Onion and Leeks and Potatoes, Oh My!

When I was in flight attendant training, Week Three was dubbed 'Scary Week Three', because we spent the majority of our time that week reviewing all the scary incidences that can happen on the airplane. Although, fortunately, there were not any scary or unfortunate incidents happening on the farm this week, there was definitely a lot of aching backs as we really got down to business hand planting leeks, bending over to fill in onions behind the tractor, fixing drip line in the perennial garden and hefting heavy bags of potatoes around for hand planting with volunteers from the food bank. So, all in all, a scary amount of work, and it feels like we're just getting started! Let's review our week in photos.

Apr 23

Elena snapped this photo on the fly of Ken, riding his bike to the perennial garden to help 

us repair drip line. The rest of us were roaring by him in our work van, dubbed

 'The Ivory Beast'. Ken had the right idea, as the Beast died on us this week

during a spinach harvest.

Apr 24

Alyssa and I standing in from of the tractor with yellow onion starts (thanks Justin!).
We spent the day helping the Pueblo crew plant, bending over to plant onions in missing
spaces behind the tractor, or sitting on the planter feeding shoots at rapid pace into the
rotating cups to be embedded in the field behind us. A brutal day, lasting about
twelve hours, mostly bent over!

Apr 25

Our favorite couple, Elena and Jacob cutting the flowering heads off the bolted rhubarb.
Rhubarb is perennial and flowers it's second year, we cut the flowers off to grow the
stems for harvesting. This was one of our favorite tasks this week.

Apr 26

Thanks Alyssa, for getting this awesome picture of me under the rainbow in the

leeks field! We spent nearly the entire day hand planting tiny one inch leek

starts on Thursday, through the wind, rain, and screaming backaches!

Apr 27

Friday  was hands down my favorite day so far! After half a morning in the leek field, 

Justin, Ken, and I were recruited to plant Jentje Heirloom Potatoes with the awesome 

John Deere tractor which I got to drive and now must own. The photo  shows Ken 

sorting potatoes behind the tractor while Justin drives.

Saturday we worked as well, helping volunteers from the food bank and CSA members hand plant German Butterball potatoes, but I neglected to get a good pic because I was ridiculously exhausted mentally and spaced it. Grant Farms will donate that particular potato crop as part of five acres in total to the food bank come harvest time. It was a great day spent with enthusiastic people. I'll make sure to snap a shot next Saturday work day. 

Bonus Foto of the Week

The sun setting on a hard days work in the field. If you look closely you can see
the fluorescent green of the onions in the rows we planted Tuesday with the
Pueblo crew.

Can I just note that this week, I not only drove the tractor, I backed it up, as well as drive the huge flat bed truck to transport pallets of potatoes for our volunteers on Saturday. If driving crazy weird vehicles doesn't make it a great week, then I don't know what does! Thanks for checking in on us, and please feel free to comment, and subscribe!

XO,

Val 

Getting Serious

This week has definitely had it's fun moments, but we are for sure getting down and dirty now, as things are needing to get done asap! There are twelve of us as of this week, including a girl who is participating in the program World Wide Opportunities for Organic Farming(WWOOFing)and is volunteering with us though May. We are all feeling pretty good for the most part I think, though more than a few of us have had to add some extra stretching for aching backs, butts, and whatever else you can think of! Someone said to one of us, 'whatever your weakest muscle is, you'll be sure to feel it first!' and I think that is definitely the truth for me, as my forearms and hands have been incredibly sore! As promised, here are the photos of the week, documenting some of our pain, suffering, and a few moments of brilliance!

Apr 16

Sweet Success!! Tanea and I finish forking over the Demonstration Garden! We finished
Monday with the help of Lydia, our WOOFer from Switzerland who was amazing
enough to snap this shot right before I fell off my garden fork!
(Note the bomb teepee in the background. We told our boss,
Isaac, we'd be spending the rest of the day in there)

Apr 17

Such a great day! Here Chris, Jacob and Ian are transplanting heirloom tomatoes
from tiny one inch sprout trays to three inch pots.  Lydia and Megan  are in the
background. We put these tomatoes as well as some peppers back into the
greenhouse to grow to size to plant in the Demo Garden!

Apr 18

Wednesday we spend the afternoon repacking organic spinach for shipment to Texas
and New Mexico grocery stores. Here's my buddy Megan kicking butt transferring
plants from red box to black. This pic is blurry 'cuz  she's moving so fast!
Lucia and Tanea are in the background!

Apr 19

Okay, this is not a bad scene out of West Side Story. It's just a fake knife fight
between Justin and Ian before we spent our day preparing seed potatoes.
 This day was hard and cold in the warehouse; they had the right to fake fight.

Apr 20

 I have a really good, sympathy inducing photo of all of us slaving away on these seed
 potatoes for Friday. But I thought this image of me, courtesy of Elena (probably
 totally against the rules, don't tell Isaac!) would speak for itself.
Lydia and Megan in the background. Exhausting!!

Bonus Foto(s) of the Week

I think sometimes, and probably more often than not, there is going to be that extra gorgeous photo that I just can't leave out of the week's events. This Friday, our fabulous neighbor who normally shies from the spotlight allowed me a ten minute photo shoot during lunch. Here is my favorite shot; our peacock strutting in the tree next to the intern house.

The Intern House Mascot

Here's to next week's promise of warmer weather, less potato chopping, more planting, less hand hurting, and more blog reading!!! Thanks for reading my blog to my family and friends, as well as our whole extended intern/farm family!

XO,

Val

Farm Week One!

For the 2012 Colorado growing season, roughly April through December, I will be working in a group of like-minded interns in order to learn as much as possible about organic farming. My intent for this blog is to document our adventures as we  progress through one photo a day to share with families and friends. I'll do my best to update bi-weekly. I hope you'll enjoy.

Apr 9

Tanea, Elena and Lucia forking over the earth in the Demo Garden

Apr 10

My free range buddy helping me untangle grapevines in the vineyard

Apr 11

Again, Elena, Tanea and Lucia, three of the most photogenic interns
taking a break on a hay bale stack we had just completed.

Apr 12

The irrigation ditch from hell. We spent the greater part
of two days digging corn husks and mud out of it to
prepare it for water on Monday.

Apr 13

My reward for a brutal day hand planting two acres of Rhubarb-
freshly harvested spinach and green onions

So, there you have it. My first week at Grant Family Farms at a glance. It has already been incredibly hard, fun, exhausting, and rewarding. I can't wait for what the season has in store and I hope you'll check in on our journey every so often.

XO, 

Val