Tree and Leaf

Now, a new phase in my life has begun as Daniel and I begin a journey together at Tree and Leaf (http://www.treeandleafcsa.com/) an organic vegetable farm in Loudoun County Virginia.  I moved into the barn there where the workers lived last Monday, and started work 7AM Tuesday morning.  Daniel has been living and working there for about a month now.  We are part of a team of 5 workers, all of whom seem to be really wonderful people.  We live alongside Wheatland Vegetable farm, run by Chip and Susan Plank, and their team of three workers, a group of friends who want to start a farm of their own in Colorado next year.  

Our living situation is an adventurous one.  We all live in a the storage rooms of a barn shared between Wheatland and Tree and Leaf.  Next to the barn is an outhouse, and just down from it is the bath house where running water enables showers and teeth brushing.  The kitchen is a separate building by one of the lakes, made more of screen than lumber.  It has electricity, stoves, sinks, refrigerators, sometimes wireless Internet, shelves full of pots and pans and dishes, couches and tables.  It's the social center of the farm worker community, where we all congregate after the long days of work to read, talk, eat, and have a beer.  

The work so far has been good, but I'm definitely feeling sore.  I've spent my hours planting tomatoes, mulching, trimming crate after crate of tuberose bulbs, harvesting snow peas,  picking basil, and a lot of washing and processing.

So far so good.  

Tractorina

So, today I learned how to drive the tractor. It was pretty easy, but it's something I'm proud to say now is part of my life. Basically, I had to move a whole lot of compost and dirt around, having something to do with planting peonies. Below are some peonies just coming up. They kind of look like strange mushrooms to me.



The first thing I do every day is pick tulips which is now one of my favorite tasks here on the farm . There are a bunch growing in the greenhouse, and they bloom at different times so as soon as one variety starts to wane, another further down the row starts to reveal itself to you. Tulips are the most popular seller at farmer's markets right now.


I'm going to start going into DC to the Penn Quarter Market on Thursday afternoon. The market runs from 3 until 7 PM. I'll be going for the first few weeks with some experienced people so that I can learn the ropes, but after that I'll be on my own and in charge of my very own farmer's market.


In addition to flowers, there are a few animals here on the farm: a dog named Lady, two cats named Disco and Max, and a flock of chickens, 8 hens and one rooster. I think Lady is a Bodhisattva and Disco likes to get in the way of work by sitting in your lap or on your plants and making you pet him which is fine by me.