Life at SOH Farm · Nonprofit Volunteers · Seeds of Hope Volunteers · Volunteers

Doing What it Takes: The Volunteers of Seeds of Hope Farm

It takes an enormous amount of people-power to make an urban farm happen. From prepping the soil, researching and choosing the season’s crops, ordering and picking up supplies, putting young plants in the ground, to keeping them healthy while they grow, then finally harvesting and getting them out into the world – there is plenty to wrangle.

Seeds of Hope Farm on a mild Summer morning

At Seeds of Hope Farm, we are lucky to have a solid core of awesome volunteers who offer part of their Thursday every single week to help the farm succeed. They come from all over the county, but most come from nearby. They receive a box of farm food for coming out to help – but most would tell you they come because they love it here. There is something very special about being on a working farm. The land is always full of life, and the day is intimately connected to the sun or the rain. Having a part to play in the cycle of growth is something to be proud of. And, it results in the creation of one of life’s most treasured gifts – healthy food.

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Life at SOH Farm

Cicadas, Harvest Festivals and Green Men

The cicadas are going strong these days. Just sit outside on a muggy St. Louis evening and you’ll have to talk a little bit louder to be heard over their singing. Cicadas definitely came into this world to live their lives out loud. We could take a lesson from them.

Cicadas always mean high summer to me. High summer is when life is undeniably in motion – both under, and on top of the earth.

Two weeks ago, as we were all busy harvesting, we passed the Feast of Lughnasa, the Celtic festival of the harvest. Half-way between the summer solstice and the fall equinox, this is a time of celebration for the gift of the sun (Lugh means light) and the wealth of food it provides. On Lughnasa, the sun and the earth have done their job well. They have worked in sync to provide for all the clans and life is good.

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