Si Se Puede!!

I saw a film today that I would urge anyone who eats to go see. Oh, I guess that’s you. It’s at the dollar theaters right now, but if you miss it there, I imagine you’ll probably be able to catch it as a rental soon. It should be up for some nice awards this year I would hope, too. 

Cesar Chavez is a film about something that affects all of us, every single time we lift a piece of food to our lips. One of the lines in the film that stuck with me throughout, and as I left the theater and drove home, was about how unjust it was that a man who picks food for a living, can’t afford to feed his family. And in most cases, his entire family was picking food for a living. Something is very wrong with that picture. And I see the same thing with some small farmers I know. Most have off-farm jobs to keep the lights on, the insurance paid, and fuel in their vehicles so they can make it to market. And I think we all play a role in this problem. 

Profits were grossly high for the companies depicted in this film; yet wages for farm-workers were $2/day, and the owners considered that a fair day's pay for those who worked for them - making those profits possible. No restroom facilities in the fields. Workers were charged for water to drink out in the hot, summer fields. The workers stayed in over-crowded living-quarters for weeks on end. Disrespected and mistreated beyond how most people could imagine treating the family pet, yet farm workers knew best, and what they did best, was how to work the land. So this was their chosen occupation. It was their heritage, their calling to work the land, as it is for many small farmers and farm-workers today.

 

Yet until someone had the courage and conviction to stand up and say "enough is enough" – the people who grew and harvested the majority of our food weren't even allowed, by law, the right of collective bargaining; to even gather in unison to ask for basic human rights. They had no voice. If there's one thing that really upsets me, it is injustice, especially for those too afraid to speak up. Often there are some real serious reasons why they don't speak up.  

I’m not sure how far we've really come on these issues even though they finally passed a law giving farm workers some rights to unionize, etc. Based on other films about current food system foibles, like Fast Food Nation which depicts how the fast food industry has far-reaching, dark effects on our country as a whole, and those who choose to work there in its grip, I’d say we have a long way yet to go. And keeping an eye on the UFW web site and reading the stories of ongoing mistreatment of farm-workers, it seems the problems are much like they always were, except the money at stake is bigger than ever for big industry trying to keep control – and profits - and yet fewer people are in touch with what's going on behind the scenes of those fifty cent avocados.

What is the value of a human life? How can people look the other way to make a profit; to save a buck at the grocery store?  Honestly, I have to think some of it is a disconnect with what is really happening. It’s not something you hear on the news, see in the movies on a regular basis, or read a lot about on Facebook. But it is something that deserves our attention. A lot of our attention.

One of the most moving scenes in this film, aside from the news footage of the massive marches and reenactment of the brutality of picketers, was the scene of the crop dusters in the background spraying the fields AS the workers were out in them, picking grapes. It reminded me a little of how we’re being sprayed in our own backyards, on the streets of our cities, in our gardens and farms – for the faux fix of mosquito abatement, and very few really seem to care – or are aware - of the dangers and potential long-lasting effects.

Without these people growing and picking our food, what would be on the store shelves and dinner tables? If they continue to tell us pesticides are not harmful to us, and enough people believe it and consume them without thinking, who will be left to eat what food makes it to the shelves anyway? What are we doing to ourselves, to our Nation, to our children, to our planet?

 

Cheaper food is not the answer to starvation. (That's a food distribution problem, and a whole other blog topic for another day.) Cheap food means lower wages, poorer and unsafe working conditions, unsafe chemicals slipping through legislation being ingested by you and me, and less justice for the people all along the food supply chain, among other things.

Organic farming, to me and to many others, has always stood for more than just what we do and don’t use on the soil and plants to help them grow. It’s a philosophy about sustainability and respect. Respect not only for nature, the food we grow, the animals we raise, but also for the people – those who help in the gardens, at markets, as well as those who eat the food. I’m not saying there aren't good, big conventional business owners. Many successful big business owners start out as small business owners and know where they came from and don’t forget how it feels to struggle, treat their employees well and have something in mind beyond the bottom line on the financials. But it seems like sometimes that bottom line is all that matters – at the expense of those who make that figure possible. And often times, it’s in the larger operations where priorities get fuzzy, although there are small business owners who are just as bottom line oriented as the mega-giants. When you come down to it, what we do in life is a lot about character and how we handle our deep seated fears.

