Lessons From the Farm

A few more things I've learned...

...the right tool for the job makes a HUGE difference. I'm so used to making do with what's on-hand that taking the extra 60 seconds to find the right clippers for harvesting squash seems painfully inefficient. But, it turns out, using the right clippers makes each cut a little easier, which adds up to a LOT easier after an hour or two of harvesting squash. Little things can really add up!

...the uniform makes me better at my job. Every time I work at the farm, I wear a lightweight long-sleeved button-up shirt, lightweight pants, long socks, boots, and a wide-brimmed hat. I started with that setup to keep the sun and mosquitoes off of my skin, but it's a fantastic super suit! I am slightly resistant to prickly plants, mud, spiders, bees, and a myriad of gross and slightly scary things. I'm braver. More prepared to get dirty or haul brush. Sure, I'm also a little sweatier than my short-sleeved and short-pantsed co-workers in the humid heat, but I like the fearlessness.

...once you are soaked to the skin, head to toe, the rain can't bother you anymore. It's quite liberating. I had forgotten that from my childhood.

...harvesting is fun, but I really dig infrastructure stuff: irrigation, trellising, planting, pruning, weeding, hauling, putting in, tearing out. I love anything systematic, methodical, and orderly. I like seeing myself get better or more efficient at a new task, modifying my technique as I come across snags, developing a new system to maximize my effectiveness. That is the work that I am most proud of.

...social capital matters. I often find myself assigned a task with someone else and we're trying to figure out how to tackle it. My first impulse is to find the most efficient use of our time in completing the task. But when I work directly with my boss, he often chooses to work alongside me, even when I'm slower than he is. I've enjoyed getting to know many people on the farm (almost as much as learning how to farm itself). So, nowadays when I'm assigned a task, I try to strike a balance between  efficiency and building relationships. Those are the best days.