My goal is that this be a positive learning experience for you.  We will have weekly meetings to discuss what is going well and what needs addressing.  Any problems that arise, we will discuss together and solicit ideas and suggestions from everyone.  We will form a joint plan together.  Everyone is a stakeholder in this season so your ideas and opinions are important.  To further your learning, each will get a handbook containing what is important for this year's success.  The handbook will be a summary of what we will be learning and contain the safety guidelines for Good Agricultural Practices.  This will be a great reference tool for you to keep beyond Bluebird Gardens.

In early April, most of our work will occur in the main greenhouse and in the seven high tunnels.  We will be getting the soil ready in the high tunnels and will begin planting.  We will also be doing a lot of transplanting and planting in the main greenhouse.  As soon as the weather allows, we will be planting crops outside in the field.  By following soil test results, we will be first spreading the elements that are missing from the soil to our land by tractor and spreader.  Peas and potatoes are planted with tractors and planters.  Whew!  Radishes, lettuce, chard, spinach and carrots are planted with a walk behind planter.  Onion plants and sets are planted by hand.  The first people to arrive in April and I will be here then to get these jobs off to a flying start.

In May, we begin to plant warm weather crops such as sweet corn and green beans with the tractor planter.  The real focus of time in May is to work on the crops planted on plastic in the field.  These are tomatoes, melons, cabbage, broccoli, cucumbers and kale.  The tomatoes and melons get a row cover of plastic and fabric to give them a greenhouse effect.  We may take on another intern in May since this is a lot of handwork.  There is nothing more wasteful in a season than to be doing this planting in June because there wasn't enough good weather or help in May. Planting of pumpkins and squash in the field will also occur.  Some harvest of cucumbers and lettuce from the high tunnels occurs in May.  Radishes can start by end of May as well.  We will try to stage the early crops so they are not ready until the first week in June when the CSA starts.

In June, the CSA routes begin and Diane will begin the KMart stand in Fergus.  We will be still planting.  More time will be focused on weeding.    We are also going to use a rotary hoe and rolling cultivator on the row crops of sweet corn, green beans and peas so we are hoping that increases weed protection efficiency there.  In all cases, we will try to be proactive on the weeds so hand weeding can be kept to a minimum.

We will continue the stages of romaine lettuce for the CSA.  Our goal is to keep romaine lettuce going all summer, which is no small feat.  Lettuce doesn't like hot summer weather.  The first stages of lettuce will be planted as secondary crops in the high tunnels.  Beyond that, we have a new high tunnel that we plan to spray with a coating to diffuse the light, making it cooler.  We are planning to keep rotations going in that high tunnel to place romaine lettuce in CSA boxes.  If that works, we will be doing successive plantings of lettuce and chard all season.  Sweet corn, peas and green beans are also planted in successive stages so we have a continuous crop as long as possible.  The key to success of any farm market or CSA is successive plantings.  You will experience that all summer.

July becomes the most intense month with the harvest of small items such as peas.  This becomes much easier in August when peas are replaced by larger items such as sweet corn, melons and tomatoes.  This year, with only one stand and a larger CSA, I am not sure what our typical day will be.  How efficient we are as a team will determine how long the days have to be.  The new harvesting equipment will also be a factor.  We will do lots of planning each week to determine how we can best use our time to fill the CSA boxes with the most fresh produce possible.  Each week, we will tour the farm to determine urgency of jobs and what should go in next week's box.  A lot of our learning will occur on those tours.

Last year, we had a shed built specifically for washing and getting the vegetables ready for the stand and the CSA.  It wasn't completely ready until August.  This year, we will have the luxury of the shed being ready right from the beginning.    Each week, the plan will evolve for how we fill the CSA box.  As we progress through the summer and the crops change, the plan will evolve as well.  Planning the box will be a wonderful team effort.

The bottom line is I hope to give everyone as well rounded an experience  as I can.  I would like to have each person experience tractor work, if they choose and to participate in traveling gun and trickle irrigation.  We will all take part in planting, weeding and harvesting.

So...should you apply for an internship??  I hope you do, but keep this in mind.

 This is more than a job...it is a mission.  It would be too much work to merely be a job.

If you are applying because you have nothing else to do this summer...it is a job.

If you are applying because sustainable farming is your passion...it is a mission.

If you think work is merely showing your presence...it is a job.

If you think work is giving it all you have...it is a mission.

If your prime goal is earning money...it is a job.

If your prime goal is being inquisitive and learning...it is a mission.

If the smell of the earth, the blossoming of plants, the harvesting of produce, the crow of a rooster, the call of a bluebird, the sun on your back, the happy companionship of your co-workers and the satisfaction of bringing our best to our terrific customers appeals to you... consider joining the mission of Bluebird Gardens!!

In return, this is what you would get back...

• $1200 per month stipend (in addition to items listed below)
• housing and utilities
• training
• We eat the vegetables we can't sell 

Don't ever assume our positions are filled for the year.    Email mark@bluebirdgardens.net or call Mark at 218-205-4739.  An even easier way to connect is to use this website.  Just go to Connect with Us/Then click on Contact and fill out the email form which is delivered instantly to me.  I will get right back to you.