Exploring Rochester's Freshest: A Dive into Growing Family Farms
Chris chats with Courtney Klee, a farmer at Growing Family Farms, who shares her journey into agriculture and highlights the farm's commitment to regenerative practices. They discuss the variety of produce they grow and how CSAs foster a direct relationship between farmers and consumers. Courtney explains how CSAs work, allowing customers to receive fresh, local produce while helping farmers during the off-season. They emphasize the value of knowing where food comes from and the unique flavors that come from freshly harvested crops, encouraging listeners to engage with local agriculture as the spring season unfolds.
Mentions:
Growing Family Farms (@growingfamilyfarms) - @explorerochester - Rochester Contemporary Art Center (@roco137) - SEAC Tool Shed - Living Roots Winery (@livingrootswine)
Mentioned in this episode:
Joe Bean Roasters
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Behind the Glass
Podcast and gallery focusing on underrepresented artists utilize the space to amplify their work. Curated by @Richardbcolon @qua.jay. Check out the podcast or join them in person first Fridays at 240 E Main St, Rochester, NY! https://behind-the-glass-gallery.captivate.fm
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Transcript
I'm Chris Lindstrom and this is the Food About Town podcast, Rochester.
Speaker B:Well, why Rochester?
Speaker A:Chris Lindstrom was a hoot.
Speaker A:He was just so much fun.
Speaker A:He never stopped talking.
Speaker A:I mean, it was great.
Speaker B:Here's a good idea.
Speaker B:Have a point.
Speaker B:It makes it so much more interesting for the listener and we don't need any characters around to give the joint atmosphere.
Speaker B:Is that clear?
Speaker B:We.
Speaker A:Because I'm a pro.
Speaker A:That's what pros do.
Speaker A:I'm a professional.
Speaker A:Look it up in the book.
Speaker A:But now, yeah, I'm thinking I'm back.
Speaker A:And we are back with another episode of the Food About Town podcast.
Speaker A:It's spring.
Speaker A:It feels like spring.
Speaker A:And what a spring thing to talk about today, other than farming.
Speaker A:I'm super excited to talk about this.
Speaker A:And I have a guest.
Speaker A:Guest, why don't you introduce yourself?
Speaker B:Hello, my name is Courtney Klee and I am a current farmer at Growing Family Farms.
Speaker A:So I'm super excited to talk to you.
Speaker A:We met at The Explore Rochester 10 year retrospective.
Speaker A:Side note, for everybody who's listening, the first episode of that will be out on the Just can't not podcast feed this week.
Speaker A:So this will be coming out on March 25th and then that'll be out later this week so people can start to listen to that.
Speaker A:And if you want to check out the rest of the Explore Rochester Tenure retrospective at the Rochester Contemporary Art center, you can go when they're open.
Speaker A:You can listen to the interviews while you're looking at the display.
Speaker A:They put it up on the wall on headphones, so it's really cool.
Speaker A:So I'm really excited to go check that out and hopefully you get a chance to do that as well.
Speaker A:So we met there and I was really glad you mentioned that you are working at a farm and that we're coming up on CSA season.
Speaker A:So let's start off first with what is Growing Family Farm.
Speaker B:So Growing Family Farms is a small certified organic farm and the keyword certified.
Speaker B:Because a lot of farms can pledge organic, which is great.
Speaker B:But to be certified, it's a whole nother level.
Speaker B:So I'm, you know, just so everyone knows, when you're looking at farms, pledging and certifications are two important factors.
Speaker B:In upstate New York particularly, that means we don't spray, we don't use any chemicals, and we practice regenerative farming.
Speaker B:So we don't actually use any machinery, which is also very interesting.
Speaker B:This is my the first farm I've worked at, so I thought every farm was like this until I started talking to Other farmers.
Speaker B:And I was like, oh, oh, okay.
Speaker B:We work really hard, but it's beautiful.
Speaker B:Cause it's in tandem with the land, but it's incredible.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:And we have vegetables, a small pear orchard, apples.
Speaker B:And then we grow a diverse set of vegetables, which is incredible, both in greenhouses and outside.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker A:So we're going to dive into a lot of those different aspects because I love the intricacies when we're talking about farming and production.
Speaker A:I actually grew up, you know, more on the flower and greens greenhouse side of things.
Speaker A:So my family runs a small family greenhouse Christmas tree farm out in the Buffalo area.
Speaker A:So it's something that I've spent a lot of time around, but mostly on the.
Speaker A:On that side of like, hey, we're selling plants for you to grow at home.
Speaker A:So I'm really intrigued to talk through this.
Speaker A:And we've done it a couple times on the show, but it's always good to refresh.
Speaker A:So before we get into the details on that, why don't you tell everybody about CSAs and why they matter to farms and how people can sign up for a growing family or for another CSA if it works better for them.
Speaker B:So a CSA means a community shared agriculture.
Speaker B:So it's basically the reciprocal relationship between the farmer and the customer.
Speaker B:So rather than going to Wegmans or tops, which I know is incredibly tough for people nowadays, and city of Rochester, we don't think about other ways of getting food.
Speaker B:But we're in a diverse place where there are farms all around us.
Speaker B:There is no need to be getting spinach from California.
Speaker B:We have it right here.
Speaker B:So the importance of CSAs, and I'll use that acronym, so again, it's community shared agriculture is you pay your farmer upfront, so you're helping them in their off season, but.
Speaker B:But in turn, you are getting several weeks of local fresh vegetables, which is incredible.
Speaker B:Cause you get to know your farmer, you can message them, ask questions, you can plan your vegetables around that.
Speaker B:And depending where you choose to pick up, there's a lot of new options out there, which has been incredible that farmers have really saw the need and have adapted.
Speaker B:You know, that's not just come to the farm, pick up the vegetables.
Speaker B:We see that there's a different kind of need.
Speaker B:So there's a lot of different ways that you can, you know, we can fill a gap, but then you can plan your, your whole shopping experience around the farmer and then you can go get your other necessities at either farmer's Market or fill your gaps at Wegmans.
Speaker B:And grocery stores.
Speaker B:So it's just a really great way to know where your food is grown.
Speaker B:I think people are really opening their eyes and really seeing the difference in how the food lasts longer as well.
Speaker B:Because, you know, when you go to the grocery store and you buy lettuce, let's say it's already on day four or five maybe of being cut, at best.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker B:I like to be gentle, but, yes, thank you for saying that.
Speaker B:But at best, I would agree it's probably a week old by the time you get it.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:I remember my first year of farming.
