state of the farm

the farm we rented this week has been a highly successful vegetable operation for the last fifteen years--well known by the name backyard harvest.  boo, the landowner, and farmer in mention, was the first grower in town to plant the seeds towards developing what is today a bustling farmer’s market scene in athens. 

for family reasons, backyard harvest was abandoned just after the climax of this past summer.  all the crops, on the entire farm, were left in place, grown to maturity, and died where they stood.  nothing was cleared.  no plants were pulled.  no cover crops were sown to protect the earth from the winter’s cold breath.

weeds grew to maturity, spewing their seeds across our canvas, and choking the top layer of our soil into a dense weedy web.  today began the healing process.  today was a new beginning for what was once backyard harvest.

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la chakra eco village, twenty minutes outside san juan, puerto rico

last week on a trip to visit her family in puerto rico, we had the awesome opportunity to visit a farm managed by her cousin alberto.  the farm was developed as an eco village—a small scale, self supported, sustainable living environment for a small group of people.  with the exception of one existing structure, everything on the property--from the conference room where they screen documentaries and held events for the community, to their ovens, and their tools—was handmade using only their natural surroundings (earth, wood, and plants).  after several years of hard labor and the intense emotional strain of developing a cooperative living environment with a diverse group of people, alberto toured us around his farm for what will be the very last time.  after all the hard work, the farm’s landowner is looking to sell the property, and they can no longer afford to lease the land.

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