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Photographs by Beth Gellman
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There is nothing quite like the experience and energy I get from going to the farmer’s market each week. For one, it’s never the same, something you can't say about hitting the produce section of your local supermarket. The local farmers that work so hard to bring us their goods of sale each week give us an enormous amount of variety, but it's the taste keeps me going back for that just-picked, fresh-out-of-the-field deliciousness.
As I approach the market with their tents all in neat rows, it has the feeling of a spiritual ritual retreat. It’s enriching for all of your senses. It also provides a connection to who is growing the food you put into your mouth, and how that food is grown, a relationship that is sorely lacking in this country. In early spring, I began checking out each vendor’s ware of goods at the Maplewood Famer’s Market and the Tower Grove Farmer’s Market.
It didn’t take long to establish my first stop on the selection of farmers: a booth overseen by Sarah Buila and her kids, for Buila Family Farm (or “Builaland,” as they like to call it), in Cobden, Ill. They have a no-nonsense, unfussy way about them, and their display of vegetables and fruit reminds me of a road side stand next to a farm house on a country road. And Sarah Buila's friendly banter always draws me in to shoot the breeze while I pick out produce.
I chatted with Sarah earlier this summer at the Maplewood Farmer’s Market. On a blistering hot afternoon she talks about the provenance of the hay rack on their display table, and the significance it has to their family roots:
Sarah and her family were also gracious enough to take time out of their busy lives to answer some questions I threw their way, mostly by email. (Sarah reports whole family helped to answer my questions).
When did you know you wanted to be a farmer?
Am I a farmer? I used to say I was a farmer’s wife, but then Michael calls himself a “peasant.” I think the decision to grow food came on gradually with the desire to provide food grown without poison for our children, and teach them how to grow their own food. Misha, our oldest, says it is a birthright, but he wouldn’t want it any differently.
How long have you been farming?
I began helping on the farm when I was dating Michael during the late '80s. This was, as I said, a gradual process. Michael grew up growing food and flowers, so he can say at least 30 years.
What is it about farming that drives you to do what you do?
There is so much. Bottom line, I can hand a small child, not just my own, a strawberry or a cherry tomato or whatever is in season, and know that what I give them doesn’t have any chemicals on it. It was grown with respect for the environment, and it tastes better than what you can find at grocery store. Michael wants to teach other people how to grow food. I want to revolutionize the food system, one child at a time. Misha adds that he enjoys cooking, and the ingredients are so much better when you grow them yourself.
Have you always been involved with Farmer’s Markets?
I started 6 or 7 years ago. Michael could probably say he has always been involved with Farmer’s Markets. His parents make it a point to visit markets anywhere they travel, and they have seen quite a few. His father was president of the Carbondale Farmer’s Market when Michael was a kid.
What do most famer market shoppers not know about the food you produce?
Misha says that most people probably don’t understand how hard it is to farm. Sasha says they don’t know it is organic. I would say that maybe they don’t know that we eat what we grow and sell. If I don’t sell all of the tomatoes on Saturday, we will make sauce on Sunday. I would also say that they don’t know how much wisdom is at work here. Michael’s father has taught him much about growing. He has taught me many things as well. Then Michael has taken classes and workshops, read books, and just learned through trial and error. We do a lot of trying and error, experimentation. Another thing, we are all about diversity. There is strength in diversity.
What do you love about farming? What do you hate about farming?
Misha says he loves and hates it all. I would say that I love to be outside in the fresh air and sunshine, or the rain. I love the exercise and the feeling of accomplishment. It is really honest work. The plants tell you what they need and you nurture them. I love to eat stuff out in the field. Berries are amazing when you eat them as you pick them, still warm from the sun. And the fruit that is half eaten by bugs is always the sweetest. You can’t find that at the store. I also love walking barefoot though soft soil and climbing trees to get pears. I love digging potatoes and carrots because it is like a treasure hunt. I love making bunches of flowers and all the colors. Hate is a strong word. Sometimes I physically just hurt and the bugs and the weather can get us down. In addition, I have to add that the farm and working outside are a continuous source of gifts. Picture digging potatoes, it’s getting darker and cooler and then you look up and there is the most amazing sunset. Being present at that moment is a gift. This, I love.
If you had more time and more energy in a day, how would you spend it?
If I had more time I would sleep more and play more games with Sasha, do puzzles. I think we would all spend more time sleeping and playing. Misha says he would find some way to waste it. I think I would clean house more.
Is your farm herbicide- and pesticide-free?
We are against the “-cides.” In the event that we have tried different dusts or sprays for bugs, they were OMRI, which means they are approved for organic growers. We have used dishsoap for bugs, milk for fungus, and for weeds, we mulch with fabric or straw. We do a lot of picking and pulling. We don’t use chemical fertilizers either. Misha says, notice the holes in the produce.
How has the drought of 2012 affected the farm and your family?
In some ways, like any other year—some things do better, some are worse. It’s a bummer that the potatoes are so small, but there’s no Japanese beetles and Michael hasn’t had to mow.
If there was one thing you could broadcast to the world and know the world would listen to it, what would it be?
Well, I have different messages for different parts of the world. First, the United States. “ Wake up people, the way we grow and distribute food has a direct impact on the health of the planet and the health of humankind.” For the rest of the world, “Everyone deserves clean water, and enough nutritious food. Politics, class and the distribution of wealth are no excuse. No one deserves to starve.” I think it’s ironic—we have an obesity epidemic, and then some parts of the world don’t have enough, and honestly they both need the same thing.
What is it you want to leave behind in this world when you’re gone?
We hope grandchildren who are happy and healthy, and who know how to grow food.
Is there anything you would like to tell people about why they should go to a farmer’s market?
What you find there is more than meets the eye. You make friends, you see who grows your food, and you can ask them questions. You might find things unavailable anywhere else, and you can eat in season. We, that sell at the farmer's market, are not competing with each other. We are competing with Walmart and the notion of cheap, convenient food that keeps a long time and looks pretty. You sacrifice a lot for that food. Think about it.
If you won a million dollars today, would you keep doing what you’re doing?
I would keep doing what I do, but I can say we both would hire people to do some of the work. If I won a million dollars, I would pay off the farm debt, fix the house repairs that we have put off, and chase dreams of training future farmers, helping people grow food sustainably, and providing jobs for people who have difficulty working other places and who could benefit from the healing effect of the work that we do. Is there a contest we can enter?
Beth Gellman, the Garden Coach, is a landscape designer and consultant. Beth works primarily with landscape contractors in Design + Build capacities. Integrating beauty and function with outdoor spaces to create sustainable healthy practices drives her personal and professional life.
