Meet this week’s vegetables:
Next week (Halloween!) is the last day of the CSA main season. For many CSAs in Oregon, it is the last week, period. This is the time of year when farmers pull out plants from dead beds, close up shop, put another log on the fire, and rest. A small part of us is definitely envious of those taking their vacation soon here, but mostly we are excited to continue providing vegetables late into fall this year. We may be winding down, but if so, slowly.
And if things are winding down at one farm, they certainly are not at the new land. Turning a bare parcel into a farm is keeping us plenty busy these days. We’ve been digging a lot lately—putting in a septic system and all. We’ve also been meeting more of our neighbors, most of whom have been very welcoming. But we’ve had a few encounters that made us shiver with slight anxiety. This week, in fact, we had a brief but intense discussion with a fellow that left us wondering whether we’d been threatened. As usual, the basis of the conversation was predictable: water and organic certification. The latter makes us suspect and the former makes for tension anywhere people farm.
Of course, adding fuel to the existing fires is the fact that we are undoubtedly ‘newcomers’—to the area and to farming. More and more reason for suspicion. Hopefully we will quickly become less mysterious and be revealed for the harmless beings we truly are. But until then we find ourselves at moments with a sick feeling in our stomachs. We’re investing ourselves fully in this endeavor, so any slight shake on our solidity resounds for days.
We’re trying to surround ourselves with ‘happy thoughts’ and you are the primary ones. Once again, when we feel less than confident with one aspect of our plans, all we have to do is remember the support we’ve received from our community this year. It is a wonderfully uplifting feeling. We know that we are attempting something difficult, and that we may in fact have to fight at many steps of the way for validity and security, but we also know that our farm does have a place here in this community.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. We hope that you all have wonderful pumpkin carving adventures this week. And we will see you next week, for Halloween. Until then, enjoy the vegetables!
Your farmers,
Katie & Casey Kulla
Oakhill Organics
