Farmer’s Market

Last week was extremely busy on the farm. Katie (our good friend, advisor, and general cohort) returned to her home in Madison early in the week leaving Chelsea and I scrambling to catch up. Katie stayed on to help us at the farm long after her official position at the St. Olaf Center for Experiential Learning ended. We loved having her expertise and extra set of hands in the garden every day.

Without Katie around we are sorely aware of how much more time it takes to accomplish small tasks with just two people instead of three. Our largest ‘small’ task last week was weeding through an impressively large field of winter squash. Bon Appetit, the food service provider at St. Olaf, has agreed to purchase all the fresh produce we can provide them with after September 1, so we have been gearing our planting towards late-season crops that can even be stored into September. Winter squash is just part of that plan. We also have lots of potatoes, rutabaga and turnips in the ground as well as plans for more beets and carrots.

On top of all the weeding, we spent a considerable amount of time preparing for our Thursday Civic Engagement Seminar, which is an important element of the Leaders for Social Change (LSC) program we are part of. Chelsea and I led the seminar last Thursday, which focused on sustainable food and agriculture issues. In preparation for the seminar, we screened the movie Food, Inc. for the other LSC students. The student farmers from STOGROW and the Americorps Vista volunteer from the Northfield organization Growing Up Healthy also attended our showing of the movie. Additionally, the students read two articles about industrialized agriculture and a realistic, but hopeful outlook on the future of food in America. The first article, Farmer in Chief, written by Michael Pollan, was addressed to the future president of the United States before the results of the 2008 elections. The second article, Street Farmer, explores Will Allen’s urban farm project in Milwaukee.

LSC students and advisors and Rachel, the new Growing Up Healthy Americorps volunteer tour the SEEDS farm

As part of the Thurday seminar, we gave a tour of the SEEDS farm to the other LSC students and faculty advisors. Our tour was followed by a visit to Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin‘s farm, where he empowers Latino individuals to take on entrepreneurial ventures in sustainable farming. Reginaldo is a wonderful community resource – his perspective on growing food is not limited by conventional practices and social norms. He encourages the people he works with to achieve what might seem impossible, including growing free-range chickens to sell at a competitive market price.

After touring Reginaldo's farm we took time to discuss the two farms, their contributions to sustainable agriculture, and the place (or lack thereof) of agriculture in institutes of higher education like St. Olaf

Since we were so busy preparing for the seminar, we were lucky to have lots of help from our fellow LSC students and also from the Carlson clan. Colin, who is interning in Faribault at So How are the Children (SHAC) (an organization that provides free summer programing for Faribault youth) helped with our massive weeding initiative on Friday morning. Julia joined us in the afternoon, and then the Carlson’s grandmother, Carol, pulled her share later in the day.

Becca washing lettuce for market early Saturday morning

We were happy to have so much help in preparation for our first day selling at the River Walk Market Fair on Saturday morning. Julia, Chelsea, Becca and I met at the farm at 6am on Saturday morning to harvest our beautiful swiss chard, kohlrabi, head lettuce, basil, cilantro and kale. Our experience at the market was enhanced because we shared the stand with neighboring farmers from Betsy Allister’s Spring Wind Farm. The booth we shared looked more abundant when the farmers from Spring Wind Farm arrived with their lovely purple carrots, massive zucchinis, and beets. Although we didn’t make much of a profit, we did make a lot of connections in the Northfield community. We shared some recipe ideas and invited lots of people out to visit the farm. Thanks to everyone who supported us at the market, we hope to see you again this Saturday!

The SEEDS Farm collaborated with Betsy Allister's start up project, Spring Wind Farm, at our first Northfield Riverwalk Market Fair last Saturday

In preparation for the Carlson family’s departure for their two-week summer vacation, Chelsea and I have resolved to blog a little bit more frequently. We’ll be checking in on a daily basis to keep you and the Carlson’s in the loop on the farm’s progress and other endeavors.

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