By Adam Kramer & Rachael Chong
Published in March 2019
“A teacher comes, they say, when you are ready. And if you ignore its presence, it will speak to you more loudly. But you have to be quiet to hear… All we need as students is mindfulness.”
– Robin Wall-Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass
This past season, a remarkable community of gardeners brought to the garden the skills, knowledge and curiosity to make 2018 our most productive year to date. With a 25% increase in yields compared to the previous year, we were able to feed 115 families weekly through our CSA program, as well as many more purchasing our vegetables through local stores and restaurants. Over 17,000 pounds on less than one acre of land! How did this happen?
Many volunteers who come to work at the garden expect the staff to be the experts on gardening. While we do maintain many “ways of doing things,” we also value the vast gardening and farming knowledge that our community holds. Volunteers are often surprised when we respond to their questions with, “Hmm. I’m not sure the best strategy here – what do you think?” Indecisive? Perhaps. Revelatory? Often.
Just as we listen to each other, we also need to recognize the importance of listening to nature and the ecosystems that support our work. In her book, Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall-Kimmerer calls us to listen to the languages of the natural world and to open ourselves to the meaningful relationships that permeate what otherwise appears random.
Indeed, ecology is the study of how organisms relate to one another and how they relate to their physical surroundings. For ecological farmers, science is an indispensable tool in understanding these staggeringly complex relationships and how they impact not only their livelihood and food systems, but also those of future generations. With that in mind, most farmers and gardeners will also tell you that science is only part of the picture. Standing in a plot, dirt under your nails, listening to the wind and the wildlife is also an indispensable step on a path towards understanding. As you plow your field, or bring in a harvest, there are lessons being taught if only you listen.
For the past few seasons it has been evident that the soil was teaching us things. After years of heavy tillage aimed at breaking up our hard clay earth and eliminating weeds, the soil definitely began speaking more loudly! Tillage contributes to hardpan formation, churns buried weed seeds to the surface where they can sprout, and destroys the habitat of the soil micro-organisms that ultimately provide nourishment to our crops and to the people that eat it. So we listened. Other growers share their learnings with us, helping to change our practices and focus on building healthy soil, rather than pulverizing it. Practicing care and mindfulness is helping us gain a deeper sense of the complexity of life in the soil that we are working alongside, just as we are working and learning alongside each other as growers. Now, life has begun returning to our soil and is naturally helping to break up what was once hard packed clay. Our water use has gone down and fewer weeds are sprouting. Certain crops that we once struggled to grow are now thriving.
So, how have we done it? We have listened, we have learned, and we can’t wait to see what lessons are in store for us in the season ahead.
