During
a break from cultivating and weeding a raised bed of peas at the Weavers Way
Henry Got Crops farm in Roxborough where he volunteers, your correspondent
captured a slice of life on the farm.

The
farm grows crops mainly for the 120 members of the CSA (“Community Supported
Agriculture” organization) but also regularly sells product through the Weavers
Way stores in Mount Airy and Chestnut Hill, at an onsite farm stand and
downtown at Head House Square.

When
I arrived, CSA Manager Nina Berryman was busily sketching out the day’s plan on
a chalkboard in the farm shed. I followed Berryman around as she lamented some
stunted carrots with experienced worker Minna Latortue, who had just graduated nursing
school, examined the cold season greens in the hoop houses, made plans with
Laura Mass Forsberg to plant potatoes later in the day then getting her started
on a weeding task and finally doing what she calls the hardest part of the job,
doing deskwork at a laptop computer communicating with CSA members and such.

I
caught up with farm educator Tara Campbell as she waited for the first of four
school groups to arrive and watched as she and educator Clare Hyre prepped
students from Saul Agricultural High School (where the farm is located) and got
them out working down the field.

And
ebullient compost guy Scott Blunk showed off the composting operation as he
directed a frontend loader to dump just-arrived vegetable waste into the ten
thousand pound capacity grinder and activated it massive rotating tines. See small video of Blunk here

Your
correspondent shot some footage of cows grazing peacefully but did not include
it in the accompanying video because the dairy operation belongs to the Saul School
and not Henry Got Crops. Your correspondent also looks forward to comparing
notes and photos with Lanie Blackmer who later arrived to do a story for
WHYY/Newsworks.

Watch video here.