Posts

Week Four of Farming (a tragic goodbye with Chang)!!

Image
Sorry for the later than usual post, I've been caught up in the whirlwind that is graduation! Sydney and I finished working at the farm this Thursday, which was bittersweet. Thursday ended up being the perfect day to finish on, however, because it  was so fun! We started with some weeding of cucumber beds for about an hour (which passed by rather quickly) and then were greeted by Patrick and Maureen! We got to give them a tour of La Finquita which was lovely - and saved us from extra weeding :) After they left, we were tasked with preparing milk for Tommy the calf, which was a lot more difficult than anticipated. I realize now I have NO idea what 98 degrees feels like in a liquid, and we ended up heating the mixture up too much. After multiple ice baths and checks from Lyn we finally got to feed Tommy, which was a wonderful way to end our time at La Finquita. After that we packed up and headed to Pumpkin Ridge, to help Polly prepare for market. This consisted of the dreaded dirt sc...
2 comments
Read more

Week Three of Farming (Mr. Whiskers makes his entrance)!!

Image
Wow! These weeks really slip by fast; I can't believe I only have 1 more left! This week continued to challenge me especially with the added difficulty of heat. However, I have good news to report on my goal of patience! As you may remember last Thursday consisted of some grueling leek planting. I was worried that this meant I wasn't growing my patience, but... on Friday we had to do the exact same thing and it went so so much better. Nearly 2 hours passed without me even noticing and I actually moderately enjoyed myself (as much as you can planting leeks)! Going into this week I was curious to see how Lyn and Juvencio dealt with the heat and what it meant for the plants. I happily surprised to realize that they too felt the heat as much as us and gave us lots of water/shade, and time in the walk-in cooler :). Also side note: never go in a greenhouse when its over 75 outside, they are literal saunas. In other news, we got to do some fun new vegetable harvesting, namely onions! ...
2 comments
Read more

Week Two of Farming!! (Spoiler: Chang and I had our first fight)

Image
 I know it's only Wednesday but wow  so much has happened already. My relationship with Chang was slightly strained today when I refused to pat her after realizing her nose was covered in mystery blood. She then later caught and toyed with a mouse, flinging it RIGHT at me! I felt like this was some sort of retribution for a lack of pats earlier, so I naturally forgave her - although I still felt terrible for the mouse. In more cheerful news, we found a nest full of newborn birds nestled in some weeds!! And, probably the highlight of my week if not month: Syd and I got to feed a calf!! Because his mother tragically died while giving birth and he needs to be bottle-fed each day. Juvencio had run out of milk yesterday and so all day the calf (I call him Tommy) was lowing. Finally, Juvencio caved and went out to buy some powdered milk and then let us do the honors of feeding! While none of these moments connect directly to my actual vegetable farming work, they illustrate a lesson...
5 comments
Read more

Week One of Farming!!

Image
I've decided to spend the next three weeks of my life working at a CSA farm with Sydney called "La Finquita Del Buho" right outside of Hillsboro. La Finquita is a beautiful family farm, founded by Lyn and her husband Juvencio - who met in Honduras during Lyn's time in the Peace Corps. I chose to work on a farm first because I've always been interested in agriculture; growing up I helped my Grandparent's on their Montana cattle farm each summer during the auction season. I thought that since I'd experienced the livestock side of ag, delving into the produce side would be a great opportunity for growth and learning. In addition to my curiosity into farm life, I chose to work at La Finquita because I knew I wanted to spend my entire senior project outside, moving. The pandemic kept me inside more than I would have liked, and so being outdoors was one of my senior project priorities. Speaking of working outside, my first project  goal revolves around the physi...
7 comments
Read more