To all the interns and exchange students who work with us at Bluebird Gardens,there are many things we will learn together.  I want you to know, that I, as the owner, do not have all the answers.   I am not the full pitcher, knowing all, pouring into your empty glasses.  I am a learner just like you.  That is what life is.  Anyone who pretends to have all the answers and knows it all is filled with empty arrogance.  But we will all bring what we do know and that is what we will share with each other.  We will welcome your suggestions on all the obstacles we face and together will form a joint plan.  Following are some of the learnings we will evolve in throughout the growing season:

• Producing local food for our customers is a mission, not a job.  It becomes a marathon that goes beyond the energy a normal job would take.  But it also brings more intense fulfillment than a normal job as well.
• In horticulture, two things matter.  They are speed and quality.  We will learn techniques in these from each other.
• Becoming organic is not just flipping a switch.  It is a plan that evolves.  Each year we add many new pieces to that puzzle. 
•  The first step is to provide the mineral balance to the soil so soil life can flourish. When the minerals are in balance, soil has air and water space allowing soil life room to grow.   Using the Kinsey lab soil tests, you will learn what elements our soil is short of and what we are doing to supply them.
• We will learn how, through the use of cover crops, we can supply a constant supply of organic matter to that life in the soil.  We will experiment with different cover crops and note the value of each.  We will be planting cover crops before the planting of vegetables, with the vegetables and after the vegetables.  The organic matter they feed the soil is the heart of it all.  The matter feeds the life in the soil and creates the humus.  The intricate process of the life in the soil devouring the organic matter is what allows nutritional density to occur.
• We will experiment with various tillage tools to see which leaves a constant supply of organic matter.  This year we will have a new Maschio tiller that has various speed settings.  Our hope is that this will disturb the soil the least and bring the organic matter into the top 5 inches of soil with mere thoughtful disturbance of the land.  The less we disturb the life in the soil, the better.
• We will learn the process we need to follow to accomodate Good Agricultural Practices so our customers have safe food.
• Compared to other years where we have six stands, and the interns would be selling at those stands in the day, this year we will only have one stand.  We will allow the CSA to grow.  This will allow interns to be on the farm and will enhance on farm learning. You will experience a small part of direct market sales and a much larger portion of the CSA model.  You will also learn ways to help our CSA shareholders to feel that our farm is, indeed. their farm.  You will take part and feel the joy of connecting them to our farm.
• We will learn how to efficiently involve chickens in rotational grazing on our cover crops.  We will see if more humus and benefit to the soil comes from animals and cover crops verses just cover crops alone.
• We will learn how to process chickens in a USDA approved manner.
• We will also have turkeys rotationally grazing for the first time on our farm.  We plan to have pigs that graze when we are finished with vegetable crops.  We will use the natural talent of a pig to root and dig to enhance the soil.
• The battle on any vegetable farm is weeds.  We want you to experience the many forms of weed management.  We want to free up one person to rotary hoe every five days after planting.  We will also get a new set up for flame weeding.  You will experience a Regi weeder and many other forms of weeding.
• We are using part of the CSA income to invest in making the work on the farm more manageable.  A water wheel planter will be versatile and provide use in many settings.  For weed management, we have a Regi weeder, rolling cultivator, rotary hoe and flamer.  Depending on the goals you have of what you want to learn, you will take part in this process.  We are also getting a new harvestor for potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots and onions.  If it works like we hope, it will save major time compared with other years.
• Life is supposed to be fun and enjoyable.  We will learn how to continue the joy in the midst of a marathon.

To take a course that teaches farming in a most practical, hands on fashion, check out the M State class in Fergus Falls at  http://www.minnesota.edu/programs_majors.php?prog_code=767