Head of lettuce

Here he is, our fearless leader. He must conceal his identity because if word got out, people would be showing up all the time to admire the man behind the produce. We simply have too much work to do to spend time warding off mobs of adoring fans.

Morning brought a harvest of over 400 heads of lettuce, plus leeks, scallions, parsley, sugar snap peas, chard, and kale. This produce goes to a CSA ("community-supported agriculture") share for the local rural community in which the farm is located. The program provides fresh, local, organic produce to families that otherwise would have great difficulty both accessing and affording it.

My afternoon was dedicated to a field of 5 lettuce and 2 broccoli beds that we all transplanted my 2nd day here. First we cultivated the beds, which is to say, weeded them with hoes. (As the boss says, gardeners weed, farmers cultivate.) Then we assembled drip irrigation for the field. Time-consuming for sure, but definitely faster with several hands. Building an irrigation system on my own last week really deepened my understanding of the process; now I feel comfortable explaining it to the others who haven't done it yet. My sense of satisfaction has only grown, now that I can take my knowledge and experience and help others achieve a similar understanding. The fulfillment of this work comes in many forms.