Marina, a graduate student from the University of Washington came to this farm with background in farming and landscape design. She blew us away with her knowledge, humor, and empathy for the land and people. This is her last week with us and we will miss her so!

At base, the essential tasks on a farm fall into one of six categories: seeding, weeding, tending, harvesting, washing, and selling. The requirements within each category differ from plant to plant – from the appropriate time and temperature to start a seed, to the most strategic stage to weed (and how); from the desired quantity of water, pruning, and feeding (or fertilizing), to the appropriate time to harvest; from the desire of a plant to be immediately washed, or not at all, or cured for months before eating, and of course, to the price and outlet for each crop.

A farmer is the keeper of all this knowledge. A farmer is, ultimately, a coordinator – balancing time, efficiency, weather, and a full-crew of people. The farm season is a diligently choreographed sequence that begins six months before it starts. Over the course of this season, my third spent working farms, I’ve had the pleasure of seeing the expertise with which Sarahlee and Natalie juggle the competing priorities of the farm, and push all of our crops through the stages from seeding to selling with so much grace.

It is well-known that the work of farmers and farm laborers in the U.S. is undervalued, but what consistently baffles me is the degree to which the knowledge of the farmer is underseen and underappreciated. The level of skill and amount of knowledge necessary to successfully guide a  crop through the stages – navigating also the increasingly turbulent variables of climate and fire – is nothing short of a miracle, every single season. I’m grateful to be a part of this particular crew, of good people from a variety of backgrounds, all drawn to this beautiful farm, garden, and ranch that is Rainshadow Organics. Thank you all for an amazing summer!

~ Marina