Speaker B:I have always been a big part of the farmer's market.
Speaker B:That's one of the reasons I was hired to help at the farmer's market.
Speaker B:And I was getting all kinds of questions where people were like.
Speaker B:And it's crazy, the things sometimes people say to farmers, not recognizing that, like, we grow the food.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Kind of nasty sometimes not meaning to be.
Speaker B:But some woman was like, why does your food last so much longer than Wegmans?
Speaker B:And I was like, well, do you want to know why?
Speaker B:Or like, she just seemed, like, frustrated.
Speaker B:Like, we were, like, lying.
Speaker B:And I was like, why?
Speaker B:I cut it me.
Speaker B:Hello.
Speaker B:And yesterday, and you're getting it today.
Speaker B:So it's brand, brand new.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:But people really, when I say it can last a week or two, people think we're bluffing because they're so used to the products going bad so quickly.
Speaker A:Well, and there's also something.
Speaker A:Something very specific about.
Speaker A:About fresh, fresh produce that is hard to define until you've had truly fresh produce.
Speaker A:And I recall, like, when I was a kid, one of the many offshoots of things that we did, we had some family friend or one of my dad's, like, contacts that was a farmer.
Speaker A:He had a lot of corn.
Speaker A:And we just.
Speaker A:We went and picked and we brought it to.
Speaker A:We brought it to the greenhouse and we sold it there.
Speaker B:Cool.
Speaker A:But we picked in the morning.
Speaker A:We started selling it that day out front of the greenhouse.
Speaker A:And the fact that I could pick it off the stalk and bite into it is incomparable.
Speaker A:I mean, the.
Speaker A:And when I say my favorite version of corn is dead, fresh, raw.
Speaker A:And it's not.
Speaker A:Not a joke.
Speaker A:Like, I love.
Speaker A:I love that because it was so, so vital, so fresh.
Speaker A:And it was this.
Speaker A:That crunch is incomparable.
Speaker A:And it's so specific that you can't get that even two days past pick because corn is so volatile.
Speaker A:And I use that as an example because that affects, you know, other things are less temperamental Right.
Speaker A:Your, your roots are less, much less temperamental.
Speaker A:They're not quite as, they're not affected by that time nearly as much.
Speaker A:But many things are, including your delicate greens, your, you know, those things that turn into starches faster.
Speaker A:There is this quality that you're losing without that immediacy of getting it from a farmer.
Speaker B:And to talk about the quality, just the nutrients, like, I can't express like the amount of nutrients that you're getting into your body.
Speaker B:Forget the organic part, like say they are sprayed.
Speaker B:Let's just say they are.
Speaker B:But they're local.
Speaker B:You're also getting that much more nutrients too.
Speaker B:It's incredible the amount of nutrients that's lost in that whole travel experience too, or the freezing or the way they're like kind of keeping them.
Speaker B:So, yeah, I just think that I'm, I'm hoping.
Speaker B:And what, what I think we've seen is too, is, you know, I don't want to talk about what's going on in the world because what's going on in the world, I think that we might be benefiting a little bit, I think because of some of the intolerance and that the things are putting in place, the pendulum's swinging back and people are like, you know what?
Speaker B:I want to know where my food is coming from.
Speaker B:I want to help the little guy.
Speaker B:So I, that, you know, we're experiencing a little bit of a beautiful pendulum swing where people are doing a little bit more research, want to have that experience at their first bite of corn that you're talking about or there's nothing like pulling a tomato off.
Speaker B:Like, you know, people that don't like tomatoes.
Speaker B:It's because you never had a tomato.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I mean, that kind of freshness and tomatoes I think are one of the most, one of the most critical because when we're talking about seasonality, we'll, we'll get into the specifics of the farm and other things.
Speaker A:But seasonality is part of the experience of being part of a CSA as well, is you will not get tomatoes earlier than a certain time.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker A:You will not get them past a certain time.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker A:Because that's when they're good and that's when they grow in our climate zone.
Speaker A:You know, when they grow in.
Speaker A:I forget what zone we are, But.
Speaker B:War Zone 7B, I believe.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:7 was the one in my head because of the Dan Barber Seed Company row seven, which I was around the climate zone.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Um, and you know, there's nothing quite like an in season tomato, but I think there's also.
Speaker A:And I.
Speaker A:And I say this not because, you know, it's.
Speaker A:It's one of those luxuries in many ways that when we get stuff that is beautifully in season, we only have it for a limited amount of time.
Speaker A:And I'll be like, I'll be honest.
Speaker A:Like, hey, I have the luxury of, hey, if I can buy this stuff without it affecting my.
Speaker A:Affecting my pocketbook without affecting anything else.
Speaker A:But when I get strawberries, I only buy them in season.
Speaker A:I don't buy a strawberry outside of season because I know how good they are.
Speaker A:And I don't like commercial strawberries.
Speaker A:I like strawberries in season.
Speaker B:Super cool.
Speaker A:And they are good for four weeks.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:People.
Speaker A:That's it.
Speaker B:And then people are getting mad.
Speaker B:You know, I've seen grocery store posts about blueberries and having mold and this and that.
Speaker B:I'm like, well, you paid $10 because it got shipped here.
Speaker B:It's not season.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:It's not like the money part of it.
Speaker B:It's like, if you knew how your food grew, you would know that you shouldn't be eating blueberries.
Speaker A:They also don't taste good.
Speaker B:Well, that part.
Speaker A:But, like.
Speaker A:And that's the thing is, like, I've gone and picked blueberries out of the field and, oh.
Speaker A:Turns out that the variety matters.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker A:And just like, oh, I buy a blueberry, I'm like, no, no, you're buying something specific.
Speaker A:You just don't know that you're buying something specific because they're not labeled with what variety are they?
Speaker A:How were they grown?
Speaker A:You know, all the other stuff that goes into this and that.
Speaker A:That it just opens this giant door of there's an infinite amount of information out there.
Speaker A:And one of the great things about CSAs is one that you are supporting the farm directly by covering their costs.
Speaker A:You know, if we have a brutal year.
Speaker A:Yeah, you are covering part of their cost because they might not be able to produce as much.
Speaker A:As much produce as they did in a boom year.
Speaker A:You're still going to get food.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:You just might not get the same volume.
Speaker A:You might get overloaded with produce in other years.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker A:Which can be an amazing delight.
Speaker A:Then you have to learn about canning or pickling, hopefully, because I like.
Speaker B:Or dehydrating.
Speaker B:I started dehydrating this year.
Speaker B:I know.
Speaker B:I was like, listen, I want to try something else.
