Tomorrow afternoon I will head out and pick up the second batch of our organic food share!

In May of this year Kendall and I subscribed to a share of Erehwon Farm. Every week, for 21 weeks, I drive to one of the local drop-off points and pick up our bag of assorted fruits, vegetables, and herbs. The contents vary with the season, thrive as nature allows, and when the earth is ready to give forth a crop, into our bag it goes.

This year the weather has been good to the farm. We have been receiving a lot of rain; allowing for a strong harvest. However, despite the good weather, there are always some crops that don’t make it for a number of reasons. I know very little about agriculture, or even plain old backyard gardening for that matter, but already I am learning about the land and the movement of nature. I have heard a lot of people who eat locally grown organic food talk about how it “brings alive your connection to your place, to the people who grew it, to the seasons, and to the cycles of life. You realize just how interconnected we really are.” [1] I have always loved the way this sounded. It was not until I integrated myself into the organic farming system that I understood that this was not just a cozy idea. My natural inner rhythm, dormant since birth, finally awoke. I realize that not everyone who eats locally grown organic food has this experience. This is also not the reason to eat locally grown organic food, merely an added bonus.

I found out about Erehwon Farm through a passionate friend who has been really involved in its growth. It is a new, small organic farm run by Tim and Beth in Elburn, IL.

We started our farm in 2001 in a very small space to grow flowers, herbs, fruit, vegetables, and perennials for the local markets around St. Charles, Illinois. We named the farm Erehwon after a mythical place where most everything was backwards: we were surrounded with large farms growing crops for distant markets using large doses of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. We, on the other hand wanted to be small, to grow in an environmentally friendly way for local markets. Hence the name Erehwon. In 2001 we experimented by growing vegetables, herbs, and perennials at our home near St. Charles and attended one plant sale where we earned a total of sixty-five dollars! The next year we expanded our production of vegetables and herbs and Tim created a CSA pilot project for two families. Beth expanded her production of perennials, added flowers and designed a booth for farmer’s markets in St. Charles, and Batavia.

In 2003 we expanded our CSA to 15 vegetable shares which we delivered to Geneva, Lombard, Glen Ellyn, and Wheaton. We also added a third farmers’ market in Elgin and attended more local plant sales. This was a year of intense learning as we struggled to learn better techniques for growing, harvesting, processing, and preserving our products until we could get them into the hands of our customers.

In addition to Tim and Beth there is a very small staff and a few semi-regular volunteers. There is constantly a lot of work to be done. Right now weeds are a huge problem. Last Wednesday I went out to the farm and spent a couple of hours weeding where the perennials were growing. Spending time on the farm will continue to be an important part of the experience for me. I really want to urge those of you who can, to volunteer at least once. These smaller organic farms almost always need the help.

[1] Local Appeal, Dayna Macy, Yoga Journal May 2006

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