges we face (not only in the food system) is the relationship between our problems and the way we receive feedback. Out problems seem to be long term, progressive and not immediate. We often react, as a society and individually, to problems that seem immediate, pressing and dramatic (think 9/11). The feedback we are receiving from our food system is not being received or properly adapted to due to our inability to escape from our immediate gratification mentality.


What are your thoughts on how we as a society can move towards adequately responding to these messages from the food system, our food and our own bodies?

Choice

In a world where we are given the impression that the free market gives the consumer the ultimate range of choices we find that we have very few in terms of which companies we would like to support.

Natural Freedom

My most enjoyable moment so far has been eating a sugar pea pod straight off of the vine using no hands. My hands were busy weeding the bed below me and I looked up and saw the most delicious looking pea pod straight in front of me. This weird instinct of wanting to eat like a deer of sorts came over me and I just went for it before giving it a second thought. Of course, the pea pod was truly delicious. So, call it weird if you must, but I absolutely enjoyed this moment as I felt connected with the natural world while I was plucking the precious gift of Earth off of the vine with my own teeth.

On a more serious note, I have been soaking up knowledge this past week on the farm. I have truly been enjoying myself. I came into this program with limited knowledge regarding farming. Yet now I understand how to properly weed around certain crops without harming them. I know how to decipher certain crops from others. I know how to properly plant a variety of crops. I know how to transplant. I know how to crack walnuts (though Jake is the true master of this skill). I have even learned the proper technique of gardening. Gus, a visiting WWOOFer, taught me that our ancient human ancestors rarely had back problems even though they did extensive manual labor. This is because they maintained proper technique while bending over. I have been implementing this technique the best I can in order to preserve the health of my back this summer. So far, so good.

As a final note, I would like to again say how pea pods off the vine have blown me away as far as taste goes. They are just the ultimate. By changing my eating habits from eating candy, which is filled with unnatural substances and wrapped in plastic, toward a more natural choice such as these pea pods, I can help to morph my own life around sustainability in the most simple of ways: Eating foods that you know where they came from.

I know these thoughts lacked an overall depth to them as far as targeting the practices of sustainable agriculture. Yet this is what stood out to me this week. I have had a blast and am ready for more.

Epiphanies of a Farmer

On our first day at Gaining Ground Farm - a certified organic farm located outside of Yamhill and Gaston - there was a lot to be learned. Because we so quickly jumped into work mode it forced us to begin grasping skills that have long faded from our muscle memory. While uncovering precious strawberry plants from a thick cover of morning glory and thistle we - as interns - began picking at David and Mike's farmer brains.

Mike made a comment as we were half way through our first row, reaching roughly 200 feet, about the legitimacy of farming - no matter how repetitive and mundane a task may feel. Mike stated, with the philosophical mind he has, "how arbitrary is it that you spend hours upon hours working on papers in school when at best it will be read maybe once, a semi insightful critique might follow, but then it is never to be revisited again. However, when you look back at the work you do on a farm there is always tangible proof that work HAS been done."

This struck me as one of the most profound things I have heard - simple as it seems. To be looking at the work you have performed and understanding the gravity of the result is something rarely looked at in the way farmers can. Knowing that the weeding we are doing is having so many impacts on the sustainability of the soil is where I become awestruck. With weeding you are allowing the plants to soak up the proper amount of nutrients, aerating the soil, eliminating the chance of pests (or at least minimizing it) and so many benefits that we have yet to discover. This hands on work that is found solely on small and organic farms is a way to truly care for our earth's soil - the mother of all creatures. If it is possible to make folks understand this concept more broadly there would be far more respect of all beings in our food system. 

Aren't We Lucky

     The first week went flying out of the gates. Our first three days on the farm went by before I could even fully grasp that we had begun. I have always been thankful for growing up in the great Pacific Northwest. Working hands on with such amazing and influential farmers have only strengthened that appreciation and proven how lucky we all are. We have an abundance of marvelous, local, and nutritious food for the taking. There is a farmers market within walking distance and we can all proudly say we know where our food is coming from and the people that grow it, a connection not many people have. McMinnville in itself is taking leaps and bounds to make the local system reach to as many as possible. For example, allowing food-stamps to be accepted at the farmers market opens the door for many more people to obtain wholesome food, a great step towards food justice. 

     Taking a step back for a moment, I continually found myself considering the life of workers that McMillan describes during our first few days on the farm. I started to ask myself “how much would I have just made off of these peas I picked” or “what would be the possible wages for weeding all this, and could I support myself in these conditions” and so on. Here we are, working on farms for fun and far better pay so it is really difficult to grasp these concepts. Here we have options. We have access and funds for quality produce. It really makes me wonder how different my views and practices would be if I hadn’t grown up here. More so, it makes me wonder how we can open others eyes and give them access to the same opportunities we have.

Health and Sustainable Agriculture

I'm looking over the syllabus for the 75th time and noticed that there was no section that incorporates health and the food system. It is probably obvious to all of us that these two are laced throughout many of the conversations we have, but I'm wondering if this topic doesn't get enough coverage in the general conversation of the American food system. I would be interested to hear what you all think, but it seems to me that often times books or documentaries don't link these two together quite in the way they should. With obesity rates on the rise, heart disease becoming such a prominent feature in American health, and health care costs rising... I would love to see a healthy dialogue about these two.

This is one of the various dynamics in this topic and I know we come at these issues from unique perspectives, but I think there needs to be a shift in what we eat before there is a shift in how we eat, how it is produced, and how we get it. One of the reasons chemicals, high fructose corn syrup, and other unnatural ingredients are found in our food is because people are demanding these. People buy frosted flakes, ice cream, fruit snacks, meat etc., and these are foundational problems we have. By eating these foods we have put our health at risk, opened up our food system to major corporations, and have forgotten where our food should and does come from. I don't mean to try and offend anyone here, but the first question I have for those that eat meat, dairy, and nutritionally deficient foods is, why? Why do you eat these foods? As a vegan, I get this question a lot and it is easy to understand and explain for me, but I have still yet to hear a justified answer that doesn't put the aforementioned variables at risk.

In summary, I would love to talk about (here or in class) about the health aspect to sustainable agriculture :)



Love you all,

Jake

Let me show you 370+ cracked walnuts

Welcome!

Welcome to the Linfield College Sustainable Food Systems Internship.

Please use this space to document your experience on and off the farm this summer.

Enjoy!