To Market, To Market - Again

     Shadowing Tom Denison at the Beaverton Farmers' Market in early May was such an energizing experience that I told him if he's ever desperate for a helper, let me know. Well, he was pretty desperate last week, having run through his list of eight subs with no luck. So he e-mailed me. Once again, I set the alarm for 2:20 a.m. and we left his farm by 3:45 a.m. in a fully packed truck. Just before leaving he opened the back to add one small cooler but there was no room.

     

Tom, Phillip and Joey setting up the display

As before, it was an inspiring, if exhausting, experience and renewed my appreciation for farmers' market vendors, their crews, and the workers in the fields who plant, nurture, harvest and fill those hefty tubs of gorgeous produce.

      One of the best parts of both market experiences was the trip up and back, about 3 hours all told, during which I could pepper Tom with myriad questions without interruption (an interviewer's dream!). His responses not only illustrated his passion for his work, but the complicated web of food production we rarely see or think about.The key word is "web."

      We've all seen those illustrations where a deep “slice” of earth reveals all of the levels of soil, sand,

rocks, insects, snakes, worms, rodents, water pockets, roots of grass and plants we see above the soil – you get the picture. Well, as Tom described the various aspects of farming, from the compost, cover crops, soil

Ready for the signs to be created

tests, fertilizer types and application methods, water sources, irrigation, weather, seeding, transplanting, predators (insects above and below the soil, birds, voles, gophers, etc), potential for molds, mildew, and crop failure for mysterious reasons, I realized how many life sciences and how much chemistry are involved and the countless decisions that must be made daily - even hourly - when  you work with perishable crops, human beings and fluctuating markets. And that's just getting the foods in and out of the ground! Once harvested, it needs to be cleaned, trimmed, sorted, prepared for various markets in boxes, totes or bags, depending on destination and storage requirements.

     Then there's the whole matter of working with crews, records (employee, payroll, certification, crop rotations, orders, etc.), scheduling people and deliveries, fulfilling orders, answering—or getting answers to—questions, researching everything from seeds and plant stock to whatever is necessary to keep them healthy until harvest, equipment, supplies, regulations, and on and on. Whew!

      And we all show up at the farmers' market, a somewhat festive atmosphere, in our “Saturday moods,”  assuming it's just as much fun for the vendor. We give nary a thought to the hours required to harvest and prep the produce, getting the stall set up (a good 1 1/2 hrs. of heavy lifting, decisions, arranging, sign-making, etc.), cashiering and restocking for 4 to 5 hours during the market, then the take-down, repacking, cleaning up your space and going home to unload, deal with the money, pay the crew, refuel the truck,wash display cloths and aprons, fix, replace or refill whatever needs it, respond to that list of questions accrued during the day and, hopefully, remember what your name is at the end of it. 

     Tom's wife, Elizabeth Kerle, organizes the crews for several markets, does at least one market a week herself, often two, manages 300 CSAs boxes and customers, the website newsletter, and, like Tom, needs to know what each farmers' market will expect to sell. Unfortunately, it allows little time for her acupuncture practice though I'll bet she sees plenty of need for it just on the farm.

A "canyon" of beautiful berries. An excessively hot day could turn them into 'solar jam'.

 Sizzling Temperatures
   This weekend, as the heat swells to triple-digits in our second heatwave (just in June), my thoughts are with the field crews getting all that produce picked and prepped in the heat for several markets (and other customers), and the market crews keeping it fresh for us. Such extreme temperatures require a whole 'nother level of worry over plant protection, watering, harvest impact and employee safety.

      We, of course, have the choice of whether or not to venture out in the heat to buy it. Whether we do or not, a lot of people have worked hard to be sure it's there and lookin' good, just in case we do.

      Food is ready to harvest when it's ready to harvest. If we truly support local foods, we need to be extra supportive during weather extremes. If the produce doesn't sell, especially the easily perishable foods, it will go to gleaners or soup kitchens that will move quickly to use it immediately. Or, it will be composted. Compost is a good thing, but think of all the resources that went in to producing the food in the first place.

      Cool thoughts to all you farmers, farm workers and farmers' market vendors in this exceptionally hot summer!