Earth Dance, Week #11

In my last post, I mentioned that this would be Bushra's last week with us and my last day working with her today.  Instead, I got the news that Taylor is the one who had to leave us, and Bushra will be staying on for another month!  While we're all sad that Taylor won't be continuing on with us, we're all very happy that we're going to get to see Bushra's smiling face hanging around for a while.  We love her!  (And, Taylor, if you're reading this, we miss you!)

We'll be packing member boxes later today, but first we need to continue harvesting.  Because rain was expected today, the interns did a lot of harvesting yesterday, storing what they gathered in the cooler.  Here are Stephanie and Bushra cutting and bundlng cilantro.

Riley, Mark and Matt harvesting mizuna greens.  In addition to mizuna and cilantro, we also cut bundles of dill and harvested tatsoi greens.

Here is Norm, giving the mizuna its first wash.

Here, Stephanie gives the mizuna its second wash, while picking out grass, weeds, etc.

Matt joins Norm at the washing station.

Mizuna.

Tatsoi.

After the greens have been washed and spun dry, Bushra and Matt pack them into plastic bags, readying them for the member boxes.

Because we were still expecting rain this afternoon, the morning went long, and we took lunch at 1:00.  I ate my lunch and then walked up to see the 'chicks.'  Okay...they are definitely looking like full-grown chickens now, so I think I will make this my last weekly photo of their growth.  It's hard to believe they've come this far just since April, when they were just little yellow fluffballs!

After lunch, we harvested radishes.  Each of us picked 115 radishes to make the number we needed for the member boxes.  (Matt and Riley got to their number faster than the rest of us...and being the sweethearts that they are, they helped the rest of us get to our quotas.)

Mark found this beautiful little frog hopping among the radishes while we were picking.  Don't worry...he let him go!

Beautiful Bushra.

Adorable Adriana and Sensational Stephanie.

Norm washing radishes. 

Riley and I took our turn washing radishes.  I loved this job, because by now, it was in the 80s and humid.  Swishing the radishes around in the cold water was quite refreshing.  Bushra and Matt are going to be jealous when they read this...because at this time, they had gone up to harvest kale, and I know that was a hot job!

So, it's time to pack member boxes, and today, Mark is our foreman.  His packing crew consisted of Riley and me with help from Matt and Bushra after they had finished harvesting the kale.  This was my first time packing, and I loved this job. 

Norm has this operation down to a science.  The area is cool, clean and very efficiently laid out.  Depending on how many people are packing and how many items are going into the boxes, we can pack 150 boxes, close them up and transport them to the cooler in 2 to 3 hours.

Riley was 'cooler mule' today.  These strawberries were harvested yesterday and stored in the cooler overnight.  Here, Riley transports the strawberries from the cooler to the packing station.

Bushra and Matt have returned from the kale field and get set to wash their kale harvest.

Then, they join Riley, Mark and me to finish packing, closing and transporting the member boxes to the cooler, where they will await delivery tomorrow.  We were done by 5:30 today...what an efficient crew we've got!  (Hey, it never did rain today...it was actually a gorgeous day.)

Since I'm not only a worker, but a member, too, I get to enjoy the 'fruits' of my labor.  Pictured here are the contents of my Earth Dance Farm CSA member box from week #2.

Dill, Kale, Tatsoi, Mizuna, Cilantro, Spinach, Bok Choi, Radishes, Strawberries, Garlic Scapes and Romaine Lettuce.