Day 4, 5

Wednesday night was volunteer night! We encourage the public to come help up prepare beds, plant, and sometimes harvest. The turn-out was smaller than I expected, but then again I had no idea what to expect. We had lots of help no less! Sugar snap-peas were harvested, beds were dug and fertilized with composted manure, and the educational garden received some love as well.

Working at night was a different experience. The weather was much hotter, muggier, and the mosquitoes were out. It's fair to say I'd rather wake up early and work at 7 a.m. than 7 p.m. hehe. The executive director, Susan, says everyone is hungry for something and I love that. On Wednesday night, you could see it. Conversations flourished and it was awesome. There were some great people there! If you are ever in the area, drop by Joe Jenkins Road on Wednesday nights from 6-8p.m. and give us a hand.

Today was much like last Thursday, however, we had many more hands to help. We harvested lettuce, spinach, kale, rhubarb, and herbs. We washed and bundled and loaded the truck full of the free food and made our way to the Share Market and Welcome Table. A cook at the kitchen and garden volunteer donated a book called Carrots Love Tomatoes. It's all about plant companionship and using it in our best interests to keep the soil fertile and pest-free. I started grazing through it while at the market and have already learned a number of things (1. potato bugs don't like horseradish, 2. cabbageworms don't like thyme, and almonds are in the rose family— who knew!)

Almost done with the first full week of internship, maybe tomorrow I'll be ready to reflect.

Day 1, 2, 3

Last week I arrived at The Lord's Acre not knowing left from right (that hasn't changed) but I couldn't tell you how potatoes grow or how to harvest radishes, either and now I can, in addition to kale, spinach, lettuce and peas. Thursday, we planted tomatoes and on Friday, it was eggplant and watermelon. In most cases, the beds were proactively prepared, but when it was time to plant to melons, I learned to hoe, measure, and seed the bed.

Today, I met three other interns. We will all be working side by side at the garden this summer, and all come from different walks of life: UNC... Agriculture... Asheville... Divinity... City planning... Chapel Hill... Environmental Studies... New Jersey... Florida...Wake Forest and WPCC. More on that later.

Most of the morning was spent weeding cover crop, picking peas, and folding the Agribon row cover. Later, we took a field trip to Flying Cloud Farm, picked up donated plants, met the interns, and made our way back up the road. The day ended with talk of expectations, plans, and any questions.

I'll get better at the reflection part as the summer continues, but for now, that is all. 

12 Week Committment

Welcome to my intern blog— a space where I can share my toils and triumphs in the fields of The Lord's Acre. TLA is a non-profit garden on 3/4s of an acre in rural Fairview, NC. I will be working four days a week harvesting, planting, and collaborating with volunteers and other interns to distribute the tons of food to the surrounding community.

I have very little garden experience, limited to a day planting and mulching at a local community garden in Wilmington, NC. However, my love and appreciation for food security and education began several years ago when I worked at a kids' art camp at Vance Elementary. There, a school garden offers fresh produce and a place for curiosity to flourish. Watching the kids' eyes sparkle as they picked blueberries or found a green pepper ready for picking was so inspiring.

And so, I'm back in the garden two years later; a much larger garden, for a much longer period of time, but still doing the same: learning, growing, and sharing. Stay tuned.