Woah—the first CSA season came and went.  

Part of me wishes I had a long list of facts and figures to wow my readers, but I don’t.  Farmers need to be everything these days but mathematician is one of the more difficult roles for me to play.  Anyways, Pacem in Terris is much bigger than me, so it’s worthwhile focusing on the project as a whole in retrospect.  

The year started off with the adolescents at White Oaks helping to start seeds in the basement of their building.  LED growlights helped to get the seedlings going, but hardening them off in our greenhouse proved challenging.  Many plants were lost this way and some to unforeseen frosts, but that’s how things go.  Nonetheless, God is good and provided some spring greens, peas, herbs, onions, and lots of turnips.  

Summer came and abundance was first tasted at my household in a dilly cucumber salad.  These fixtures to the weekly harvest boomed for a while and I know that some shareholders were trying to pawn them off on neighbors and friends.  Tomatoes also came and lasted for a while, helping get the grocery packages through to the finish line.  Some families came to volunteer in the garden and braved the heat.  Some children just wanted to learn what was edible and that was also fun.  

Fall saw a lot of swiss chard and the remnants of the summer harvest.  A drought in August hampered germination rates for the fall planting, but God still provided enough to get us by.  Students returned to campus and helped out regularly around the gardens.  Once or twice a week elementary students would help harvest things, spread mulch, and weed while White Oaks students helped package the grocery bags in the afternoons.  

I have a lot of fond memories but no ready-made stories to share.  Perhaps you have your own instead.  I will at least post some more pictures from the season. 

I also have lots of dreams for how to improve the project in the future, which means basically doing everything better and not doing some things altogether.  If nothing else, the first year with Pacem in Terris was a great learning experience for many, including myself.  

God bless all our benefactors, the families who participated in the project, and this land for its goodness.  

More information about next year will be available soon.

In Christ,
Elliot Martin