F26 (WK1): Seasons Change
Dear Farm Community,
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes! Believe it or not, out here on the farm we fully believe that fall on its way (and Fall CSA is HERE, baby!!). Our 7am start time is getting just a little darker, and a little cooler as the days go by. It’s still scorching hot by noon, but the 70-degree morning weather and occasional cool foggy morning is giving us life and reminding us that this summer slog doesn’t last forever.
Another season is changing, too: our season of Averi. This is our beloved CSA manager’s last week with us as she steps away to begin preparing for her next big adventure: two years in Nepal! After spending the past few weeks working side by side with Maddie to make the transition, she’s officially handing over the reins of our CSA program this week.
We love Averi dearly and share in everybody’s bittersweetness about it all. We’re so excited for what’s ahead for her, and also really excited to welcome Maddie into this role. She is SO incredibly kind, outgoing, sharp as a tack, and enthusiastic. She’s spent the past two years working our Atlanta farmers markets, and a few months ago made the move to Athens and joined us on the farm. We could gush all day about how awesome Maddie is, but I think it’s better to let y’all get to know her in her own words.
That’s why she’s this week’s KNOW YOUR FARMER!!!!! :-)
What is your role on the farm?
As the CSA Coordinator, my job blends the best of both worlds at Diamond Hill. Not only do I get to dig in the dirt with the coolest veggie crew around, I also get to manage our CSA program which is our weekly, seasonal, or year-round subscription to all we grow at the farm. Every week, I get to help decide what’s looking the most beautiful in our fields, choose what makes its way into our CSA boxes, and then hand those boxes off to the kindest, coolest, veggie-lovin’ Athens townies I know!
Maddie’s Farming Journey
I started farming all of two months ago, when I moved back to Athens after finishing my Masters in Public Health. For the past two years, I lived in Atlanta and spent my weekends working at the Diamond Hill booth at our farmers markets.
I spent so much of my Masters studying the systems and structures in our built environments that affect our health and wellbeing, and I had my heart set on a full-time job at the CDC after graduation, where I was planning to change the world, of course.
At the same time, I was spending nearly every weekend watching the same people come back to the farmers market week after week for their vegetables, chatting with the farmers who grew them, and getting more and more invested in the work behind our booth. I quickly fell in love with the connectedness that came from all the little acts of kindness and curiosity I experienced at each market, and I knew this was for me.
What started as a part-time gig to help cushion the financial blow of grad school slowly turned into a bright, flashing sign saying, “HELLO! THIS IS YOUR DREAM JOB." I fell in love with the people, the work, and the comfort that comes with knowing that I am exactly where I am supposed to be right now!
What do you like to do when you’re not at the farm?
I have an elderly bulldog named Champ at home who demands most of my attention outside of work, but when I can spare a moment, I love making fun espresso drinks, trying out new coffee spots, and planning my next camping trip!
What’s something you’ve done on the farm that you are proud of?
I feel like I stand a chance at being the best paper-potter on the property. There I said it!!
What’s your favorite crop to grow?
I have developed an unhealthy (or very healthy?) obsession with our sugar snap peas.
What’s your favorite crop to eat?
BEANS. BEANS. BEANS. Green beans, dragon beans, noodle beans, soy beans. Those suckers are too stinkin' good.
My go-to SUPER QUICK Edamame recipe:
1. Cook your beans! Boil or steam your edamame (whole bean) for 5ish minutes, then drain.
2. Sauté and season your heart out Heat olive oil in a skillet with garlic, salt, and pepper for a few seconds then toss in your edamame with some soy sauce, honey or maple syrup, and a splash of red wine or rice vinegar. Cook for a few more minutes.
3. The presentation When you can easily pop your bean out of its pod, pull your Edamame out and sprinkle with sesame seeds and red pepper flakes and ENJOY!!!
What is a small thing on the farm that you are grateful for?
I feel so much joy each time a baby tree frog chooses to jump on my hand while I'm harvesting. I'm so serious, it is the highest of honors each and every time.