Speaker B:So I tried dehydrating.
Speaker B:It's my year of dehydrating.
Speaker B:I'll let you know how it goes.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:So before we get into the rest of the farm.
Speaker A:Let's talk about your journey into farming.
Speaker A:So what were you doing before you got into the farming side of things?
Speaker B:How far back do you want me to go?
Speaker A:I mean, let's go back enough to tell.
Speaker A:Tell about who you are and how this, you know, how this thing kind of crept into your life.
Speaker A:Because that's how this stuff tends to go.
Speaker A:It's usually not a one moment done gone.
Speaker B:Yes, I appreciate that because I did like, it was a hard switch for a lot of people, but it wasn't for me.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:Because I am at the later end of my 30s and started farming at 35.
Speaker B: So I moved to Rochester in: Speaker B:I had like a long love affair with Rochester.
Speaker B:I'm from Buffalo originally.
Speaker B:Fellow Buffalo man.
Speaker B:Yeah, I know.
Speaker A:So Main streets of Boston, New York.
Speaker B:Oh yeah.
Speaker B:You know, go Bills.
Speaker B: And so I moved here back in: Speaker B:I went to MCC and SUNY Brockport.
Speaker B:So you know, I liked it here.
Speaker B:I traveled all over the world and I was looking to be closer to home and.
Speaker B:And I was really big into corporate America.
Speaker B:I wanted to be a corporate America and I wanted to have insurance and you know, all the things that they're told.
Speaker B:And that was my cause.
Speaker B:It was my first real job.
Speaker B:I was traveling internationally and teaching and doing odd jobs and working orphanage and really living a beautiful life that also impacted where I am now.
Speaker B: And then: Speaker B:We were in the global pandemic and I started to really look internal and watching how we couldn't get access to food and just basic necessities that I really never thought about, which is crazy now.
Speaker B:And so my first like kind of step in toward farming was I decided to become a vegan.
Speaker B:I just thought, you know, I'm sick of all the corporate stuff and the way we're destroying animals.
Speaker B:So I.
Speaker B:While I love animals, I will probably eat them again one day.
Speaker B:But right now it's my.
Speaker B:My way of kind of boycotting the culture.
Speaker B:Cause I'm forced to think more about my food, eat a lot more vegetables.
Speaker B:I try not to eat super processed foods because you can be a vegan and eat processed foods.
Speaker B:But I chose to really, you know, I am the co.
Speaker B:Well, the first ever executive director at 490 Farmers.
Speaker B:I know I'm no longer with them, so a big part of that was them teaching me because at the time I just had a lot of knowledge and execution.
Speaker B:So I really helped them form the 501C3.
Speaker B:But I wasn't at all on the food side of it or like the farm side.
Speaker B:So Rachel Farley, our farm manager at the time, did an incredible job of kind of perking my interest and the whole pandemic and everything that was going on.
Speaker B:And I thought, huh, I think I might be able to do this like as a career, like I could be a farmer.
Speaker B: So in: Speaker B:And it was an incredible year long program.
Speaker B:Once a week it was in Niagara County.
Speaker B:We drove out to Niagara county for two hours.
Speaker B:It was super great.
Speaker B:Every week you focused on something in class for an hour on our farm for an hour.
Speaker B:It was really beautiful.
Speaker B:And I know it was no, nothing close to the real thing, but I got my certificate and I was at the time working in another nonprofit and I was not enjoying my time.
Speaker B:I was not having a good time.
Speaker B:I was like, these nonprofits, these for profits?
Speaker A:No, it's tough because both, both have their own pluses and minuses.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:So from a, you know, if you're used to working in a certain kind of company, then nonprofits, you know, it has a very lean way of doing things, but can be very insular and very, you know, very tight in a way that can be impenetrable.
Speaker A:And it doesn't necessarily work for people who like working in a system.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:And there's, you know, there's a different kind of structure than the corporate and there's a balance and it's something we talk about often on the show.
Speaker A:And you know, I talk about the balance choice I've made that I'm good with, working my day job and doing, doing my passion project on the side.
Speaker A:It does offer a different kind of stability.
Speaker A:It is a compromise, just like many other things in life are.
Speaker A:So you found yourself at the point where the compromise wasn't working for you anymore.
Speaker B:Really not.
Speaker B:I just too much of my life was wrapped up in every decision.
Speaker B:Was like this morality crisis, which I know is tough, like nobody that' be around, you know, but it was tough for me to be in my own skin and have these constant morality crisis with around funding and the population we were serving.
Speaker B:And that wasn't fair to the nonprofit either.
Speaker B:Nobody.
Speaker B:So I was just like, you know what, I have the certificate and I did a few Google searches and that they, me and Clovia laugh about this all the time.
Speaker B:She's the, the farm manager.
Speaker B:That was the first time in like years they'd like posted a job on Instagram.
Speaker B:I literally Just was scrolling on Instagram.
Speaker B:I saw it, I applied.
Speaker B:No idea what I was getting into.
Speaker B:Turns out all my friends knew them and knew the farm had known about it.
Speaker B:And I was like, guys, I got this interview.
Speaker B:So you know, I shoot my shot and I was super.
Speaker B:They were like super gracious, you know.
Speaker B: I interviewed and in March: Speaker B:It was such an eye opener because at that time it was like I really wasn't using any farm skills.
Speaker B:It was just the physical labor they needed me for.
Speaker B:Don't worry about C's, don't worry, just.
Speaker B:And I had been corporate America sitting at a computer.
Speaker B:It was crazy how out of shape I was.
Speaker B:And I, and I'd been working out, boxing, I was in different.
Speaker B:It was so different.
Speaker B:The parts of my body, the exhaustion.
Speaker B:But I will tell you right now, and this is just to tag on to, you know, my morality stuff, but it really like, like help my mental health so much.
Speaker B:Just being exhausted, like I do get that hunter gatherer thing.
Speaker B:Like I still have the same stresses in life and I still, you know, use my mental health supports.
Speaker B:I'm not saying that that's it, but being outside and just like doing a full days of hard work and coming home and just being too exhausted to be up worrying about things was just really, it was really good for my brain.
Speaker B:It really helped me in so many ways.
Speaker B:And then once I got through the, I made it through the first year physically, I was like, I can do this.
Speaker A:Yeah, there's something special about that too.
Speaker A:And like I said that I remember those days like I would do the evenings after school, you know, this, you know, small family business, meaning we didn't get paid and we were the workers.
Speaker A:So I worked after school, I worked weekends, I worked, you know, you know, breaks, work summers.
