While at the market Saturday chatting with our farmer, who knows of our plan to have a large garden and preserve lots of vegetables for the winter, he had a great offer: he said that if I wanted to come out to the farm for a day or two in the spring and help with tomatoes, he would give me some seedlings. I am planning on at least half of my tomato plants being heirlooms and I don't know what he will be planting, but I figure this is a good opportunity either way.
I've looked into farm apprenticeship programs, which many of the local of farms offer. You apply and most of them offer housing as part of the payment, plus a small stipend, and it lasts through the growing season for one year. It would be a great opportunity for learning from an expert - it seems that farming is the type of thing that is much better passed on by working hands-on with someone experienced rather than learning out of a book, as I am doing. But in the end, the drawbacks outweigh the pros for me. I don't want to live away from my spouse and my dog. And I don't want to have to pause my dissertation work for a whole six months (or however long it would end up being). Of course I suppose I could try it out, do it for awhile until it gets too hard and then quit - but I think the experience would be best if you make it through the whole season. I also think if you make a commitment to something, you should see it through. Anyway, I will probably take any short-term offer like this I get, just for the learning experience.
For those with some time to spare who are looking to save a little money, this is a great way to get good quality seedlings and learning experience.
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