Week 9, Spring 2024
Hello dearest readers, welcome back to the farm journal!
The theme of this past Shabbat was idioms! The whole crew had fun dressing up as our favorite idioms including but not limited to: chicken or the egg, all eyes on me, get the show on the road, feeling under the weather, and feliz como una lombriz, meaning happy as a worm. Even our scapegoat challah took part in the occasion. For dinner Margalit and Sophie cooked up some incredible peanut stew, turmeric coconut rice, and cabbage slaw.
In the evening we counted the omer together. In the Jewish mystical practice of Kabbalah, the period of the omer is seen as a time to spiritually prepare for the revelation associated with Shavuot. In line with Kabbalah’s practices of embodying the Divine, it maps 10 important divine attributes, called sefirot, onto a diagram called the tree of life. This diagram can be superimposed over the shape of the human body so that each attribute corresponds to a body part or vital organ. In each of the weeks of the omer, practitioners of Kabbalah mark a progression through seven of the ten sefirot and explore how each attribute relates to the others. Each week corresponds to one of the sefirot and for each day of the week we think about how the other attributes relate to it. For example, last week’s attribute was gevurah, literally meaning “strength,” and encompassing the concepts of judgment and boundaries. Friday was the day of chesed, compassion, in gevurah. Interestingly, chesed and gevurah sit opposite each other on the tree of life, signifying how the attributes of judgment and compassion can sometimes be at odds with one another. Kabbalah teaches us that it is important to nurture both chesed and gevurah equally to maintain balance within ourselves. I loved hearing my peers’ thoughts on the mystical attributes of the week/day. Engaging with and hearing the perspectives of others is a great way to feel present and connected.
Shabbat day was a hot one. We gathered in the morning to recite the Shacharit service and to set some intentions for the day. Over the course of Shabbat we picnicked, explored the woods, read, napped, and generally relaxed and recharged. As usual, we signified the end of Shabbat with the Havdallah service and counted the omer together. On Sunday we were up to all kinds of fun activities like collecting dandelions, line dancing, playing with our little chicks, and singing in the silo (a personal favorite).
On Monday I took stock of our abundance of mushrooms: over 5 pounds to be exact! Other members of our crew were busy rototilling, getting our high tunnel in tip-top shape, and preparing our soil for more transplanting. In the afternoon I had some help continuing to inoculate logs with shiitake spawn. For dinner Eric prepared a gorgeous array of fillings to wrap our own spring rolls, including our very own greens from the greenhouse and mint!
Tuesday morning was off to an exciting start because it was finally the right time to transplant our tomato seedlings in the high tunnel beds (plastic covering for the structure coming so soon!). We started by preparing the soil with basalt rock fertilizer, which our peppers and eggplants will also get planted into. The basalt application is part of an experiment we’re conducting with support from SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education) to research the effect of the basalt rock fertilizer on carbon sequestration, pH balance, and total yields. This research fits into a larger context of the up and coming field of research in enhanced rock weathering, which includes spreading finely-ground rock to soils to accelerate the natural weathering process and to sequester carbon as a result. Innovative research in this realm has been part of our work at ZA since the beginning of our project, so it’s exciting to get to explore it in a new way! After the work day was over we held Weekly Weeds, giving us an opportunity to check in. It’s crazy to think that the spring season is already starting to come to a close.
On Wednesday morning Eric, Acacia, and I met to discuss the scale of our mushroom operations going forward. It’s exciting that we’re now in a position where we have the resources to see how much we can produce consistently at our highest capacity. I got started on soaking some straw before preparing lunch featuring our own mushrooms, foraged wild garlic and ramps, and our own radish and basil thinnings. In the afternoon I cleaned our grow tents and Margalit and Acacia prepared for our next Context Conversation. For dinner Sophie made us some awesome pasta and salad. The whole meal contained a whopping 5 different kinds of brassicas (plants in the cabbage and mustard family)! Truly a feat that only farmers would appreciate.
On Thursday we worked on propagating some of our elderberry shrubs. As opposed to sending out roots straight into the ground, the stem of the elderberry sends out roots that grow horizontally, called rhizomes. Groups of elderberry shrubs will pop up in a line along the rhizome. Even if part of the plant is separated from the rhizome, each piece has enough resources to grow a new plant. This makes rhizomatic plants optimal for propagation. In the afternoon Margalit and Acacia led us through our third Context Conversation, this one about Jewish agricultural practices and values. We looked at what our scriptures and commentaries had to say about seeds, trees, animals, textiles, mutual aid, gratitude, and many other salient themes. Although my Jewish upbringing and education taught me about many of our agricultural practices, it was difficult for me to see them as relevant to my everyday life as a Jewish person. I’m so grateful to have a chance to embody Judaism’s rich agricultural practices and history here at ZA.
Today, Friday, we’ve been working on a trellis in miracle garden, having a farm maintenance walk, filling in allium seedlings, checking on our shiitake logs, and getting ready for our first farmer’s market of the season. We’re so excited for Shabbat and can’t wait to fill you in again next week!
