Some of the Farmers are Heading Home!

On Tuesday, the first group of seasonal farmers left Rootbound to spend the winter in their homes in the Mexican state of Nayarit. We said goodbyes to Don Chepe, Alberto, Pillo, Juan Jose, Imanol, and Osvaldo. Our team includes 18 seasonal staff, and their contribution and expertise is irreplaceable. Every farmer on the team is important, and while we do love working together every day, we are excited for them to spend time with their families back home until the whole cycle begins next Spring.

In addition to farmers leaving, we are proud to welcome three new farmers to our team, Pedro, Lu, and Thomas! Pedro and Lu came from Guatemala, and Thomas from Belgium, to spend the last few weeks of the 2024 growing season working on our farm.

With our full team intact, this past weekend we wrapped up our sweet potato harvest, bringing in over 12,000 pounds of them, and now the sweet potatoes spend a week curing before they will be ready to fill out boxes for the months ahead. In addition to a pop up hail storm yesterday, this week was the arrival of the colder weather. Here’s hoping that everyone makes a smooth transition from performing outdoor farm tasks in the heat to working in lower temperatures.

And Now, a Photo Interlude

Omar sorting and cleaning produce in the packshed.

Thanks for coming to October’s Farm walk! Our next one will be on Saturday, November 2.

In the early hours of the morning, the chicken coop doubles as a lighthouse.

Worried about chickens having space to flock? Fear not. Sometimes, they find new pastures on their own.

Meet Duilio Rodriguez Guardado

“Me parece empece en siete de Junio.” I think I started on the seventh of June. In early June, a new farmer joined the Rootbound team, and it’s about time we introduced him. Many of the H2A workers here are a part of the same extended family, and Duilio is a brother to Osvaldo and Juan Jose and a son to Pillo. We were happy to welcome him to the team at the beginning of the CSA season.

While he has a lot of responsibilities on the family ranch back home, Duilio says he’s wanted to work here for some time. “Para mi familia. No tengo ahora, pero en el futuro para mi esposa y mis niños, para hacer mi casa.” I’m working for my family. I don’t have them yet, but in the future, for my wife and kids and to build my home. Though Duilio, 28, is the oldest of his siblings, Valdo and Juanjo joined our team a couple of years before him. The brothers primarily work on the harvest team, riding out to the fields in the early mornings to gather all the components of your CSA boxes.

“Aprendí muchas cosas nuevas, hay muchas verduras diferentes y variadades de producto.” I learned many new things here. There are many different vegetables and varieties of products. “En Nayarit, tenemos maíz, repollo, papas, pero aquí aprendí las cosechas de bunches, como rabanos y broccolini.” In Nayarit, Mexico, we have corn, cabbage, and potatoes, but here I learned how to harvest bunches like radishes and broccolini. Because we have a lot of different products, the farmers learn at a fast pace. Two days after Duilio arrived to work at Rootbound, he was working on our large onion and garlic harvests.

When it’s his day off, “no hago nada,” I don’t do anything. “Puro dormir.” Only sleep. “Comer y descansar.” Eat and take rest. Being out in the fields six days a week is no joke. Duilio and the farmers move fast during harvests and work long hours to make sure harvests for CSA boxes and other projects are complete. Duilio is more inclined to eat his vegetables. He eats caldo de res beef soup while he’s at the ranch back home. “Tiene carne de res, papa, zanahoria, repollo, cilantro, chayote, zucchini, y ejote.” The soup has beef, potato, carrot, cabbage, cilantro, chayote squash, zucchini, and green beans. Duilio also likes cooking. “Mi favorito plato para cocinar es un guisado de lengua y tripa.” My favorite dish to cook is a beef tongue and tripe stew. Guisados are stews that take hours to make, and they’re well worth the wait.

There are eight weeks left in CSA, and when Duilio goes back home, he’ll get to spend time with his family. “Casi todo el tiempo estamos alli con mi papa y mama. Todo juntos.” We’re with our dad and mom almost all of the time. All together. Sometimes they visit the river, and Duilio enjoys fishing. “Tenemos un rio y si vamos a seguido al rio. Me gusta mucho ir al rio y pescar.” We have a river close by that we go to. I really like to go to the river and fish. We hope Duilio has a good time fishing in Nayarit after the CSA season ends.