By Sarah Mayer | Here we are: mid-season, sun-kissed, increasingly reaching for our straw hats, and consistently detoxing in the sauna that is a summer in Wisconsin. And just how is it that we got here? With a little help from our friends, of course.

Early season farming can be a bit of a lesson in patience and trust. Trust the crop plan that you completed back in December, trust that the seeds you ordered for the entire growing season will germinate, and maintain the patience necessary as you eagerly wait for that first harvest.

Fast forward to the latter part of June. Mid-season hits you in the face like a ripe, red, heirloom tomato; you know, those delightfully ripe ones. Instead of cursing drenching spring rains, you’re wishing for a heavy, dew-filled evening.

Farm tasks move from seeding, transplanting, and soil preparation to cultivation, trellising, irrigation, pest management, and harvest. But here at Gwenyn Hill we scoff at mid-season. “Bring it on!” says this group of steadfast, kale-loving farmers. And because we are a team of well-seasoned cultivators, we don’t dare go it alone. We work as a team.

From tillers, mowers, and cultivators to wheel-hoers, harvesters, washers and packers, the Gwenyn Hill team is as dynamic and versatile as the Japanese Beetles gnawing holes in the leaves of our brassicas, basil, and eggplant. And just as we embrace those wretched iridescent beauties, for they are part of the farming experience we learn from, we too embrace one another’s love and skill of facilitating the production of sustenance for our community.