812-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 13, 2002 Gardening Produces Living In The GAY BROWNLEE Virginia Correspondent HARRISONBURG, Va. Gardening is an activity that of fers profound benefits to Sonya Shaver, a subscriber of Glen Eco Farm Community Supported Ag riculture (CSA) 2002. “Gardening is an opportunity to live in the present moment,” Sonya said. And living in the present, she has discovered, is far better than the stress of continually striving for something more tomorrow. Before gardening, Sonja rushed on a hurried career path toward occupational therapy, i, , —.l, on iuesday «•., noons enjoy gardening at Glen Eco Farm, owned by Mar lin (pictured) and Christine Burkholder. Sonya is a Com munity Supported Agriculture subscriber who chooses to work 52 hours during the season so her family can enjoy fresh produce in great variety. Pictured with the boxes of produce to be delivered to CSA subscribers are Sonya Shaver with her son William, Harriet Burgoyne, left rear, and Wendy Reardon, opposite. which she loves still, but inside she felt a longing she describes as an “ache” to make conscientious choices. “I’ve found since I’ve become a mom, it’s a daily choice. I just want to be a mom and stay at home and grow tomatoes in my backyard,” she said. Despite loving city life, the 30-year old mother said she not only supports community agri culture for herself but also for others. She considers the organic and health aspect, but also the benefits of providing labor for the farmer, contributing to the local economy, and reducing stress on William Shaver enjoys helping. the environment by eliminating the packaging and delivery as pects of these same commodities. Shaver takes great pride in providing for her own household by desiring to work with her own hands. ‘lt’s a wonderful opportunity,” Shaver said. “It’s a chance to contribute to my family’s food and income.” 'That’s the nice thing about Harrisonburg. You don’t have to travel very far to be in the moun tains or on a farm,” Shaver said. Besides the above reasons, at a young age her son is seeing first hand, the source of his food. Take green peas, for example. Shaver said 2-year old William saw the pods being harvested at the farm. At home he saw how they were shelled. Then the little fellow watched his mother cook them and the family ate them with Andrew Shaver, his daddy. On a recent Tuesday the ap pointed weekday Shaver and William arrived at Glen Eco Farm, situated near the commu nity of Singers Glen. The applica tion of sunscreen to their exposed skin that very hot day was the first order of business. From town, the jaunt was about IS minutes over rolling countryside considered by many to resemble Lancaster County. According to her contract with Glen Eco owners, Marlin and Christine Burkholder, Shaver is to work several hours for her share, which is a big box of fresh produce. Some CSA members opt for the cash plan, and others ask for a labor and cash setup. Upon her arrival, Shaver was given a sheet of paper containing a list of vegetables for the day. A tall, slim woman who had bound her wispy hair with a bandana, Christine Burkholder, reported there were 50 boxes to pack as vegetables were picked and brought in from the field gardens. The cartons people were picking up at the farm were kept sepa rate from those being delivered to folks in town. Other women began exiting the vehicles they had parked along the gravel driveway. It was obvi ous they, too, preferred working in the pleasurable great outdoors and earning the reward of food that couldn’t be any fresher than straight from the patch. In the garage area Shaver ex plained how the vegetables are first weighed in bulk. The con tainers’ weight is deducted and equal shares are distributed. Each box is exactly alike. On this particular afternoon there is broccoli, kale, spinach, asparagus, onions, rhubarb, ci lantro, oregano, lettuce, and per fect heads of cabbage grown by a Mr. Gullman. As Shaver and her friendly consort, Harriet Burgoyne, a grandmother from Mount Clin ton, weighed and divvied the as paragus spears, Burgoyne com mented about the friendly atmosphere: ‘The conversation is like the produce it’s always fresh.” The wholesome talk between themselves more often concerns family and careers or how to pre pare the food items that were picked that day. “William has fun because he knows the people,” Shaver said. Beginning in his mothers womb, in fact, William made trips to Glen Eco all his life. As a baby, he was carried in a sling until his graduation to a back pack. Then he gained a morsel of independence going about on his own sturdy legs. Sonya has been instructed to prepare to wash fresh lettuce that got a bit muddy from the last rainfall. The bulk will be weighed and then divided equally amongst members of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) at Glen Eco Farm. This development, however liberating, was also tiring for Wil liam and a bit of a drawback for his mom. She unfailingly brings along water and snacks for the inevitable recesses. “Last year was harder than this year,” Shaver says. “But we just stop and take a break.” She compensates for the lost time by working longer. Shaver says when she first got involved with CSA, she didn’t want recipes, she just wanted to know how to fix it. Since then she has learned to make better use of everything and takes care to ap portion herbs and so forth to small containers for the home freezer. “I have greens in my freezer all winter long,” she says. Shaver believes that when you have ownership, something be comes more valuable and certain ly the theory applies to ones food. That is one reason she also be longs to a group of community minded, food-conscious volun teers called “Our Community Place.” Briefly, one project of Our Present Community Place is a commu nity garden in the middle of a city street. Local people may con sume the produce themselves, but only after they have seen the pro cess of seedlings burgeoning into luscious vegetables. Each Monday, the Harrison burg soup kitchen situated in the Little Grill restaurant is one grateful beneficiary of the com munity gardens produce. A Com munity Place person coordinates whatever is ready to be picked with the soup kitchens menu planner. As far as the Glen Eco Farm, Marlin Burkholder says that CSA farmers and consumers ben efit mutually from the member ship arrangement which permits them to deal directly with one an other. Consumers are encouraged to bring along their children just as Shaver does. There is no doubt that a posi tive relationships exists between the farmer/producer and the CSA consumers. In every way, the ingredients for healthy growth are present, be they in the air and soil or between people. Burkholder says Glen Echo Farm strives to follow sound eco logical principles that are based on the concept of sustainability. This year three acres are support ing diversified vegetable and small fruit production. Addition-, ally, 20 acres support mixed hay production, 40 head of beef cat tle, and 100-150 egg-laying and broiler-producing chickens. Crop rotation is practiced in addition to mulching and the ap plication of manures and com posts to maintain soil fertility. The hurried life at times, still tries to crowd Shaver, she ac knowledges, but she doesn’t per mit it to take over. “I want to be more present,” she said. For her, the answer to that quest is gardening.
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