August 2, 2017

This week Roshan, a CSA member and farm neighbour volunteered on the farm. It was great to have another pair of hands and we were very productive as we chatted away. We started off planting peas which had been germinated in jiffy pots and then moved on to the globe artichokes. There are four 50 metre beds of these leftover from last year’s crop and planted by the previous farmers. I am hoping that they will produce a delicious crop again this year, although if they do too well there will be far too many for the boxes and I will have to find another outlet for the extras. Roshan and I gave them a good weed and in the next week I will fertilise them and hook up some irrigation. They should begin to produce by the end of September so get your artichoke recipes ready.

Although Roshan has volunteered on farms before, it is by no means a prerequisite. You may have gardened at home and want to take your veg growing knowledge to the next level; you may want a career change into farming as I did; you may like being outdoors or you may just want to contribute - as Roshan wisely said “I want to be a producer not just a consumer”. What goes around comes around as they say.

So, if you get the volunteer bug let me know. You may like to come each fortnight, each month, only once or every week. You may like weeding, planting, harvesting, packing boxes or spreading compost. You may have special skills and hidden talents. You may learn something about yourself. You may never volunteer and that’s ok too. Just by reading this and learning about where your food comes from, or joining the CSA you are making a difference already.

Yours in veg,

Alice