City Roots

Growing up in Columbia, South Carolina was great- I had great friends, family, things I was involved in were lots of fun: Young Life, theatre.. etc. But as soon as I graduated my mentality was to get out! Not that I don't have incredible things here waiting for me when I come home... I think I just wanted to live differently. So here I am.. awaiting my last year of school, and hanging at home for a couple of weeks before I move back to Savannah. I find myself realizing that Columbia has changed a lot in 3+ years, or else Im just interested in different things and so I'm more aware. So its been my goal in these few short weeks to re-discover what Columbia has to offer.

Obviously I was introduced to the exciting world of farming this summer- so I decided to research different farms that I could go visit and possibly volunteer at. Today I worked at City Roots, Columbia's first urban sustainable/organic farm. Its within city limits- right next to the YMCA fields, and sits on not an enormous amount of land- but a pretty substantial bit for being in town. They grow vegetables.. in season now are: summer squash, cucumbers, okra, eggplant.. etc. But what is most interesting is their variety and amount of sprouts (or "micro-greens") that are available. They grow and harvest them in their large green house and produce types such as: sunflower, arugula, mustard, radish, water crests and snow pea. Basically they broadcast them, let them sprout- and within 7ish days they are ready to harvest. They are great for salads, greens for sandwiches.. etc. and are very rich in proteins and nutrients. They provide restaurants in columbia such as Shag Bistro, Rosso Trattoria Italia, Gervais and Vine, and Saluda's with fresh sprouts. They are also at a number of markets including the All Local Market at 701 Whaley (I got to check it out last weekend, its great!).

I love love love community supported business that in return support the community. I have learned that farms are just such community builders because everyone can relate in one thing: we all eat food.

Indigo Summer

On the schedule for today was:
1) To plant the dye plants in the plot at the farm
2) To finish our dye work for Alabama Chanin.

So early this morning I set out for the farm... and then about 45 min later I got there (after much ado and not knowing which direction I was going...figures). It was a beautiful morning and we got a lot done: dug out places for the seeds to be scattered, and planted marigold, hopi-dye sunflowers, and indigo. It was an incredible thing to be a part of the very beginnings of planting. The whole time I was thinking about the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13, and also the idea of a harvest and how the process of planting, growing, and harvesting the seed is exactly that: a process. Its a beautiful analogy of how we grow spiritually with the Lord... Jesus uses so many stories and comparisons with agriculture that its incredible to be able to see it first hand.

The second part of the day was devoted to dying yardage for Alabama Chanin with Indigo. She has a beautiful line of clothing for the summer that is inspired by the color of Indigo. I thought I would give a brief overview of Indigo for those of you who don't know... Its actually been incredible seeing the process and getting a better understanding of how it works.

Historically Indigo is a very powerful and often times considered a "magical" substance. It is different from normal natural dyes in that it Indigo is a dye different than any other. It does not require any mordant. Rather it is dyed through a living fermentation process. The process "reduces" the Indigo, changing it from blue to a greenish color. In this state, it dissolves in an alkaline solution. The fiber is put directly into the dye.. usually kept in what is called a vat. It is sensitive to air so when you lower the fabric in it must be very gentle, introducing as little air as possible. When brought out to the air, it is a bright green and slowly the air changes it to the beautiful deep and rich blue of Indigo (this is the magical part).

I have become very attached to our vats of indigo.. especially our very large one that sits outside. There are probably a lot of reasons for it: One being that every day I come home with Indigo completely covering my hands, arms, and feet. Also because the vats survive by a fermentation process you can keep in going for however long you are willing to "feed" it and help it along with adding various materials like Barley Wheat (that kind of feeds the bacteria that live in the vat and keep up the fermentation, Soda Ash, or more Indigo Powder (to strengthen or weaken the color). The vats periodically need to rest, or need to be fed, or are exhausted from the amount of Indigo it has been releasing to dye fabric... It's just like a person! (we are in the process of naming ours, because they are personified so much). I wish I had pictures now.. but they will have to come later.. I need to buy a camera chord.

I've gotta run! I'm going to a benefit concert with my roomie for Logos Bookstore that got a lot of damage during the flood.

Today I worked on a farm...

I haven't posted in a while, but I'm blogging from Nashville, Tennessee! I have been here for a couple of days and everything is finally settling down for me to be able to be in contact with the world! I'm here interning for the summer with the company Ask Apparel which is a small apparel company that creates beautifully hand dyed and crafted products. They are in a transitional stage right now to become more of a dye house that dyes yardage for use of other designers. I have learned so much already about natural dying, the importance of sustainability, and especially recipes and materials for all of the above. So many things are interesting to me about all of these processes. Right now I'm excited about tomorrow morning, we will be meeting at the community farm called Bell's Bend to be planting dye stuffs that will be harvested in August. We are planting Indigo, Marigold... and much more that I'm not sure of, actually (oops). It really is neat being immersed in this culture of organic and all natural farming/living/eating. I've always wanted to learn more about everything.. for example: composting, gardening, diy yogurt, soy milk, etc. I'm learning tons and I cant wait to report back with more!

Another really cool thing is that I'm in Nashville! What a cool place, I really didn't prepare myself during the last couple of days of school for moving to a new place... I kind of didn't think about it at all actually until the drive up. But everything is so much fun.. everyone is "doing the music thing", or is a farmer, or is a hippie, or is a Vanderbilt student and is majoring in biochemical engineering (what the heck!?) I love this city!