Quiet Farming

On Monday, my first day at the farm, I was assigned to sprinkle diatomaceous earth (DE) on some leafy Chinese cabbage that was being decimated by pill bugs. I had read all about DE before, but this was my first time using it. I like it. It's pretty easy to apply and it's easy to control where it goes so you're only impacting the hard-bodied bugs messing with your specific plants. I'm 100x more likely to use it on my own garden now that I've received some hands-on training with it. The farm makes me a better organic gardener! No doubt about it.

Then I got to tease out celeriac seedlings and transplant them into flats. I worked alone in the warm greenhouse, doing something repetitive with my hands, and listening to one of my favorite podcasts: The Hidden Brain. Sooooo quiet. Sooooo uninterrupted. Sooooo satisfying.

Also, the farm helps my ego. The new assistant farm manager, L, hadn't worked with me before, and John was out sick, so L just gave me the list of tasks that John had told him to give me. At the end of my time, L was surprised at what I had gotten done. The same thing happened again on Friday, "No way! You did THAT much?!" He's the THIRD full-time farm person I've surprised/impressed with my work quality/quantity. Maybe it's my outfit. I really don't LOOK like a farmer when I'm out there. I look like a hobo. To look more like these farmers, I'd need to grow a bushy beard, get my nose or the top of my ear pierced, and lose about 15 years. Ha ha ha ha haaaaaaa!

Crocus leaves in the front yard!