I suggest we all need to re-prioritize our needs and wants and work on how we act out on those fears at the expense of the well being of others. Most big businesses aren't about to take a cut in profits if they can help it by suddenly giving workers a wage increase, shortening their days, letting up on their workload or taking a pay cut themselves. The 5 year strike and nationwide boycott, (and eventually, support by parts of Europe), of table grapes is what finally broke the backs of the grape growers and forced them to negotiate with Chavez and the workers.  

Don't we all need to do our part to help assure that the farm workers for the big growers, as well as the small farmer competing with the big growers, receive as fair a wage as possible? How, you ask, can we do this without going broke ourselves?  By buying whole, in season foods from the farmer first and by planning our meals with items in season as much as possible, instead of buying expensive, imported out of season products. How about growing some of our own food in a garden with your family or neighbors? Maybe a few less apps for your phone; turning the heat down or the AC up – or off. Ride your bike, or walk, more, to save on energy costs. (And help the environment at the same time.) Ask your kids’ schools to spend more on food for your kids’ meals and plant school gardens, so they can actually have clear minds to learn with, or play with that expensive sports equipment they spend tons of money on, instead of nutrition and real food which really power their minds. Where are our priorities? I submit to you, they are not where they should be in many cases. There are lots of ways we can stretch our food dollars by eliminating or budgeting better on other things. Doing some or all of these things, we can better afford to pay fair prices on food, and get better food for our dollars spent. 

How much do you think the farmer makes on a dozen eggs, if you are only paying $2?  How much do you think the farm worker is making when you pay .99 for a pound of tomatoes?  How would you feel if your end product was deeply discounted – at the expense of your salary? It may already be. We’re all in this together, really.

I believe education and awareness are key to solving some of these issues. Spending more on fresh food, and less on things we can do without, would seem to help, too. Setting an example at home by supporting these principals of fair wages and working conditions through what you bring home from the store, is a good way to sustain a solution.  

I don’t have all of the answers to fix everything. I wish I did. I sure wish someone did. It seems it will take a long time to slowly untangle the many messes we’ve created. But surely, with a little forethought, we can all do a little something to make it a little better for everyone. A small ripple in the water can have far reaching effects in many things that matter. Whether it's how to better handle mosquito abatement, providing fair wages and safe working conditions for workers, or keeping the peace in the world, it all starts with a small step, and then another, and another. 

Si Se Puede!

Marie Eat Your Food - Naturally!

Pondering About my Life of Urban Farming

Garden Song from jltcotw on GodTube.

A Tribute to Our Early CSA Days, that has Become Our Anthem

I was talking with a retired farmer friend the other day while we were discussing grasshoppers, unseasonally cold, icy weather and why in the heck we do what we do for a living; when we know there are countless other ways to make a buck or two. Many times as I wander up and down damaged rows of half eaten something or anothers, I have this thought to myself, too. But, most of us, push on and replant, replant and replant again. If it was easy, everyone would do it - was her late husband's saying. He said if he ran out of money to farm, he'd borrow some and farm some more. He never really retired before he left his field for the last time. He was doing what he loved every day and he left his part of the world, and through his wisdom, many others, a much better place. That's something I hope to be able to say, too.

Being able to grow food is a pretty awesome feeling. Being able to grow enough food to feed 30+ families and sell some at my neighborhood market day and then also to local chefs and still sometimes have more to give away to a food bank or "hungry family" basket; is enough to make me stop and pinch myself. Do I really do that? Well, most of the time. There have been some seasons where if it hadn't been for some of my generous fellow colleagues having bumper crops of something, we'd not have had nearly the selection, or the abundance, we did sometimes. You can't control nature and you can't guarantee anything in this business.