If you were something on the farm, what would you be and why?
I’d be tomato string because I’ve always had a tendency to stretch myself pretty thin when I care about something growing and thriving. But in such a short time, this farm has taught me that stretching yourself isn’t necessarily a bad thing when you have the right support system in place to back you up. In this case, a few trusty T-posts and a pretty kick-ass farm team has been enough to anchor me and make me feel more confident than ever that I can stretch further, work harder and help everything around me grow a little stronger :)
What do you think about when you’re harvesting?
I know I’m supposed to say “speed, quality, efficiency” or something to that effect, but I can’t help but focus on the fact that every frog, grasshopper, and caterpillar I encounter is having their own little Jack and the Giant Beanstalk moment.
What’s your favorite way to pass the time weeding with other farmers?
Well, racing of course. First to the end of the bed wins. Loser is on microwave duty.
What are your aspirations at the farm?
I am a sponge!! This farm is full of super passionate, highly knowledge, crazy lovable people that have so much wisdom to share. I am hoping to learning as much as I can in this role and stay open to every opportunity that allows me to do so :)
#1 goal is to reconnect with the wonderful Athens community I've been missing SO SO MUCH the past 2 years.
We’re all in the pack shed finishing up a big market harvest and you’re handed the AUX. What do you play?
This changes frequently for me, but as of right this second, Count the Ways by The Last Dinner Party.
What is your favorite DHF memory?
I have to bring up Farm family lunches on Friday. Each week, we decide what we have a craving for. Burgers? BLTs? Tacos?? Egg salad sandwiches?? You name it, we've made it from scratch and brought it to the farm on a Friday for everyone to enjoy together. I love that we take a little extra time each week to sit down together, share a meal, and slow down a bit! I'll never forget my first farmily lunch... BLTs in peak tomato season... you just can't beat it.
What is your favorite thing about Diamond Hill Farm?
The sunrise in the morning. More specifically, getting to enjoy it with the veggie crew while we are knee deep in the Shishitos.
What do you want people to know about our farm?
Every single person on our farm is here because they want to be. We are all overwhelmingly passionate about the food we grow, the land we care for, and the team that makes it all possible. As we say at our DHF softball games, we are LOYAL TO THE SOIL!! GO DIRT DIGGERS!!!
For the full Know Your Farmer experience, head to our instagram page to see the post - all set to Maddie’s pack shed tune and full of more photos!
In your CSA shares this week, we’ve got what’s likely your last helping of sweet potato greens for the year! We dug up a few sweet potatoes last week to check where they’re at, and they are looking so ready for harvest. Large share members will see the first of them this week, and over the next few weeks we’ll be digging up the rest for curing and storage and saying so long to the greens for the season. Standard share members, your taters are coming soon soon soon!
EVERYBODY this week is getting a few more good tastes of summer as we start easing our way into fall. Cucumbers and cherry tomatoes will be in all shares, and this is your friendly little reminder to savor them while they’re here. We’re in that funny in-between stretch where sweet potatoes are coming out of the ground, but tomatoes and cucumbers are still hanging on for a while longer, so we’re gonna enjoy every last juicy, crisp bit of summer while we mindfully ride out the changing of the seasons.
For dinner, this coconutty cherry tomato fish bake feels juuuuust right for these still-hot days, or if turning on the oven is altogether out of the question, this cherry tomato and white bean salad is no heat required. And let those cucumbers do what cucumbers do best: keep things COOL! This cucumber-avocado salad is creamy, crunchy, and refreshing, or go with Samin Nosrat’s Salad-e Shirazi, a Persian cucumber, tomato, and onion salad that puts two of this week’s CSA goodies to work in one big, bright bowl.
Onwards and Upwards :-)
Diamond Hill Farmers
kind of the best season of the year:
standard share: sweet potato greens, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, sweet peppers or banana peppers, squash, pole beans or eggplant
large share: sweet potato greens, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, sweet peppers or banana peppers, squash, pole beans or eggplant, arugula, sweet potatoes