On Farming & Revolution

On Fourth of July, I always think about the men in the Continental Congress who signed the Declaration of Independence. I knew them all well. And no, I’m not nuts or channeling past lives—the theatre group I was in put on the first amateur production of the musical 1776, and after two months of rehearsals, fittings for about 27 frock coats, and numerous performances, I still feel like John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Joseph Hewes, John Hancock, Robert Livingston, John Dickinson, and the rest of them were my friends. Probably because they were, at least in their musical theatre incarnations . . .

Historically, I know a lot of them were farmers and plantation owners, but they were all what you might call “gentlemen farmers.” Whilst they were in Philadelphia, other people were tending their fields and farms back home. In Braintree, Massachusetts, Abigail Adams kept the small family farm going while John was away (I know because she told me so herself when I was hemming her dress); Thomas Jefferson, with Ben Franklin’s help, tried mightily though unsuccessfully to have slavery outlawed in the Declaration, but Jefferson’s own slaves kept his plantation at Monticello running while he was gone, including tending his gardens, where he experimented with heirloom seeds and organic growing methods more than 200 years before we thought about it.

Now, I’m finally getting to my point in this Independence Day post: we have a few gentlemen farmers in the CSA. They pay for a nonwork share, and we’re happy to have them, because they definitely help pay the bills. However, the majority of our shares are work shares, and a few of those work share owners haven’t picked up a hoe yet. So, this is a gentle reminder that our Urban Farm Revolution needs the help of every share member. If you are reading this blog, you’re probably already an involved member of the Enright CSA, but if you know any members who haven’t signed up for a work team or two yet, please encourage them to take a little time this week to do so.

Our CSA is part of a local food revolution, and we each have dedicated ourselves to the proposition that we must help water, weed, write, count, clean, packout, plan, plant, hoe, and harvest. Tell any friends who haven’t started putting work hours in yet not to wait too long or they’ll have a lot of time to log and not too many weeks to do so. They need to put their John Hancocks on a team signup list today. Email farm@pricehill.org if you specifically need a list of team leaders and their email addresses.

Happy Fourth of July, and remember what Mother Jones said: “We need to raise less corn and more hell.” We can raise hell with the status quo in America’s food production methods by raising our own corn, beans, greens, tomatoes, and more—each and every one of us. I think I hear the Liberty Bell tolling for us now . . .