I’m writing from the Antioch College Farm. I have spent all spring tending to our beloved kale–and more! I have immersed myself in the growing experience here at Antioch, digging around in beds of chard, rows galore of potatoes, and every bed in between.
My days have begun at eight am to tend to the chickens, ducks, and the seven solar sheep. I feel connected to the life at the farm as I watch it blossom. The mission of the farm is to feed students in a sustainable way and is dubbed a learning laboratory.
This has been a serene experience, but not always easy work. I learned what real “grit” is about… small rocks fed to chickens to hold in their gizzards and grind up their food. I learned how to operate in a farm, use equipment, tend to plants. I was in charge of irrigation and the cucurbits. I helped maintain the annual garden as well as the north food forest and hoop house by weeding, mowing, tilling, planting, more weeding, watering, mulching, and various other tasks.
In the kitchen IÂ prepared the vegetables we had harvested. I’ve spent about eight hours a week in the kitchen doing meal-prep for the students. It has been incredibly rewarding to watch the experience come full circle.