Introducing city children (Like I was) to one of our hens

But it is still pretty amazing to me that I get to do this for a living. Every day. I mean I'm sure my bank account would relish at the thought of me taking a second job. But I started out working full time and farming at night and on weekends, and I am here to tell you, after farming more or less alone full time now for the past 5 years, I have no idea how I did that! I can't imagine having to do all that I need to get done on top of working even a part time job right now. I'd be wearing pj's to harvest in before dawn and eating pbj sandwiches for all 3 meals instead of just grabbing one for lunch because I'd not have time to make anything else. I do get to sneak out to various food related events and do so among those I consider friends, but technically, that is working, too! It's just nice that I happen to love the folks in my local food community so much that I get to enjoy the company I keep while "working".

Houses bordering the main gardens of our urban farm

This farm is smack dab in the middle of a small but growing city with cars and trucks whizzing by the front of the nondescript house that sits on the 14 acres hidden behind it. There is an interstate about a block away, but some days you'd swear it was running through the pasture you worked in. I try to convince myself that the hum is really a distant waterfall - a cool trick someone pretty creatively optimistic taught me - and another friend has me hanging little wind chimes randomly among the trees to bring little twinkling fairy-like sounds to the woods. And there are houses and apartments dotting the borders on all sides as well as two dead end streets, one on each side of the farm. This is where neighborhood kids cut across the pasture to save a few blocks of walking, or occasionally, driving their golf carts or ATV's, all the way around the farm to get to their favorite corner convenience store. Apparently, they go to buy sodas, junk food and lottery tickets, judging from the litter found in their path. (I'm hoping the plastic bag ban catches fire in town here, too. Although, at least I have something to put the litter into as I walk along and find it.)

I hope soon to be able to reach out and show kids like them that they can stop and pick some fresh apples from an abundant food forest instead of going all the way to the corner stores for "food-like substances". Making healthy, fresh food affordable and available to the community where I live is important to me. And I really feel pretty fortunate to have the opportunity to share my work in so many cool ways. I'm humbled, yet sometimes taken aback, when people walk up to me and ask, "aren't you Eden's?" when I'm perusing the aisle of a grocery store or some documentary screening. Now it's true that I grew up in a town where a lot of people knew me. But I was the 3rd generation of my family to live about a block off of the main street where everyone shopped. My grandfather had been the barber and my uncle the local plumber and a very charismatic citizen well known throughout town and at 15 years old, I started working on the main retail strip initially at the dry cleaners and then in the only camera store in town - before the days of digital - where lots of folks in town had their holiday, birthday and everyday pictures developed. My family was all pretty well recognized in that town, but I never imagined being recognized in a metroplex of millions, 900 miles away from where I grew up. Like I said, it's humbling and a bit disconcerting all at the same time. I guess it's a good thing people like what I do, or it may not be so nice to be known around town. LOL


But all of these city components surround the most interesting and often times fascinating place I have ever had the privilege of working at - much less living on. It doesn't look like much sometimes from the street, unless I've had time to weed the flower bed and plant the cottage garden for the season. But once you step behind the gate, it seems to magically open up and welcome you in.

Next time we visit, I'll take you on a bit of a virtual tour of this little slice of paradise.

Till then -
 Eat Your Food - Naturally!

Marie

No Matter How Long the Winter, Spring is Sure to Follow

“Your body is away from me,
but there is a window open
from my heart to yours.”
― Rumi

What a whirlwind of events, some life-changing, that can unfold in a year’s time. I have started to catch up on some fellow farmers' blogs and it seems I'm in good company with what the past year laid at some of our feet. It seems 2013 was a year of change and challenges - both welcome and some not so welcome - for many in the small farming world.

This weekend last year I was attending our state’s annual organic farmer’s conference with the love of my life and playin in the dirt partner. We listened to various speakers, volunteered, visited with colleagues and enjoyed some R&R. It’s great (and I think considered wise), to have someone you can count on in a united and strong partnership when running a homestead, farming or ranching on a small, organic scale. I’m not saying it can’t be done alone, I've done it on and off for several years mostly on my own.  But I must say for one thing, it sure is a lot more fun to have 4 hands in the dirt instead of just two, and makes the brainstorming and often, motivation to get things done, stronger. 

