Well, we’re on our way! Last night was our 3rd meet-up with our crew of 14 apprentices (our Freshman Farmies, as they’re called, incidentally). Week 1 was our orientation to the apprenticeship program, what it would entail, and what they can expect throughout the year. Each farmy chose a “focus crop” that they’d be zero-ing in on to not only learn about one crop more in-depth, but also to teach the rest of us about at a later session.

Week 2 was a farm tour! We met up on the Mueller Farm, visited the land we’d be cultivating together, and left for the local library just in time - before we got drenched in the rain. At the library we screened a 14 minute film that Rebecca Rivas, a local filmmaker, produced last year about the history of the Mueller Farm.

Last night, at our Week 3 session, Dave Horton, a friend of the farm and avid gardening volunteer, explained propagating from seed, and we even then took a walk to his house, just 5 blocks from the library, to see his at-home set-up for seed starting.

Last Friday, the 13th, was our first day working in the fields. Over the course of the day we had 12 pairs of hands helping out on the farm, measuring off the 10x10 plots that the farmies would cultivate on their own, raking hay from a mowed field for compost, and building a toolshed for our shiny new tools that were donated by a local gardening organization. It was about 50 degrees, the sun was shining, and my spirits were soaring. It felt so good to know that we are propagating new farmers in St. Louis. Our group is so dedicated and motivated to learn, grow, and then teach and grow some more. It’s an exciting start to our season.