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"The day is coming when a single carrot freshly observed will set off a revolution."
--Paul Cezanne |
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Dear Organic Gardeners,
 Ominous afternoon clouds have been billowing over the farm recently, with odd regularity for this time of year (early monsoon, we wonder?), bringing an astonishment of welcome moisture to the thirsty fields of our El Guique farm. The rain, supported by the unceasing effort to keep up with a regimen of steady irrigation, has encouraged the sprouting and greening of soil and plant beds, awakening the farm from its winter dormancy, and treating those of us who are watching to a witnessing of the slow, steady rise of life from the dry dirt. With the emergent leaves come the hum of bees and other pollinators, the shine and flow of water in the ditches, the laughter and chatter of farm crew camaraderie, and a feeling of health and vitality on the land. Mulberries are popping on the trees, staining the pathways indigo; the quince portends a weighty harvest.
Walking past the pea trellis, I snag a few pods with my right hand and peel them open to taste the first sweetness of this year's bounty, which promises much bounty indeed. With our new farm manager Eero Ruuttila on board, the farm seems to be undergoing a poetic transformation, with soil building at high priority. Interns watch with pride as their hard work yields results, and they begin to understand what it means to 'stay on the right side of biology.'
The beginning of the season has also seen an opening of the farm gates to community: from our annual seed give-away, to the first session of this year's permaculture course, as well as the exciting beginnings of our expanded collaboration with the Picuris-Peñasco communities: Project G.R.O.W.
In this issue of Cutting Edge, Eero shares his perceptions and discoveries of early life on the farm and reveals why 'water is life.' Research Manager, Richard Bernard, gives an update on our research and trial programs. Intern Allison Cekala tells us of the exciting launch of Project G.R.O.W., and Terry Allan and I report on the two Field Day events we hosted in California and Georgia earlier this season. Steve Peters hints at future product offerings to look forward to, and, for good measure, and in acknowledgement that agriculture is both a science and an art, Eero offers forth a poem inspired by this past New Mexico May.
We have been busy, and are fed by the energy building all around us in the form of plant life, human interaction, and the good, hard, muscle and sweat of farm work. Our collective perception is being honed to notice subtle changes in the land, and to respond accordingly; our work sways with the measured cadence of a dance.
As cover crop grains and legumes emerge where they never have before, and peas and lettuces arise to embellish our lunches, and water arrives, both from the sky, and from river, to nourish new transplants, to blush red the recurring strawberries, and to ripen the over-wintered garlic, the farm takes on a rhythm of its own, which calls us to attention, and to humility. It is a feeling of awe, wonder and respect to witness this beautiful, specific collaboration between ecosystem, elements, and our particular human hands, which calls forth life in such abundance.
May this wonder be spread through all gardens and their caretakers.
Best wishes for a prolific and awe-inspiring summer,
Lindsay Dozoretz
 Printable PDF Version:
eNewsletter #71
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