I share this rare highly personal post as a kind of PSA for those considering venturing out to start farming on their own. A solo career is one thing, but a bit of a challenging life can be in store if you do this on your own without a close knit circle of good, supportive friends on this special journey. They can be a lifeline, and have been one for me, especially if you’re not close to a town, but even if you are, I have found farming can be pretty isolating even if you have CSA, markets and such. They say many farmers are not always a people person, but even the most introverted often have someone besides the family cow or dog to commune with. I know the neighbors around here must think I'm a lunatic watching me talk, seemingly to myself, in the gardens. Though, I've always enjoyed a good chat with Nature.  ;)

Often you find others balancing out strengths and weaknesses, accounting, marketing, building stuff, sharing surplus seeds, seedlings, produce, trading unique experiences, expertise and equipment, favors at each others places and when there is a special someone, it's always nice for warming fingers and each others hearts along the way. It can really enhance your already full and pleasant life in a beautiful way to have a companion that understands the sorts of things that come with this lifestyle and make one even happier knowing you have someone by your side to celebrate the victories with, and share in the challenges that we know come in life. Challenges that come much more so often it seems, in this life where Nature provides plenty of her own.  At least, that was my experience.

To venture out in the world of any small business on one’s own is admirable, and as a woman I've been hailed as everything from heroine to crazy as I first opened an organic garden center and then started a farm from the ground up. But I will honestly say, it was never my dream or intention to work crops and critters all day and come home to a table set for one. Come to think of it, it was never my intention to do much of what I do today. Funny how some things seem to just unfold and develop into more than we planned. I try to make the most and best of what life offers.

As a person who often sees entrepreneurial opportunities, this investment property became a farm and this happy little native plant landscape designer/installer and garden center owner became a farmer out of the desire to see southeast Dallas County provided with a reliable, affordable and accessible source of clean, fresh produce. Since I already owned the land, that food source could also come with the experience of a small, local farm where the area's residents could see and learn how to grow their own food, too - and all just steps from their front door. It just made lots of sense to share this place with others. 

“It takes a minute to have a crush on someone, an hour to like someone, and a day to love someone... but it takes a lifetime to forget someone.”
― Kahlil Gibran

I hadn't considered how difficult it might be if I suddenly found myself waist deep in this endeavor alone. I’d been fortunate to have the support of family and a few friends when I "retired" from corporate America and broke out on my own; not to mention equally as excited CSA workshare members and volunteers once I broke ground on the farm itself. Even with that, it was a struggle at times in between volunteers showing up and such, for sure. But things and plans were coming together finally and my ideas for turning this former horse boarding facility into an educational ground for new aspiring farmers needing land and experienced help, were only enhanced when someone came along and shared in my passion for playing in the dirt and offering to help. It was a pretty incredible time.

Offering a smiling face and encouraging, loving words to your partner after they lose most of a crop of melons to grasshoppers or having a tender hand to wipe your own tears after losing livestock to a freak accident, can go a long way to soften the blows of the discouragement and stress that can come with homesteading and farming's inherent risks. Like a shelter from the storm. You know you're not alone, even if they're not there all the time.

Putting up the yurt

Last summer my farm was chosen by a wonderful young newlywed couple who were long time CSA members and had become good friends of mine, to set up a temporary educational exhibit of an off-grid, sustainable homestead area to enhance existing farm tours. This also meant I’d have some relief from the daily animal chores that can sometimes dampen plans or at least, cause dawn and dusk to become like curfews to feed and stave off predators. I was really looking forward to the possibilities and production on both my beloved's farm and mine as we’d be able to enjoy and take advantage of this new-found flexibility. Getting up with the cool of the day, without missing an hour or two to chores and commuting the 17 miles between us, meant more accomplished before the daily heat set in.

You see, in North Texas, summertime gardening slows down as the heat bears down, and this is when building projects, repairs, hot sticky afternoons giving way to siestas and cheap movies and then working again after dinner till dark, become part of the agenda. Having a partner to share these days with makes lighter of the work and the idle time.

