Jun 2, 20223 min read

Farming Made Easy? {Week 1 CSA}

Peak season has officially arrived with the risk of frosts diminishing by the day. We're not (ever) entirely out of the woods, but the plants are as optimistic as we are, reaching fast and high towards the big blue.

The start of the CSA always marks the beginning of peak season for us and has historically brought a mix of excitement and angst, treated with constant farming movements and deep breaths. It's of our own making, though. Pre-selling harvests to over 75 households on an acre and a half of high desert land will do that!

But this year, some sort of milestone has been achieved. Zach and I were reflecting on how this season already feels much different than previous ones, as though we've passed a vague threshold and, despite still being novices in so many areas, there's a more noticeable sense of ease as we head into the most demanding months of our year. While we've improved as farmers and gotten better at gauging and withstanding the inevitable failures, this is the first season we've made a concerted effort to simplify farm activities for the sake of a better overall experience. It feels like a vista point that we've been hiking towards for a long time — and it feels good.

It probably comes as no surprise that farming has a very high dropout rate. We see this even among our uber-eager farm interns who are absolutely certain about their passion for growing food. Farming is hard anywhere and it's especially true here with the generous servings of unpredictable weather patterns threatening crops and infrastructure, and hard physical work amid seasons of snow, heat, and smoke. The high desert is a landscape of intensity, which accounts for the relatively small variety of plants that naturally inhabit it.

To sustain anything up here, the wise follow those plants closely: Establish deep and stable roots before spreading out, conserving and reintegrating all resources. Contract what is unnecessary and become calloused to the wind. And no matter what, always stay pointed towards the sun. Indeed, if Zach wasn't born with such an unreasonable amount of optimism, Prema Farm likely would not exist.

Over the coming weeks, we'll be giving you a personal tour through the nuances of small scale organic farming, soil reparations, food system politics affecting us all, and the inevitable farmer musings that arise from being alone with a harvest bucket, the wide-open foothills, and 400,000 plants to pluck. Many of you have been with us for a while. You'll hear some of the same points, which I can't help but repeat so everyone knows them by heart. Maybe this season you'll notice some improvements in our farming methods, our box compilations, or possibly even my grammar. ;)

All of you will regularly receive our gratitude. Our CSA members hold a special place on our farm. It's the adventurous foodies who we prefer to mingle with. The folks who think about how their choices impact the land and everything on it. Thank you for being here with us.

Zach planting transplants with our handy Paperpot Transplanter (a very useful tool for hand scale farms, made in Japan). We prefer transplanting most crops (versus seeding directly into the bed) for soil protection, natural weed suppression, and more efficient crop planning. This tool alone saves us about 40 labor hours of work each week!