Does this mean we are farmers?

Our market garden has flourished in the warm sunshine. We had an unseasonably dry January. It was hot and sunny with cloudless blue skies, and we kept praying for precious rain. 

This small garden of seedlings quickly transformed into a sea of shimmering green; we had deep green dinosaur kale, curly green and red lettuces, rocket lettuce that was almost knee high, and Turkish spinach. 

Early February, Yuval announced that we had enough produce to sell. Sell what? And to whom? How? And where? 

As the greens grew, we flew. We came up with a name for our market garden, then a logo.

Meanwhile, clouds gathered and rain fell. At first it was soft, soothing, nurturing rain. As it gathered intensity, hail fell. Then fierce winds blew in. With each weather ‘event,’ I imagined those perfect market-ready leaves being blown, pummelled and bashed. And we had not even sold one order! The life of a farmer. 

We honed in on the name Ahavat HaAdama for our garden, which means Love of the Land. This resonated with us in many meaningful ways. One is the spiritual aspect of farming the land in Israel. It is a return to what our ancient people once did here. This tradition has been lost, resulting in a disconnect between people and the source of their food. And as so many Jewish laws revolve around farming, we are now able to follow many of the halachot in the place where they were given thousands of years ago. 

For me, ‘loving this land’ is simply being out there to observe the growth and admire the simple ingredients of healthy organic food: sunshine, water, and good soil. It is simply miraculous. I find it heals the soul to tend the garden softly, slowly and quietly, lulled by the song of birds. 

On a more energized note, we had to move fast to find a market. I learned how to make an online order form and we put out the word to English and Hebrew speaking local markets. The response was positive and exciting. Yuval decided to first focus on bags of mixed tender baby leaves and bunches of rocket. To be true to our organic principles, we found biodegradable bags and then had our first harvest. 

We picked, packed, and delivered. From our first offering of two items three weeks ago, we have now grown to nine items. This week we have arugula, spinach, Swiss chard, kale, spring onions, romaine lettuce, parsley, coriander, and mixed leaf salad. Simply knowing that people are appreciating our organic freshly picked veggies is fulfilling. 

Yes, it is a lot of work and yes, farmers are not high-income earners. But this is not about profit lines and revenue. This is about love, an act of helping to create healthy food in a world where most food is radiated, sprayed with chemicals, over-packaged, and shipped. 

This is also about connecting people with a source of goodness. Ahavat HaAdama is creating its own momentum as people hear about the market garden and come to visit. Simply seeing food growing on our terraces is moving to those who come here. People are fascinated by the vivid colors and textures and are astounded by the taste the fresh leaves. Others are moved to tears to see that people are farming the land.  

I feel grateful that we have this opportunity to offer people healthy food and see how organic vegetables are grown. Yes, it is work, but it is so satisfying. And the work never ends! We recently planted another terrace with 1200 seedlings including red and green lettuce, zucchini, plus we seeded carrots and radishes. 

Meanwhile, the chickens are clucking without the crow of a rooster—yet. We expect there are at least five roosters in the bunch. They are fortunate chickens as they get all of the organic scraps fresh from the market garden. Our cat has not attempted to take them on, although she definitely stalks around their fence. And if our dog could get in there, it could be bad news. We are hoping to see an egg in the next month or so. 

We thought the porcupine changed his address or went on an extended leave. We actually have never seen him but know he is capable of moving boulders. He would stalk about at night and leave quills as his calling card. However, last night, we heard him again. My son thought it was a burglar and when he went outside, he saw an absolutely enormous animal. We are completely fenced in so are no sure how he got in or if he can get out. But if he were to stay, he has a delectable feast out back in the vegetable garden. 

Our last wildlife tidbit is the caterpillar. After the rains, millions of caterpillars crawled out of nests. They are everywhere, and yes, they too found out about Ahavat HaAdama. Yuval is not worried. “They too have to eat,” he says. It is a race between us and them and I can’t wait until they turn into butterflies!