One of my CSA farms needs more members. The weeds are relentless. They seem to pop up by the time you get to the end of a row. I marvel how my family operated a farm on a daily basis. I’m only working 4-5 hours a week. If gas prices were not an issue, I’d go out there every morning.
I love the smell of the air at first light. I get out before the sun is up, so I can pull weeds before the insects bite and the sun bakes my body, despite sunblock and a brimmed hat.
Weeding is an art. Sometimes the roots of the weed wrap around the cultivated plant. I try to work first and then harvest, but if I’m going to splatter dirt when an established weed burst out of the ground, then I’ll harvest first.
I love the smell and feel of the earth. I love harvesting the peas, broccoli, Swiss chard, and other vegetables I helped to plant. I think of the cold April morning I helped put spinach seeds in the ground every time I cut a leaf and every time I taste that spinach. The spinach has run its course, but I parboiled and froze some to enjoy this coming winter.
Beet greens, turnip greens, Swiss chard, mustard greens are in their prime. Lettuce and mesclun are bitter. True, you can quickly stir-fry strips of lettuce for a tasty change. But I prefer to eat the smaller, more tender leaves raw.
I tried an experiment and purchased a red pepper from the market. It was the only non-locavore item in my salad. I could taste the difference between the fresh-picked ingredients and the pepper that traveled here.
In addition to the satisfaction that comes from directly participating in producing the food I eat, it’s comforting to know that my hands are the only ones to touch these vegetables.
My buddy Diane sent me an email entitled, “God’s Pharmacy.” I don’t know where it originated, but thank you. Here are some excerpts:
A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye… and YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.
Onions look like the body’s cells. Today’s research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.
A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.
Bok Choy, Rhubarb, Celery and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don’t have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.
Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.
Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.
Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.