A visit to God's Grace Farm was indeed a blessing and a privilege. Gigi Uy sent me a personal message last week if J could take pictures of the farm. J was hesitant since he only takes photos of students from schools and people from events. J was honest enough to say even before that he is not creative when it comes to taking other photos. But I told him to give it a try. Two days later we're off to the farm with Gigi. But I told John the night before that I think he should go alone since I might have difficulty with Nate but he encouraged me to go with him.
I've never met Gigi nor have I been to the farm but I've met her vegetables. When I finally met her, I finally realized why her vegetables are of the highest quality. Sitting in front, she started to talk about why she is doing all of these things in relation to being Certified Organic - the packaging, the location of the farm, the nutrients needed for the soil, the compost and many others. Yes, the produce are expensive compared to the regular ones but after explaining to me the manual things that needs to be done in order for the vegetables to be at the utmost quality, I have no more doubts about it. There are no shortcuts. But honest to goodness hard work and dedication, sweat and tears are given to the farm. As a matter of fact, everything is attention to detail.
When we arrive at the farm, I thought, she should charge more for what she's been doing. But her true desire is to really provide excellent quality produce to her clients. First stop was the Aiko and medley tomatoes. It was the only place that I could have a good look up close and personal. If the pathway is a bit bigger, it would have been a great wedding aisle to walk down to. Nate, although turning red from the hot weather, enjoyed his bite of the tomatoes. And yes, he wants to grab more of it while J is busy taking pictures all over the farm. I could see a lot of papaya trees scattered all over the land. And don't miss a row of rosemary and lavender pots displayed below the Aiko tomato greenhouse. From afar, I could see the mizuna and some Thai basil herbs but I have to stay put in the middle of the path or else Nate and I would have a hard time going around the farm. The trip was exhausting for me most especially with Nate around. I went home tired with a headache while Nate was still very active and actually slept late. I want to visit the farm again for its progress. I'm certain Gigi has a lot of crops to plant as the days and months go by. There are still a lot of work that needs to be done but the farm is organized and clean. This is just the beginning.Below are some photos that J took at the farm. There are more pictures though at God's Grace Farm Facebook Page where Gigi explained what's going on with the farming process. But for now, just enjoy the photos.