The average worker just got a little older at the farm this week, as we lost our CEGEP students – a trio of strapping young men, a tad too laid-back at times, but generally hardworking. They’ve left the farm behind, heeding the worldly call of higher education and self-edification, but seemingly satisfied with the experience of having earned their summer pay through sheer physical labour. Now the rest of us are left to work faster, and harder, adjusting to fill the gap left by their departure…
This week corn is making a comeback, and our big red field tomatoes are beginning to blush. We can’t promise one in every basket quite yet, but we’ll be making a first pass this week – some of you may get lucky! We spent most of Saturday afternoon in one of our carrot beds, alternating pitchfork (to loosen the carrots to be pulled) and clipper (to top the carrot greens as they were pulled) in rhythmic, almost endless, repetition. The bed was a long one, but the carrots are beautiful, and delicious to boot. We cut the carrot greens because they take up a lot of space – and we’ve found that most people just throw them out…Our other vegetables this week are here.