But, instead of the super productive summer together that I had envisioned, suddenly I found myself on my own, moving a bit slower than my usual spunky self. In the face of constant stress and challenges by the county for toxic assaults of mosquito abatement, the pending new farm safety regulations that threatened to really put a damper on things and the farm bill crazies, (which they still haven’t figured out), nursing a painful, and now chronic, case of tendinitis in my elbow, the piles of paperwork I normally catch up on in the summer, (all the while keeping the farm's summer crops on a lifeline and staving off grasshoppers at the remote property I was using while laying some of my land fallow for the fall); without the source of someone who often deflected some of the assaults from the outside world with that wonderful sense of humor and other distractions, it was a long "off" season, to say the least. But, you just do your best. 

Eden's was voted BEST CSA in a tie with Comeback Creek

The summer was not without it’s victories though, as I turned the frustration of my loss into the tenacity of a bulldog and after a fight with the bank to refi the farm, I secured a much more favorable interest rate and secured the appropriate and legal agricultural property tax rate for the farm – finally, that only took 2 years too many due to red tape and lack of consistent legislation. I managed to lower my monthly liabilities dramatically, a huge load off of my shoulders, and that of committed CSA members who stood by me through the ordeal.

I also managed to plow through income taxes and the application from the USDA so the farm can accept peoples' Lone Star SNAP cards this spring at Market Day – making another step closer, the reality of one of my original missions of affordable, clean food for some of my less fortunate neighbors – as soon as the paperwork comes back that is…. You know how fast the government can move.

But the fall brought much colder and wetter than normal conditions, putting a hamper on what is normally one of our best times to farm and a sure-fire mood elevator coming out of a hot, dry summer season that can depress even the happiest person; therefore keeping my mood still ever-challenged. With the many below freezing streaks of days that bombarded us so early on, grasshoppers were finally starting to die off, but so too, were tender seedlings that should have become mid winter season sales for restaurants and special seasonal markets and my CSA family’s pick your own weeks.

WWOOFer Preston and CSA Member Chris Helped Me Build a New Animal Shelter

With a fixed water pipe in my shop/interns' quarters and the help of some friendly media coverage, my farm intern program got a shot in the arm. (I'm still searching for the right couple!) I re-registered with WWOOF USA, both bringing a flurry of young, eager helpers applying to the farm for some experience and training. It was nice to have fresh voices and faces to break the monotony of the off-season in late fall.

I am your wildflower, Hold me close to your breast, Nourish and plant my seed Make a tea of me and heal yourself, Or throw me into a fire to keep you warm, I'm yours To do with as you please. Saleem

Cold, wet and tired of the crazy fall and winter weather this year brought, I was often reminded of less than pleasant winter memories of my younger days up north in the frozen tundra known as Chicago - from which I fled over 20 years ago to escape the long, harsh winters. At this point, spring with all of her promise of new beginnings, fresh starts and restored life to things seemingly dead – could come none too soon to this farm girl's now suddenly emptier world. It’s always been my favorite season anyway – this year, I hoped it would hold special rewards. Year of the horse - anything goes.

Recently I attended a one day lecture by farmer and acclaimed author/speaker Joel Salatin. I’d heard him speak about 3 other times over the years, but I was invited especially to attend and so I thought I would accept the invite and go. I might hear something new this time anyway – his lectures are very thorough, yet fast paced. He went over the history of his farm and how it came to be with wonderful pictures and stories of how he directs the ballet of farm animals in the pasture with nature’s approval and her many generations of examples to follow. He spoke highly and strongly of family and the importance of choosing a partner who can live frugally and flexibly to a young man starting out asking for advice; a thought I'm echoing here. It’s not often two people meet with such similar interests and the patience and understanding of what can at times be a demanding way of making a living. At least, it’s not been my experience and I’ve been at this 11 years!

"In friendship or in love, the two side by side raise hands together to find what one cannot reach alone.”
― Kahlil Gibran

Yet through his words and testimonies I was reminded of how very fortunate I am to be hand in hand daily with perhaps the greatest partner of all – Nature – in all of its many forms. Male, female, juvenile and mature all at once. Plants, animals, insects, weather, ponds, compost piles, seeds and weeds – nature is multi-functional. Quite the humorist, very understanding and always forgiving of our missteps and shortcomings. While not a day goes by that I don't think fondly of the memories made and hope for restoring that shared life; Nature may very well be my new best friend and the best role model for life I could have. Hope springs eternal, or so they say....

Marie

Eat Your Food - Naturally!