Day 1 (Sunday)

The interns slowly arrived at Green String and got to know each other while picking bedrooms. We had orientation with our intern coordinator, Suzie, and got to tour the property. The grads came over and brought us dinner and gave us the lowdown on life at Green String. After dinner, we went for a drive around the property and watched the sunset from the highest point we could find. 

Day 2 (Monday)

Suzie met us at the house at 6am sharp and we were given basic instruction on each individual chore. Chores rotate each week and you chore partner also rotates so you have a chance to work with each intern in the house. My first chore was chicken duty with Jordin! This chore includes letting the chickens out in the morning, feeding them, collecting eggs several times a day, keeping their coop clean, and putting them to bed in the evening. After our morning chores and lunch we finally got to meet Bob! He let us ask general questions about himself and the program then took us to 2nd Street Farm to teach us hand and wheel hoeing. 

Bob quote of the day: (On saving the planet) "Are we smart enough to step back and put aside our self importance?"

Day 3 (Tuesday)

We got our first taste of fieldwork on Tuesday: Thinning apple trees. You thin the trees by removing surplus fruit to help grow larger, better fruit. We learned that keeping fruit closer to the tree trunk is ideal because it prevents the ends of branches from becoming weighed down by apples and potentially breaking. After fieldwork we had our first safety lesson of the week (on heat safety, lifting, etc.). Tuesday's lesson with Bob was on the nutritional foundations of nature. 

Bob quote of the day: "Act like an agricultural athlete."

Day 4 (Wednesday)

Unfortunately, because of the week-long hiatus between intern groups, our potato field's amaranth overgrew. As a result, our first experience hoeing was much more difficult than it normally is. This was a valuable lesson on time management in farming. During our afternoon class with Bob, we learned some basics about transplanting and grafting in the greenhouse. Bob surprised us after our lesson by taking us to a citrus orchard and letting us pick grapefruit and Valencia oranges. They were amazing!

Bob quote of the day: "Plants have enormous intelligence, way more that we do."

Day 5 (Thursday)

We worked as a team with the grads and Suzie to finish hoeing the overgrown potato field in the morning. Bob taught us why organization and patterns are crucial for successful farming. The end of Bob's lesson was a walkabout where he talked to us about the importance of paying attention to the habits of indigenous plant species. For dinner we had a potluck with staff from Green String and a few of the other farms! Adirchai taught us how to make pita for our guests and Mollie made a vegan apple pie. 

Bob quote of the day: "You don't become successful by being spontaneous, you must be organized and patterned."

Day 6 (Friday!)

We got to apply our lesson with Bob to our fieldwork by transplanting lettuce. After transplanting we had our second safety lesson of the week from Suzie. Heat safety is crucial information to know when farming in potentially severe weather over the summer. We applied our safety knowledge when Bob taught us how to apply oyster shell and how to use the seeder to plant cover crops in the 100 degree weather. Afterwards, Bob showed us where the garlic is stored and gave us a bundle for the house. At the end of the day, half of the group celebrated the end of our first week by visiting Cline Winery for our first group wine tasting. I highly suggest the Ancient Vines Zinfandel. 

Bob quote of the day: "Pay attention! Get connected to the nature of your nature!"

It's only been one week but as interns we have already absorbed a ton of information. We are working hard but we are also having a lot of fun learning from one another in addition to learning about farming. I'm looking forward to the rest of the internship and sharing photos along the way. 

Tamara H. Intern, Summer '16