There's no place like the PNW...

Yes, I was a little homesick.

Welcome to Leapfrog Farm!



With only 2/3 acre under production, you'd think there wouldn't be much to do ;) But between selling a wide array of organic and heirloom fruit, flowers, and veggies at the Bainbridge Island Farmer's Market (Saturdays 9-1, come visit!), the farm stand at the Kingston Ferry several times a month, and through a small CSA (farm subscription) program, there's plenty.



Somewhere in all that we do a lot of weeding and cultivating and sweating. (Or shivering- the early mornings are chilly!) It's a sun-up to sun-down intensive farming experience, and when I'm not trying to figure out how to get enough rest and food (good thing I like veggies!), we're getting to know each other.



Christine, mom and head farmer, really knows what she's doing, and her husband Andrzej (An-jay) has the market down to a science. In the mix are their two little boys, Alex (8) and Danya (5), pictured above w/ Andrzej; and Sara, from Portland: an accomplished musician, home gardener and landscaper, and, most importantly, my fellow intern.



Working with experts has definitely begun to refine my skills... and not just how to power-weed. 18 years of 'growing,' as they call it, has led them to develop systems for everything, from a complex but effective drip irrigation system to a particular method for loading the truck for market. Leapfrog produces nearly year-round, so I'm learning a lot about succession crops and how to encourage things to grow in not-exactly-ideal weather. Right now, though, we're just battling the dry heat like every other farmer at this time of year. Thank goodness for tomatoes and basil, mmm. Who needs meat, anyway?

A few of my favorite things...

A photo-tribute to the things that got me through the last month of my time in Tennessee...

As many of you already know, my experience on the farm in Tennessee ran its course a bit sooner than we all expected. (It was HOT) The three months I spent working to build a farm were some of the most challenging I've ever spent, but the knowledge I gained about working the land, starting a business, maintaining and building professional and personal relationships, and, of course, about myself, were worth all of the effort.
Chris gave me an incredible gift by getting me out of my life and on the farm; the experience has helped me to focus in on what I'd like do with my life: to grow my own (organic, sustainable) food, and eventually to provide this food and food growing knowledge to the people who really really need it at a price they can afford (as opposed to selling it to restaurants or at markets catering to the well-heeled). This will, in the immediate future anyway, take place in an urban setting. I was lucky to fall in with a group of people in Knoxville (you know who you are) that are working to develop feasible and affordable methods of urban farming for lower class communities and am excited to try them out on home turf.
In the meantime, I found a position on a tiny family farm in Poulsbo, WA that is known for producing insane amounts of organic produce on less than an acre in a sustainable, low impact fashion. Check the next post for details...