Should I file a tax return if I made a little under $5000 over the summer? I weeded/planted at a farm. My supervisor said she doesn't have any tax forms for me to file.

I asked the owner of the farm (my supervisor) for the tax form to file my income from her farm. She said she doesn't have any tax forms for me and that I can choose to report my income on my taxes if I want to. How do I report this income if I have no form from the farm? Do I need to if I made less than $5000 and don't work at the farm anymore? I weeded, cleaned, planted and watered plants for 2.5 months over the summer. I got about $200-500 per week in a check the owner wrote out to me herself. She (the farm owner and my supervisor) said I was considered an independent contractor to her and that's why she doesn't need to give me a form for filing taxes. Please help me, I don't want to be in trouble with the IRS.