The First Planting

I recently started volunteering with the Placer Food Bank at a local organic farm in Loomis, CA called The Dancing Dog Farm owned by Sue Bordelon and her husband Jeff Bordelon. Dancing Dog grows fruits and veggies to donate to the food bank for those in need. They are just three short years into the program, and with the help of generous volunteers were able to grow 3,800 pounds of food last year. This was all done within a .5 acre of land!

I arrived to my first volunteer day unsure of what to expect. Being born and raised in a city, I had no previous exposure to farming (besides the chickens my uncle kept in his back yard for eggs). Sue enthusiastically greeted me and helped me fill out some necessary paperwork. She gave me some quick background info on the farm and how they became involved with the Placer Food Bank. After showing me around, I spent the next few hours helping to remove the sick and infected leaves of a peach and nectarine tree. They both have a fungal disease called Leaf Curl which I later read can be pretty common in backyard peach and nectarine trees. I also spent some of my morning digging up weeds that had overgrown near the two trees. It seemed like we got plenty accomplished in a few short hours and hopefully those two citrus trees will survive and even provide fruit this year.

Yesterday was my second time at the farm. I was there with a large group of local Yoga teachers volunteering their time. With a large group pitching in, we were able to clear a fairly large weeded over area quickly and efficiently.
It's getting warmer, late Spring is here and the time has come to start planting veggies for the season! We got a crash course on where and how to dig the hole for the plant, prep the hole by pouring in some fish emulsion fertilizer, how far down to put the delicate plant into the ground, and finally - covering it up. 

My first planting -  an Anaheim Pepper

The time passed so quickly once I got started. I recognized myself whispering sweet words of encouragement in my mind to each little plant. Asking it to grow strong and powerful with the hopes that it will yield plenty of healthy tasty peppers to nourish us. Before I knew it, I had three full rows of these little pepper plants in the ground! I finished up the morning by planting three varieties of eggplant.

Task complete!

Just a few short hours digging in the dirt gave me back so much. I noticed a deep sense of connection to nature and a peace within myself. I left feeling very grateful that I found this little farm.