OK, it is 2011 and we are already getting ready for the Spring and Summer season. Truth be told, we starting getting ready on October 16th, the day after we ended the 2010 season at Saylorsburg. This year we will be back at the farm in Williams Township (a big and furious HURRAH !!! Missed being there last year). It is the hub of everything we do, so it makes sense to sell from there. We are still going to be at the Blue Ridge Flea Market (Saylorsburg) and one other. We are not sure which one. Both are Thursday markets, so we shall see.
We still will be selling exclusively locally grown, pesticide and chemical free, in season produce. A larger percentage of what we sell will be grown at the farm in Williams Township. Added to the mix will be a larger percentage of herbs. We have sold herbs in the past, but are ratcheting that up more for the 2011 season. I am very excited about having solved (hopefully) one of the problems of selling herbs off site. They wilt so quickly and look terrible when we try to present them. This year we are taking the entire plants to the market and cut them when we sell them. It will be a little more tedious to do that way, but the added benefit will be worth the trouble. It doesn’t get any fresher than cutting while you wait to buy it.
Also, Chuck is already picking out the seeds for planting in our raised beds. We are moving to a raised bed system rather than the traditional garden set up we used the last three years. It will allow for a larger yield per square foot and be able to secure a little better to keep our flock of chickens from eating all the vegetables. We love the chickens but they have to learn what is their food and what is crops to be sold. Since I don’t know how to get that across to them, the second best way is to secure what is being sold.
Third, we are moving toward using more ‘heirloom’ or ‘pure’ seeds. We are not 100% YET, but I see the day, very soon (maybe as early as 2013) when we only use pure heirloom seeds. Heirloom seeds are ones that can be collected from the plant and produce we had the year before. Seeds bought commercially from most places are ‘genetically altered’, ‘hybridized’ or worse. They are marketed as being a better seed, better yield, safer, and easier. They are none of the above. They are not a better seed since they aren’t totally pure. They may yield more, but statistics show that their nutritional value is significantly less. Some studies show that an altered seed produces at only 50% nutritional value from pure or heirloom seeds. That is significant.
Honestly the real reason large agri-companies want us to buy these seeds is profit. When we buy genetically altered and hybridized seeds, we have to purchase every year, as we cannot save the seeds from the plants. They don’t produce a guaranteed product second generation. The only guarantee we have on second generation is that they will NOT be the same as the first generation. The become a gamble of “Frankenfood” monsters, not knowing what we will get.
We have purchased seeds in the past from a company called Baker Creek Heirlooms (rareseeds.com) It is owned by the Gettle family. This company is stand up and responsible in what they do. I have no illusions that they don’t look at the profit margins or bottom line, as we all have to do if we call this a business, BUT they don’t do it at the expense of high standards. They only sell heirloom or pure seeds from around the world. Their selection is beyond belief. They have varieties of seeds that are vast as rainbows. We bought from them when they were in MO, but now they have purchased Comstock Ferre Seeds in CT. NOW, they are in driving distance to hand select and not have to mail order. That is a huge difference.
I have ranted and vented about chemical foods before. This is our FOOD. This is what keeps us alive. You really don’t have to look hard to figure out why we are obese; why we are sicker than before; why we need more and more chemicals to offset the ones before. It is our FOOD. The more we ingest chemically altered and chemically added foods the more our bodies are revolting. I know this first hand. It is not hearsay. I know when I have had too many processed foods. I also know when I have been doing the right thing and eating better. I did not say eating less, just eating better. That does not mean grazing on the meadow, either. The better food even tastes better. It is truly a win-win situation with good food.
As we head into the new year, I am always interested in hearing your ideas of what we might do to make your experience with us at the farm or markets better. Let Chuck or I know. And have a great 2011 with healthy food. Buy local, Buy fresh, Buy from US !!!
