This past July, a group of Kashi employees and 40 or so Kashi.com community members got together to visit a local organic farm. What we imagined would be a fairly academic outing to learn about sustainable food production turned out to be a truly organic experience that left us feeling more connected to the soil, each other, and the foods we eat.

We visited the Tierra Miguel Foundation organic farm located about 60 miles outside of La Jolla, California. The farm follows the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model, which creates a partnership between local community members and farmers. By purchasing a season’s harvest in advance, CSA members cover the farm’s operating costs. In return, the farm produces a diverse assortment of organic fruits, vegetables, and herbs. It’s a direct relationship between community members and local growers. And it’s a great way to discover a variety of fresh seasonal foods.

From seed to harvest

During our four-hour tour, we experienced the farm cycle from “seed to harvest.” At each stage of the process, several themes emerged:

Diversity keeps the farm healthy and the food tasty. When a farm is thoughtfully managed as a unique natural ecosystem, you don’t need extra chemicals and pesticides to have a productive farm. Healthy soil that’s free of chemicals begets great tasting food. Here’s an example of how this works:

• After growing corn, it’s a good idea to plant beans. Corn absorbs a lot of nitrogen from the soil; when beans grow they add the nitrogen back.

Everything has a purpose (even weeds). Touring the farm you quickly see how the different crops, insects, and weeds are all important players in the harvest cycle. As with most things, it’s all about balance. Some interesting tidbits:

• Weeds can actually protect the crop from insect devastation by attracting beneficial insects that keep the others in check.
• When you let cilantro go to seed, you not only get seeds for the next crop, but you also ensure that the plants can serve as nurseries for beneficial insects.

Food tastes better on the farm. We’re not sure if the strawberries tasted better because we ate them standing in the sunshine with new friends right after we picked them off the vine. Or maybe organic locally grown strawberries just taste better. (It’s probably a little of both.)

• Something we learned during our visit — many CSA farms grow unique varieties of fruits that are too fragile for mass distribution. So when you join a CSA you may have special access to produce not available in stores.

5 Ways to bring the farm home

1. Start growing your own food. Not only will you get a bounty of tasty things to eat, it’s also a great excuse to become acquainted with your neighbors. Sharing is caring.
2. Join a CSA. Local agriculture supports your community. Why not get some really great produce while supporting a local grower?
3. Visit farmers’ markets. Say hello and ask questions while you sample fresh foods that were probably picked a day or two before.
4. Look for locally grown organic produce at the store. Thankfully, it’s becoming more common to find locally grown produce in grocery stores.
5. Volunteer at a farm or community garden. It’s a great way to meet people, revitalize your green thumb, and get the warm fuzzy feeling that comes when you do something for the greater good.

Resources

Localharvest.org

Slowfood.org