Prema Farm Internship

I had a short third week of my internship because I will be out of town until after New Years. Zach and I focused on weeding all three of the greenhouses, using a hula hoe for most of the beds and a cobra tool (a smaller hand tool) for our more delicate crops that are planted closer together (such as turnips). We also harvested out a 50 foot bed of carrots, bed prepped it, and then planted bok choy seeds. The next day we harvested out a 50 foot bed of radishes and then planted more radishes after prepping the bed.

Zach and I also made some deliveries to the food hub and two local restaurants. These deliveries usually happen on a weekly basis during the winter (and more often during the summer). I really enjoy helping Zach out with this because I get to meet a lot of other people that are passionate about the local food movement happening in Reno.

The second week of my internship was full of lots of exciting things. To start off the week, Zach and I went to DROPP on Wednesday. DROPP (Distributors of Regional Organic Produce and Products) is the area’s first food hub and was started by the local co-op just a few years ago. After visiting a large food hub in the Skagit Valley, it was very interesting to see a much smaller one that is still in its early years. Zach and I met with several people who run DROPP and talked about what Prema would be selling next year to DROPP and the co-op.

When we got to the farm that day, we prepped a bed for turnips. Prema uses no-till practices, so their bed prep is a little different from what I was used to at Evergreen. First, we used a broadfork to aerate the soil (we did not turn the soil over onto itself), then amended with one bucket of compost and one large scoop of pelleted chicken manure. We used a tilther on the soil which incorporates the amendments into the very top layer of the soil. We then planted the turnip seeds in four rows using a four-row seeder and evened out the bed one more time.

On Saturday, I had the opportunity to be a part of the market. Prema sells produce at the Riverside Farmers Market every Saturday during the winter. I really enjoyed being able to interact with so many people that are passionate about the growing local food movement in Reno.

I began my internship at Prema Farm on Wednesday, November 28th. The farm is located at 1350 Long Valley Road, which is just across the California border, about 30 minutes north of downtown Reno. During my first day, I got a tour of the farm, which is certified organic and on a small, 1.5 acre plot of land.

At Prema, there are three heated greenhouses, a heated propagation house for germinating seeds, and a small covered structure with a wash station and tool bench. They just finished building the structure of the third heated greenhouse, so a lot of what I helped with during those first few days was with the electrical work on that greenhouse. By the end of the week, I had helped wire two thermostats, hung four fans, and got one heater working. Zach, the farm manager, was there everyday that I was and I worked closely with him most of the time. This was my first experience working with electrical systems and it was amazing to learn so much in just a few days.

Friday was harvest day in preparation of market day on Saturday. Prema is part of the first winter farmers market in Reno, which just began this year, and will be there every Saturday selling their produce. Along with the help of two other people that work at Prema under Zach’s guidance, I harvested salad mix, arugula, carrots, radishes, bok choy, kale, rainbow chard, and turnips.

On Saturday, we had to quickly get the last of the outside carrots out of the ground before the heavy freeze hit. We harvested almost 500 pounds of carrots from just one 50 foot bed- during a blizzard!

Now that the carrots are out of the ground, all of the growing and harvesting will be taking place in the heated greenhouses.