Greetings from the farm,

Book & Plow, being a campus farm, adds a few things on top of the typical Northeast September frenzy. With students back on campus, we usually drastically increase the amount of food we’re sending to Valentine (we hire 25 students to get the work done, which is a process in itself). We also try to maximize farm programming when students are on campus and it isn’t too cold to come to the farm. This September we’ve done three natural tie dye workshops in addition to six we hosted over the summer. We’ve harvested hundreds of pounds of food for donation during our Open Farm Fridays. We see these as important opportunities for students who don’t work on the farm to come and get the benefits of team based farming or creative exploration (working together towards a common goal, being together outside in nature, and the ease of conversation when hands are in motion to name a few). As farmers, we also appreciate the thoughtful questions students have brought to these events which have sparked great conversations about agriculture generally and what we do specifically at Book & Plow. 

On top of the “typical Northeast campus farm September frenzy” we’ve had more class collaborations than ever this year, thanks to our farm fellow Julia. She did a great job reaching out to professors over the summer and handling so much of the logistical work that goes into these connections. By the end of the semester we’ll have collaborated with 12 classes!! 
 

We are ending the month with our favorite event of the year- Farm Fest! Technically it’s in October, but it feels like a celebration of not only the sheer amount of work that we’ve done in September, but over the course of the entire season. The menu is a culmination of so much student work. Our spring crews seeded the onions and planted the potatoes. Our summer crew planted peppers, scallions, and kale. They weeded (and weeded and weeded) carrots and picked potato beetles off of plants. Our fall crews have been harvesting and washing like wild. Teamwork is the backbone of Book & Plow. The farm wouldn’t exist without students to feed, students to teach, and students to do the hard work of growing food.

We are still quite far from done- there is much more to harvest and tuck away before the frosts come. I leave you with this almost succinct, farmerly peek into our month and am off to wash some kale for Farm Fest!

With love from Book & Plow Farm,
Kaylee