Speaker A:And it was just what it was.
Speaker A:And this was the way I knew how everything was.
Speaker A:So even though that's not what I do now, I loved the process and I hated the process too in many ways.
Speaker A:But there's still something special about doing the work and being comfortable with that kind of grind.
Speaker A:Because it is a different kind of thing for sure.
Speaker A:It's that, it's that repetition, it's the, those little bits of expertise that you start to appreciate differently.
Speaker A:Then you wouldn't necessarily even have called it expertise before.
Speaker B:No.
Speaker A:But now all those little things become these moments of learning that you can't take out of your head.
Speaker A:Just like, oh, I know that row has more rocks than the other row.
Speaker A:And if I'm trying to clear that space, I got to use a different tool.
Speaker A:And you don't bring the wrong tool anymore.
Speaker B:Oh, no, because you're not walking back.
Speaker B:You are, you are.
Speaker B:Yeah, that's.
Speaker B:You know, like when people.
Speaker B:I always.
Speaker B:That's so funny that you said that because you know when you're like stubborn and you're bringing your groceries every last, every time we're like, all right, do we have everything at the barn?
Speaker B:Like every last tool and you go out to the farthest greenhouse and you forget something, like, who's going back.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Because if I'm going back, I got a lot of things I got to do every.
Speaker B:But yeah, like you said, it's a different kind of exhaustion.
Speaker B:And there's days, don't get me wrong, where I hate it and I'm exhausted.
Speaker B:And they're just those peak summers where the tomatoes and the eggplants and they're in your csa, know that we are.
Speaker B:Those are the peak season of the season where everyone just on deck harvesting and it's just like grueling, it's grinding those.
Speaker B:But they're also like the best of times because like we're deliriously happy and we're outside and because we're on organic farm, we don't really wear shoes because we don't have any.
Speaker B:Like, you know what I mean?
Speaker B:Like we can walk out, we can be safe.
Speaker B:We don't have to wear like equipment.
Speaker B:We're.
Speaker B:We're a cool old school hippie farm.
Speaker B:And I love that about it too, because we're all so connected to the earth in different ways.
Speaker B:So in those eight hour, nine hour shifts of just beasting sun or you know, we had the wildfires a few years ago now.
Speaker A:Oh yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:Wear masks in July.
Speaker B:It was incredible.
Speaker B:And you know, you just don't think about that stuff sometimes.
Speaker B:And why would you.
Speaker B:And then.
Speaker B:And because of society we also think of.
Speaker B:We just don't envision, like, I know my parents are like, they just don't envision a 38 year old white lady picking their food.
Speaker B:Yeah, well, you know what I mean.
Speaker A:Generally, like when we're talking about societal things, that's 100% true.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:We know that's the case and we know that's not the norm.
Speaker A:Even though people like to imagine that it is or want to ignore the fact that the vast majority of our food is not picked by people who chose yes.
Speaker A:To be doing this job and you know, also, I think it's an amazing choice to make.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So let's, let's talk about the farm before we go to break.
Speaker A:So let's talk about the kind of things that the farm grows.
Speaker A:So as you mentioned, you said this is a, a diverse farm of many different kinds of products, which is part of that ethos as well.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker A:So let's talk about the general things that the farm grows and, you know, how they kind of interact with each other a little bit.
Speaker A:Because that's a whole nother story about.
Speaker B:Oh, absolutely.
Speaker A:Nitrogen reclaiming and rotating crops and doing this and all that stuff.
Speaker B:So we grow, we're really known for our tomatoes.
Speaker B:We're a huge variety of tomatoes.
Speaker B:We like to do a lot of our stuff.
Speaker B:A lot of Asian inspired vegetables or like varieties, I should say.
Speaker B:So we do tomatoes, eggplants, peppers.
Speaker B:I know that's really common for everybody, but we have a large variety of each of those things.
Speaker B:So when, I mean bell peppers, like five different kinds of sweet peppers, and two years ago we did 10 different kinds of hot peppers.
Speaker B:You know, we have different rows of peppers, which can be crazy when you're planting them as well.
Speaker B:You know, you have little babies and you have a huge greenhouse full of all peppers.
Speaker B:You're like, I hope this is the right row.
Speaker B:Like, make sure the sweets are all together.
Speaker B:So we usually do our peppers, our sweet hot pepper eggplants together.
Speaker B:They do really well together.
Speaker B:If you can get it right, you can harvest off the plant all year.
Speaker B:One time plant, just keep harvesting, keeping sure they're safe, making sure, you know, they're, they're not too heavy where they're snapping.
Speaker B:We got a whole harvest all year, lost barely any plants.
Speaker A:They actually grow fairly similarly to each other as well.
Speaker B:Same issues too, that they can get.
Speaker B:So you can treat them similarly.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Because it's one of those things.
Speaker A:I apologize in advance.
Speaker A:This is going to get a little nerdy for the audience, like, because I've, you know, we grew them from, you know, either seed or, you know, cuttings.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So you know, that process, they grow differently.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:That they need a different kind of moisture, you know, than the, than the tomatoes and the eggplants.
Speaker A:Because we're growing in plastic.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Because we're growing plastic to sell to people.
Speaker A:And each of those is a different kind of thing.
Speaker A:And eggplant and you know, they can be really affected by water.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Because they, they'll easily just go downhill if they're over watered.
Speaker A:And that's the easiest thing For a lot of situations, if the soil doesn't drain right or if it's.
Speaker A:Then you're going to be.
Speaker A:You're going to be like pulling your hair up because your pepper plants aren't growing fast enough.
Speaker A:They want to be dry, but not dead dry.
Speaker A:They don't want to be soaked.
Speaker A:If your soil drains fast, you can put more water on.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker A:It's like all those little things.
Speaker A:Those are the things that as soon as you go and you're like, oh, well, those plants.
Speaker A:Well, we just water them.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker A:And then you're like, no, no.
Speaker A:These ones like that.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:This one's like this.
Speaker B:Oh, it's so.
Speaker B:It's like, it's just like I don't have kids and I.
Speaker B:And I.
Speaker B:Because I couldn't imagine.
Speaker B:I don't know how people who do.
Speaker B:And there's so many farmers that do.
Speaker B:And I'm just like, I don't know how you guys do it.
Speaker B:I know you have.
Speaker A:You're workers.
Speaker B:Yeah, no, I guess that makes sense.
Speaker B:But I do know a lot of them.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:I mean, I am on a family farm.
Speaker B:It's a father, daughter.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:But I just.
Speaker B:Because I.
