This week, we had the opportunity to cook lunch for all our classmates and instructors—something we looked forward to for a very long time. Ethan and I spent the early part of the week planning our menu, harvesting vegetables, and gathering ingredients. Thursday morning, we…

The farm has transformed so much in the past few weeks as the crops seem to have grown overnight in the switch from spring to summer. We have begun harvesting our first cucumbers and zucchinis. I have seen cherry tomatoes half full of color in the…

By Ethan I want this week’s newsletter to be short, but impactful. The last few weeks have been hard. I have been sore and tired…and grumpy. This week marks the end of four weeks of chores after hours and weekend responsibilities. The past four weeks…

Tomatoes are on the way! Most of our plants here at the farm school have little green tomatoes on them. I know that they still have a few more weeks—maybe even a month to go—but I am unbelievably excited. Hands down, tomatoes are my favorite…

Farm life is especially busy this time of year. We are moving from spring, when we can only grow radishes and greens, into planting for summer in all its abundance. Tomatoes, cucumbers, summer squash, beans, and winter squash are now in the ground. We are…

Last week, I (Carly) worked on livestock with my classmate and friend Emma Spencer. Right now on the farm, we have four goats, four pigs, and about 135 broiler (meat) chickens. Next week, we will be borrowing a dairy cow from a neighbor. It will…

Last week, Ethan was on tractor rotation. He got to practice using all three of the farm school’s tractors, including two Kubotas and an old Farmall cultivating tractor. In our sphere of the farming world, old tractors are still incredibly useful and often preferred. Ethan…

On Wednesday, 150 baby chicks arrived to the post office for pick up. That’s right—you can order live chickens by mail! The chicks are mailed out shortly after they hatch when they are still surviving on energy from their yolk, so they do not need…

Right away, we got an intimidating overview of the plans for the year and some of the steps we would take to make them happen. I won’t lie—I was totally overwhelmed. Actually, I think all 12 of us trainees were. For the first time, I…

Preparing for farm ownership is a long and meandering journey full of sore muscles, early mornings, and organizational mind-benders. But the fresh food, companionship with fellow growers, the joy of watching plants grow, and our dream make the hard days totally worthwhile. We know farming…