I must have been a holy terror when I was seven years old, because that summer my mother threatened to send me away to a farm. She reasoned that some good hard work — physical labor — would knock some sense into me.

I didn’t particularly like my home life, and so I said, “Sure! Please, send me away to a farm.” To my despair, she never did.

Fast forward thirteen years. A good friend of mine has changed careers out of software development to become a farmer, and Barb and I are participating in his CSA. (Everyone knows by now what a CSA/farm share is, right? Every day I meet people who haven’t heard of the concept. Paula discussed the benefits of a CSA in a recent article on the benefits of local food. You can find a CSA near you through Local Harvest.)

The farmer is growing vegetables of all varieties, and raising pigs, chickens, and lambs. And just last week, the flower plots have started blooming! I took home a big bouquet of cosmos and snapdragons. For a city-dweller with no backyard, this is a perfect way to almost feel like I’m growing my own.

These days, I get to live out my childhood escapist fantasy every single week. I have a work share in the farm’s CSA, which means my payment for each week’s bag of veggies is a few hours of work on the farm. Not only are Barb and I eating fresh, locally-grown organic veggies exclusively, but I get the opportunity to cultivate and harvest them.

Here’s how it goes. Every Friday, I drive up to the farm. It’s about 20 minutes out of the city, not far at all. I wear lightweight long pants and my Bean boots — of course, I could always wear an extra pair of the farmer’s muck boots, since we wear the same size. Along with the farmer and whatever other volunteers show up, I harvest veggies for that day’s pickup. If there’s time leftover, we might hoe a row of garlic, or pull weeds, or plant several rows of chard or beets.

What does this have to do with money? The value of hard work! I realize not everyone has the time available to spend 3-4 hours a week harvesting. But now that I’m done with massage school, I have the ability to choose what I want to do with my time. On an hourly basis, I’m really not making much — I estimate roughly $7 an hour. But the benefits are huge: the grounding, calming effects of digging in the dirt; the pleasure of being at the farm, snickering at the farmer’s dirty jokes; and the ability to experience in a very visceral way where my food comes from.

Some of the other benefits of working hard for my veggies:

– I no longer need a gym membership. I’m developing incredible upper body strength from staking tomatoes and pulling weeds, and lower body strength from squatting to harvest cut greens.

– I’m becoming less bug-phobic. Somehow the spiders and horseflies matter less when I’m working in the dirt.

– I get to enjoy the company of the farmer and the other volunteers. This is recreation for me!

I know the farmer appreciates it too. His helpers so far have included his parents, his girlfriend (she tends the flower bed), and his girlfriend’s parents. Other volunteers pitch in too, but mostly it’s a solitary business. He likes the company as well as the extra hands.

And so, in return for a few hours of labor, Barb and I have more veggies than we can really eat each week. The kohlrabi and bok choy in particular have been delicious. Every week is different, and it’s such a pleasure to spend time at the farm.

So this is my point, I guess: Physical labor is great. Sometimes the rewards are even edible!