Speaker B:That's how they all are.
Speaker B:They have such different personalities and different needs.
Speaker B:And as we learn about the different varieties, like you said, so we grow so many different tomatoes.
Speaker B:We have.
Speaker B:We grow our cucumbers.
Speaker B:People like love.
Speaker B:Have you.
Speaker B:I know you said you shopped.
Speaker B:Have you ever been to our farm?
Speaker B:It's okay.
Speaker B:If not.
Speaker A:I've never been to the farm.
Speaker A:No.
Speaker B:Yeah, I would love to.
Speaker B:The cucumbers.
Speaker B:We grow the coolest varieties of cucumbers.
Speaker B:We grow now white albino cucumber that people like.
Speaker B:They're so cool.
Speaker B:A lot of different curly, Asian.
Speaker B:But they're like the best.
Speaker B:I can't explain how good the flavor of a cucumber is because they're this flavorless vegetable.
Speaker B:But they're not especially like we talked about earlier, like ripping them off the vine.
Speaker B:It is a thing of special.
Speaker B:So our cucumbers are like really sought after.
Speaker B:People love those.
Speaker B:We've been growing a lot.
Speaker B:We grow a lot of greens like you said, dandelion greens, our kales, our Swiss shards, all those hearty vegetables.
Speaker B:So there's a lot of different.
Speaker B:We have.
Speaker B:We make our own lettuce mixes too.
Speaker B:So we have like a, like my boss hand seeds, the lettuce mix to make it a special lettuce mix because that's how long she's been doing it.
Speaker B:And she liked the way they tasted.
Speaker B:So our zesty salad mix, arugula, spinach, all those basic things.
Speaker B:And then we do a ton of different, you know, alien varieties or squashes.
Speaker B:The unique stuff we do is.
Speaker B:We do.
Speaker B:We always try a bunch of unique stuff.
Speaker B:And I told you about this.
Speaker B:And we did artichokes two years ago.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Oh, my gosh.
Speaker B:And this year and last year, we did them and hoping to have the same success, but, you know, again, that's not something we promise.
Speaker B:And that's what we've told the CSA members.
Speaker B:We hope, you know, like, we have the same success as continued and.
Speaker B:But you just never know.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:But that's been really cool, like, watching the success of, like, them trying it two years before.
Speaker B:I started on a little small scale and then putting rose in and just keep harvesting until they need to be ripped out.
Speaker B:And we thought, three, four weeks, we're gonna have to rip them out.
Speaker B:No, they're still growing.
Speaker B:Why rip them out?
Speaker B:So that was a really cool kind of trial and error.
Speaker B:And we had them for, like, four weeks longer than we thought we were gonna be.
Speaker B:We couldn't believe the yield we got on rows.
Speaker B:It was really cool.
Speaker A:Well, especially something like that where people don't think about that growing in our climate necessarily.
Speaker A:And then I just love that discussion about, you know, varieties of cucumbers, because people see, you know, the two see big and they see small.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:You see big, small, and then you see, like, maybe the larger.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:You know, English seedless cucumbers.
Speaker A:And those are the three that they know of.
Speaker A:And I just love that you can get something like that.
Speaker A:I think the other one I remember tasting a few times was varieties of celery.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:Like, varieties of celery.
Speaker A:When you're like, oh, it's just flavorless and stringy, and then you bite into some of these.
Speaker A:Like, they're so aggressively, like, you know, the salinity on them and the concentration of flavor.
Speaker A:I'm like, this is a star.
Speaker A:Oh, this is a star of a flavor.
Speaker A:This is when people make celery soup.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker A:When you look at, like, classic French dishes.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:They're doing that with these.
Speaker A:These ingredients that taste intensely like celery.
Speaker A:They don't taste like nothing.
Speaker A:If they taste like nothing, then it's not serving a purpose other than texture.
Speaker A:And that's not to your benefit.
Speaker A:It's not to maximizing your enjoyment of these amazing vegetables that exist.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:That's so interesting that you brought that up, because I actually had the same similar feeling as you about celery.
Speaker B:And now I had never seen celery grow either, too, until I was at the farm and starting to see vegetables.
Speaker B:I started to recognize because again, the first year I started, I wasn't involved.
Speaker B:I just started when they needed me to harvest, so everything was already in the ground.
Speaker B:I'm like, I think that's celery.
Speaker B:But is that how celery grows?
Speaker B:So it's so cool to really, again, just going from the city girl air quotes to working on a farm and just like, being like, oh, my God, it's so cool.
Speaker B:I never.
Speaker B:I never thought about that.
Speaker B:And I just hope that everybody can get.
Speaker B:Get there one day and not have to be there.
Speaker B:But like you said, want to go on a farm tour, be a part of a csa.
Speaker B:Because it's so interesting going back, like, to.
Speaker B:You said the artichokes.
Speaker B:I can't tell you how many people knew what artichokes were, but would walk by our the Brain Farmers market booth and be like, is this an artichoke?
Speaker B:Because they're also obviously a lot smaller.
Speaker B:Just because the nature of how we grow, they grow smaller.
Speaker B:They don't have as much time, gets lost to predators.
Speaker B:So they were a lot smaller, but they were in this beautiful little carton, you know, half carton.
Speaker B:They're like, are these artichokes?
Speaker B:Oh, and it was so cool to have people just second look and come back.
Speaker B:I don't need these.
Speaker B:And that's the specialty of, you know, going to a farmer's market, too.
Speaker B:Going to what you need to get, but walking by and being like, what, Ask a question.
Speaker B:So cool.
Speaker B:And then people would just be like, yeah, I'm getting these.
Speaker B:And it just was so interesting.
Speaker B:I didn't know, how do they grow?
Speaker B:And then having those questions, too.
Speaker B:How did this even grow?
Speaker B:I didn't know it could grow here.
Speaker B:So that's been really.
Speaker B:I love the conversation at the farmer's market, particularly, too, of just the people just asking the coolest questions and being able to ask the direct people.
Speaker B:And if I don't have the answer, someone is going to have the answer in that area.
Speaker B:Which is so cool because like I said, when you go to Wegmans, you don't.
Speaker B:Whoever you're yelling at or you're frustrated at, none of them have anything to do with anything.
Speaker B:Maybe, you know, the bakers and that side.
Speaker B:Sorry.
Speaker B:But you know, the aisle food side.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:When your spinach is.
Speaker B:It's all slimy, you just throw it out.
Speaker B:But you can Come back to us.
Speaker B:If there's a problem with your product.
Speaker B:We'd like to know and we can tell you what's going on or we can refund you or get you the correctness.
