Day 1 on the Farm

Snake Hill Farm is in a little valley just of 306 and Bainbridge road. Parker and I met Savery, our sponsor, down on the farm at 8:00, and she put us to work right away. We began to set up two weeded rows, covered with good, composted soil, where we will eventually plant ginger. We used pitch forks, we hoed, we raked.

Later we worked on mixing the right composition of soil for the fledgling lettuce plants, and then we transported the tiny, fragile lettuce sprouts into the new, improved soil.

Our sponsor is incredibly kind and knowledgeable, and is constantly explaining to us about her work; "the life of the soil," and her at attempts to make the dirt healthier, the maple sugaring process, plants she has grown in the past, the trials of meeting the organic certification. Snake Hill Farm is all organic, but until yesterday I didn't really know what that meant. They cannot use any synthetic products in the growing of their vegetables and caring of their cows. This means that for their thistle problem, no pesticides can be used. They must weed all the thistles out by hand. This is just one of many examples of how the organic certification sometimes impedes efficiency. With organic farms there is a delicate balance between keeping organic practices and still making a profit.

What is fascinating to me is that because most scientific, synthetic options are not open to Snake Hill Farm, they often resort to strange, ancient practices and hopeful faith. For example, we will soon be helping Savery bury rice in the ground, because apparently this cured the soil for millions of ancient Indians. In farming, so many variables are out of your control, one must find some way to feel like he or she is positively affecting the process.