Planting Trees

I took a walk across the creek this morning, to the forest that we planted in 2004, our fifth autumn on the farm. Many of the trees have grown to over an inch in diameter, and some reach above fifteen feet in the air. The floor of this immature forest crinkled with last year's leaves as I threaded my way through what amounts to almost a thicket of trees. Brushing the dried leaves aside, I could see the telltale castings of the earthworms, tiny bugs scrambling out of the light, the patient growth of tiny stars of moss.

Farming is a slow and patient business. As with most things we undertake in this world, the yield of the day's work is far more than just a checked-off to do list, just like the yield of a year's work is more than the checking account balance in December 1, more than a cooler full of carrots. The yield comes in the sound of birds nesting in trees six years down the road; the slow building of carbon in the soil; the discovery of two earthworms in a spade of soil on the east ridge, where I've never found earthworms before. It comes in new farmers telling me that they are succeeding because of something I said in a class years ago; a CSA member's comment that their kids are eating more vegetables than ever before; the light in a visiting child's eyes as carrots are pulled from the soil.

When you buy a CSA share, you make a commitment to a farm and to a community, as well as to your family. With fresh vegetables in the refrigerator, and recipes and information to help you use them, you are well on your way to making positive changes for your health and the health of your family. If you are part of the Rock Spring Farm CSA, thank you for joining us. If you haven’t signed up, we hope you’ll consider doing so.