Speaker B:So I really enjoy that part of it too.
Speaker B:And just seeing people get excited about vegetables, very cool.
Speaker A:Well, a shout out to thistles.
Speaker A:We're gonna take our break and we'll be right back.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:And we're back talking more growing family farms.
Speaker A:Why don't you put the plugs out there for where people can check out and sign up for a csa.
Speaker B:All right.
Speaker B:So we are, hence the name growing.
Speaker B:We're growing this year.
Speaker B:Super excited.
Speaker B:I got, I was offered full time.
Speaker B:So year three, I think, I think I made the right decision.
Speaker B:I'm really thankful that I get the opportunity.
Speaker B:So since, you know, we have some more things we can work on, more hands in it, we decided to make some more offerings.
Speaker B:So our CSA is a 12 week.
Speaker B:Our main season is 12 weeks.
Speaker B:It's June 8th to August 24th.
Speaker B:You have an extended option for 10 weeks from September 7th to November 9th, which makes it a 22 week CSA.
Speaker B:And then we have three different pickup options.
Speaker B:So you can purchase the CSA online.
Speaker B:And the three options you have is Monday you can pick up on farm, which is super fun.
Speaker B:Our farm is in Hilton and you can pick up from 4 to 6:30pm I love the on farm pickup.
Speaker B:You can always ask me questions if you, you know, aren't super happy with what's in there.
Speaker B:You got an inside scoop at how to change and you can just see where the food's grown.
Speaker B:Really cool.
Speaker B:Sunday, Brighton Farmers market.
Speaker B:Nine to one.
Speaker B:That's a lovely one.
Speaker B:The benefit of being there is we do pre make them, but if you don't want to do that, you just get your weekly amount each week.
Speaker B:So break down, you know, between 27 and 31, I believe, each week and you can just shop.
Speaker B:You could just say thanks and then you just.
Speaker B:That's a really nice one.
Speaker B:And new this year, we are partnering with a local winery, Living Roots winery.
Speaker B:And you can pick up there from Thursday from 4 to 6pm so nice.
Speaker A:Shout out to Colleen and Seb.
Speaker B:I know, I love that too.
Speaker A:Like having an option in the city does make it a different kind of accessible.
Speaker B:Oh, absolutely.
Speaker A:And I love the idea of making this stuff more accessible for people.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And you know, that's, and we, that's the, the brilliance about Cloviana and I really love her.
Speaker B:We have different strengths and obviously she's the main farmer.
Speaker B:And I'm just still learning under here.
Speaker B:But I really fight for food security and we are a for profit business.
Speaker B:But I fought really hard and then CLO fought really hard and we both, you know, talked with the managers and everybody above and really wanted to keep our price affordable.
Speaker B:So it kind of was like, well, we can keep the price down.
Speaker B:You know, we don't have to raise it with all the things going on.
Speaker B:If we add another location, we expand it a little bit, it evens itself out.
Speaker B:So I'm glad that we're having those discussions as for profit farmers, because we are in an area where we do have childhood poverty.
Speaker B:We are in food desert, like, you know, so those things are reality.
Speaker B:So the more accessible we can be, the more that we want people to have access to it and we're incredibly affordable.
Speaker B:So until April 1st, we have our, our early bird pricing.
Speaker B:So we are going to unfortunately raise the pricing for the rest of the season just because the nature of what we're doing.
Speaker B:So we did want to give early bird people.
Speaker B:It really, like I said, is helping us so much.
Speaker B:And then after April 1, the price will go up a tad bit.
Speaker B:Not, not a huge amount if you buy until from now.
Speaker B:Well, a few more days until April 1st.
Speaker B:But you are entered to a raffle to be a member of the SEEK tool shed.
Speaker B:And if you're familiar with that.
Speaker B:But we, we love a circular economy.
Speaker B:Let me plug the Seek tool shed, please.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So SEEK is the Southeast Area Coalition.
Speaker B: he executive director back in: Speaker B:They weren't running the tool shed then.
Speaker B:I was the interim executive director.
Speaker B:We gave it to Mike.
Speaker B:Shout out Mike.
Speaker B:He's incredible.
Speaker B:And a lot of people.
Speaker B:They had the tool shed back in the day.
Speaker B:So it's a tool lending library.
Speaker B:Just think about the little free library.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:So they had it back in the 70s and 80s and then during the pandemic, a lot of people had interest and we were just trying to stay afloat.
Speaker B:So when I had left, we talked with Mike, they took it and ran with it.
Speaker B:And that is in the same building as living with Rhino.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So if you ever pop and get wine and they're open from like three to seven, I think it's 25 for a year membership.
Speaker B:Super affordable.
Speaker B:You have this big beautiful house here.
Speaker B:You have a little small, tiny apartment.
Speaker B:No matter what.
Speaker B:They have lawnmowers, they have hammers, everything you could need there.
Speaker B:And again, it's a circular Economy.
Speaker B:It just goes back to the why we put in the landfill.
Speaker B:You know, it's incredible.
Speaker A:I also love, I mean, this is, you know, not to talk about, like we said, I don't overtly talk about politics, but.
Speaker A:But the idea that in times of dissent, in times of strife, in times of uncomfortability, that mutual aid is the way for us to do our best to support our circle.
Speaker A:And in a way that now many of us are now feeling the same thing that other communities have felt for decades and centuries.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:And now seeing that same value that people have Talked about for 20, 30, 40, 50 years, 100 years about mutual aid and benefiting your community.
Speaker A:It is as true as they said then as it is now.
Speaker A:Benefit your community, be there for your people and do good by the overall community by supporting organizations like that that are making things accessible for people that don't have the resources.
Speaker B:That's so easy.
Speaker B:It comes back to do their things.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And it comes back tenfold.
Speaker A:What better, even if you don't use it?
Speaker A:$25 to support other people who need.
Speaker B:And you only have to use it one time anyway to even get your benefit.
Speaker B:I literally have an account because I just look same thing.
Speaker B:And I needed like paintbrushes the other day and I'm like, why am I at the store buying paintbrushes?
Speaker B:And I just was like, excuse me, Nick.
Speaker B:And he's like, yeah, of course, yeah.
Speaker B:But I.
Speaker B:So even just like you said the 25 just to support.
Speaker B:But that one random day that you're like, I gotta go to Home Depot again, instead of supporting the big guy, which no shade on them, let's just keep.
Speaker B:And like same thing with you.
Speaker B:Go look through your stuff today and be like, oh, I don't even need these tools.
