A Day at Ancient Valley Growers
Part of the farm from outside our bathroom
As much as Hawaii is an amazing place to vacation, while we are here Hunter and I are not (exclusively) on vacation. We are doing what’s called a work stay program. This consists of us working 20 hours on a farm, Ancient Valley Growers, in exchange for housing, food from the farm, and some other food staples. While working on the farm can be hard work, it is a wonderful place to work and be. We have gotten to experience Hawaii much more intimately this way as well.
We have been living on the Big Island, specifically in Wood Valley. There have been so many benefits of being in this valley, one of which being the climate. The farm is 2400ft above sea level, which makes it much cooler, especially at night. This is a very rural area, giving us lots of privacy and a great break from the action of every day life.
One thing I quickly learned here is tropical farming is much different from any other type of farming I’ve encountered. Having a year round growing season is not something I know much about, but I have really enjoyed learning.
Day to day on the farm varies a lot, which just makes it that much more exciting. We work Monday-Wednesday every week, Wednesdays being the only day of the week where we know what to expect! Wednesdays are harvest days. There is a company called Adaptations that picks up whatever we harvested for them around 2:30 p.m.
Me & a bucket of carrots we harvested
There is a huge variety of crops being grown on the farm. When we first arrived we were harvesting a lot of zucchini. Almost every week has consisted of harvesting carrots, which is definitely one of the most labor intensive crops on the farm to harvest. Having to use a pitch fork to loosen the soil, and then pull the carrot tops up, hoping they don’t rip while you’re doing so. There are daikon being harvested most week, which is in the radish family. Kale and basil are crops that you can harvest many times, so a little amount of those seems to go a long way in terms of harvesting. There are also many other types of leafy greens, such as chard and bok choy.
After harvesting all of these crops we bring them back to the barn, which is equipped with a wash pack. We wash and sort all of these veggies into A, B, and C grade. “A” grade is what goes out to the customers, “B” grade is what we on the farm eat, and “C” grade is what goes to the chickens. From food scraps to icky vegetables, nothing on the farm gets wasted. Once the vegetables are washed we box them and send them out with the truck!
Monday and Tuesday are not as predictable. Two of the main things that we spend our time doing on those days are weeding and planting. While all of the rain in Hawaii definitely helps the crops grow, it also helps the weeds grow. While sometimes tedious, weeding helps the crops live a much happier life, and we never run out of that as a task to do! Planting feels much more rewarding. In the two months we have been here we’ve planted almost 3 large fields. These fields have more zucchini, radishes, turnips, corn, carrots, green beans, and so much more. Planting an area so large and being able to see it sprout about a week later is a very cool experience!
While planting and weeding are our main tasks, there is always something else thrown in there for some variation. The past 2 weeks we ran new lines for water to reach the back fields. This included trenching a route for the line to be buried, and learning about how to attach the lines to the brass to split the water to go to different sections.
Me & the baby cows!
Aside from the crops part of the farm they also have almost 200 laying hens, are raising new meat birds, have 2 pigs, and 6 cows. One of the pigs is pregnant, whose babies will be raised for meat, 2 of the cows are producing milk cows, 2 are babies, and one is a rented bull. Once a week we help Matt, one of the owners, with the morning and nightly tasks of the animals.This includes feeding and giving the chickens and pigs water, collecting some eggs, and overall just checking in on them to make sure no one is sick or having trouble. Due to our interest, Hunter and I have also had the opportunity to learn how to milk the cows and got to make friends with the babies, Tony and Pepito.
Matt and Andrea, the owners have made this experience wonderful. They’ve taught us so much about animals, crops, and just the day to day of owning a farm like this. We’ve had the opportunity to try so many new foods, and gotten access to a great source of both vegetables and meat that we feel so lucky to be able to take advantage of. We are also working side by side with them most days, able to ask questions, and able to see all of the hard work they are putting in to make this way of life work for them.
Not only have Matt and Andrea made the farm great, but all of the other people on the farm have helped as well! There are two other work stayers, Ebbe and Charles, who make the day to day so much fun. We spend the day in the field asking each other insane hypothetical questions. We get to make dinners with things from the farm and all eat together. Hunter has become known as the resident “meat guy,” and I’m the supplier of gluten free baked goods. There is also Peter, and DP, who have taught us so much about milking cows, give us tasks when we think we’ve run out, and enjoy the sweet treats as well! We’ve found a great group of people here and leaving them in two weeks will definitely be the hardest part of leaving Hawaii.
As much as we planned to explore Hawaii during our time here (which we have gotten to do a bunch of), we also came with the intention of being able to learn more about farming and everything that goes along with it. We have gotten to learn so much more than we could have imagined, and it definitely makes up for the hard days of work. The beauty of the area is a perk we never would have imagined being so great. This is an experience I would recommend to anyone whose looking to gain knowledge, and explore a new area. Not just in Hawaii, but anywhere.