Speaker B:Let me go.
Speaker B:You don't remember to drop them off.
Speaker B:And it just again keeps out of the landfill.
Speaker B:It keeps a circular economy.
Speaker B:But it really is, like you said, it's this really simple act of resistance that I just try to practice every day in my life by doing these simple things right.
Speaker B:And like everything came together where like the seek tool shed for my connection, Living Roots Winery.
Speaker B:Clovia, my boss actually, she waits taste.
Speaker B:She's.
Speaker B:She's a bartender there.
Speaker B:So that was her connection.
Speaker B:And then the farming.
Speaker B:So they also in turn want to support us.
Speaker B:So it feels so easy, so natural, not forced at all.
Speaker B:So on March 27, which is Thursday, we are having a meet your farmer happy hour.
Speaker B:So you don't have to be a CSA member.
Speaker B:You could be A past CSA member.
Speaker B:But we're going to the Seek tool shed.
Speaker B:Will be there.
Speaker B:We'll be there.
Speaker B:We'll be pouring some glasses of specialty wine for people and sign up.
Speaker B:Don't sign up.
Speaker B:Chat with us.
Speaker B:Ask farmers.
Speaker B:Ask the questions.
Speaker B:We have so many people that now that I'm on the other side, I try to remind myself of all the things I didn't know.
Speaker B:You know, all the things I didn't know.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker B:Because there's so many.
Speaker B:Just barriers and myths and what's it.
Speaker B:What's the acronym mean?
Speaker B:And my friend Stay was asking me a bunch of questions, and he's like, I'm embarrassed to say I don't know this.
Speaker B:I'm like, why would you know?
Speaker B:Like you.
Speaker B:This isn't your industry.
Speaker B:But it's something, you know, those.
Speaker B:Those shame things or whatever it is.
Speaker B:So we're trying to kind of dispel some of that, too.
Speaker B:Of like, oh, I can't afford a csa.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:We'll find a way to make it affordable, too.
Speaker B:Ask us, you know, if you need a payment plan or whatever, just chat with us.
Speaker B:We're willing to do that.
Speaker B:And that's part of the mutual aid in the community.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So what.
Speaker A:Let's put that out there.
Speaker A:Like, what is the rough cost for the.
Speaker A:For the 12 and then the.
Speaker A:The 10 on top?
Speaker B:It's not even that much.
Speaker B:I hope that people, when they hear this, aren't shocked.
Speaker B:But it's $620, so if you look on the Internet, that is a low number.
Speaker A:Is that for the.
Speaker B:That's for the whole 22 weeks, right?
Speaker A:22 weeks.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker B:Holy.
Speaker B:I know.
Speaker B:Do the math on that.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:So we really, really want to make it accessible right out the gate.
Speaker B:And we have.
Speaker B:We're working on payment plans with two families right now.
Speaker A:That's awesome.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Which is hard on our end.
Speaker B:But I'm not saying it.
Speaker B:To say that it's like, we want to do that.
Speaker B:I don't mind tracking that.
Speaker B:We will figure it out.
Speaker B:We want people to have accessible food.
Speaker B:We want them to figure it out.
Speaker B:A great way to keep that cost down.
Speaker B:If it sounds shocking.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Sticker shock.
Speaker B:It did.
Speaker B: f a CSA since I moved here in: Speaker B:And my first year, I was a part of Wild Hill Farm.
Speaker B:Incredible.
Speaker B: I think back in, like,: Speaker B:And I was like.
Speaker B:But I joined with a married couple.
Speaker B:Cause it was just me and it was so great.
Speaker B:And then we went every other week, we split it.
Speaker B:It was way more food than we can ever offer.
Speaker B:So that's a great way.
Speaker B:I tell people if they're feeling overwhelmed, I'm like, split it with a couple first year.
Speaker B:If you don't know how much it's gonna be then, or if it's not enough, chat with us.
Speaker B:Maybe we can add you.
Speaker B:But that's the best way to go about it, I feel, right now is finding somebody to split it with, splitting that cost.
Speaker B:And if it's your first year too.
Speaker B:Super accessible.
Speaker A:Very cool.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So let's talk about some of the words you used at the beginning of the episode.
Speaker A:Used a lot of words around the style of farm.
Speaker A:Style of farm.
Speaker A:I did use.
Speaker A:I did use those words correctly.
Speaker A:Cool.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Style of farm that this is.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So use the words.
Speaker A:Regenerative.
Speaker A:Yeah, Regenerate.
Speaker A:Jesus Christ.
Speaker B:Hard.
Speaker A:It's been a long day.
Speaker A:Regenerative.
Speaker A:Yes, regenerative farming.
Speaker A:And I brought up other things like crop rotations and things like that.
Speaker A:Let's talk about some of those techniques in a little more detail because, you know, some of the things might be new to people, some might not be.
Speaker A:So let's talk about that.
Speaker A:You mentioned not using, you know, a lot of powered machinery.
Speaker A:So let's just talk about the way the farm works with those kind of things.
Speaker A:So talk about regenerative.
Speaker A:Regenerative agriculture.
Speaker B:So one of the reasons I chose growing family farms is because we had talked about my history.
Speaker B:If I was going to quit, I was going to commit.
Speaker B:I wasn't going to go to some big farm.
Speaker B:I was like, I got it.
Speaker B:I'm giving up my whole life for this.
Speaker B:So I was looking for that term regenerative farm, which means it was really.
Speaker B:You were being one with the land.
Speaker B:You're trying to cause as less harm as you can.
Speaker B:And when you're trying to grow on a mass scale, that's really hard.
Speaker B:And that is why people do that.
Speaker B:So that is again, why, if we can get back to these teaching practices and working in tandem with the land, we have everything we need.
Speaker B:And I'm not saying that, but the native people have doing this forever.
Speaker B:And it really is a true fact that the land will work itself out.
Speaker B:So one of the things is our soil.
Speaker B:We get our.
Speaker B:Our soil, which is incredible.
Speaker B:We've been working on it for 13 years, building it up from Vermont.
Speaker B:Compost is a huge piece of that.
Speaker B:Where they have, like, one of the top soils in, like, the nation now.
Speaker A:Is that to build the base and then you grow it from there yourself?
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:You're adding it.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker B:You're constantly growing it and tending it to make sure it's at this like peak, you know, not too dense, not too clay, the water, all that goes into it and then the nutrients.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So that is really important because then you have to do less of the additives and the amending because the soil keeps.
Speaker B:It will know what it needs and it'll reach along the way to its out and fix itself.
Speaker B:So it's already natural fixing itself.
Speaker A:So I mean the reason I brought up rotation and things before is that's when we're talking about a regenerative agriculture.
Speaker A:It's not just about, about necessarily the style.
Speaker A:It is growing the nutrients in the soil.
Speaker A:It's growing those things with the craft part of that process.
Speaker A:That when you're done growing the soil is better than it was before.
Speaker A:Not extracting them as much as possible.
Speaker B:From the soil and then having to go fix it and amend it and having to go to the finding the different things.
Speaker B:So don't get us wrong, we're not, not amending.
Speaker B:We have to be real with ourselves, but we're trying to cause as least, least harm as possible.
Speaker B:So you know, we'll see if we, if we plant something that takes a lot of, you know, nitrogen out, we'll give it a break or we'll plant something that needs, you know, that can re.
Speaker B:Put that back in.
Speaker B:So we're constantly.
Speaker B:So if you come and look, the farm never looks the same, which is incredible.
Speaker B:And we only farm on a one acre.
Speaker B:So it's crazy the amount we produce on one acre.
Speaker B:It is incredible how much we're producing.
Speaker A:Yeah, that's not, not that much.
Speaker A:Like so small.
Speaker A:I live on a half acre lot.
Speaker A:Crazy.
Speaker B:I'm just like.
Speaker B:So it is a five acre total farm, but we're really only growing on one, which is just crazy because it still also seems huge.
Speaker B:Even though like when you said it like that seems until you have every inch full of crops.
Speaker B:You know what I mean?
Speaker B:So that is something that we do.
Speaker B:So we'll give the soil breaks, right?
Speaker B:We'll just, we'll notice it and we'll be like, ooh, we'll look at our soil.
Speaker B:What does it look?
Speaker B:It feels too silty.
Speaker B:It feels like it's missing this.
Speaker B:We can also just give it break.
Speaker B:We'll just leave it, leave it for a couple of weeks.
Speaker B:You know, like one of the reasons we didn't grow this year I'm not grow this year.
Speaker B:We are usually an all year round farm.
Speaker B:So we're usually one of the farmers that's all year round at Brighton Farmers Market.
Speaker B:This is the first year I think they've taken off in 11 years because Greenhouse won.
Speaker B:Our OG Greenhouse needed a break.
Speaker B:She retired and just so many other things.
Speaker B:But, but the soil, she was just really.
Speaker B:We just were like let's let her just take a break.
Speaker A:And that's a greenhouse.
Speaker A:You're still growing in the ground in a greenhouse.
Speaker B:Oh yeah.
Speaker B:Oh yeah.
Speaker B:In the ground and Yep.
Speaker B:So what we needed the ground.
Speaker B:The ground just needed a little teal.
Speaker B:She just was like I'm tired.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Because I was just, you know, I knew some of these but I was just reading like.
Speaker A:Oh yeah.
Speaker A:There's crops that add nitrogen back into the soil like your, like your legumes, your beans, peas, alfalfa, clover which is, you know, you're not harvesting but oh.
Speaker B:It'S so great though.
Speaker A:Easily grow.
Speaker B:Oh yeah.
Speaker A:And just adds back and does that and it's really thinking about that is testing, it's measuring, it's being conscientious top to bottom.
Speaker A:And also the diversity like we talked about earlier.
Speaker A:Growing crops that like growing near each other.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:In the soil.
Speaker B:So you're thinking about that.
Speaker B:You're thinking about crop covering too.
Speaker B:So you'll do a cover crop which is a crop to in turn fix the soil.
Speaker B:Like you said, like a legume.
Speaker B:But then if we're year round we can use that crop as well.
Speaker B:So it's that symbiotic relationship.
Speaker B:Thankful to them.
Speaker B:Thankful to you.
Speaker B:We also do have pigs on our farm.
Speaker B:Not for sale, not for consumption.
Speaker B:They are part of the ecosystem.
Speaker B:So we, that's where all compost goes.
Speaker B:And they're so happy.
Speaker B:I love the little piggies.
Speaker A:Well they're, I mean they're also really good at what they do.
Speaker B:They're so great.
Speaker B:They're all eat all day.
Speaker A:Yeah, they're, they're wildly good at what they do and also turning soil over so good.
Speaker A:Also giving you compost and giving you, giving you fertilizer for the farm.
Speaker B:They're so happy.
Speaker A:But they are, that is what they do as well as any animal can possibly do is dig into the soil and they do it really well.
Speaker A:If you don't give them space, they will ruin everything as fast as possible.
Speaker B:They just have a crazy pig run.
Speaker B:They, they, you know, they don't have free rain unfortunately because they're so wild.
Speaker B:They will also eat everything they Eat everything.
Speaker B:You know, the one thing this is a little fun fact.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:Probably other farmers out here know, but they cannot eat green tomatoes.
Speaker B:That's the only thing they can eat.
Speaker B:It releases poison in them.
Speaker A:Interesting.
Speaker B:So don't ever get excited, because me learning still, right.
Speaker B:I was always feeding them, and I really took a liking to the piggies, of course.
Speaker B:So me, I'm like, there she is, taking my breaks on the pigs.
Speaker B:And one day I threw all of our green tomatoes.
Speaker B:And thank gosh, one of our owners, Chris, he's so sweet.
Speaker B:He was like, courtney, did you just give those to.
Speaker B:And I felt so horrible.
Speaker B:But luckily they did eat.
Speaker B:Not too much, and they were huge.
Speaker B:But I'm sure they were sick.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah, they didn't.
Speaker B:But, you know, they were like, probably off.
Speaker B:And I felt horrible.
Speaker B:But it's something to do with them not turning.
Speaker B:So our plants are just so cool.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Because whatever, you know, I'm still learning, but whatever.
Speaker B:They're in the state.
Speaker B:When they're green, they're whatever they release inside the piggies.
Speaker B:Isn't that crazy?
Speaker B:So never give a green tomato to a load of a bunch of pigs, because they will eat them no matter what.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:See, now I want to just research what chemicals.
Speaker B:I know, right?
Speaker B:Me too.
Speaker B:You know what we did grow this year, which was really cool.
Speaker B:I'm talking about diversity.
Speaker B:We grew cantaloupes.
Speaker A:Oh, so that's a.
Speaker B:Who knew that they were delicious?
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:And that.
Speaker A:That's.
Speaker A:That's another.
Speaker A:When I had my first farm cantaloupe, you know, farm fresh cantaloupe, that density.
Speaker A:That density of sweetness is so it's.
Speaker A:It's hard to.
Speaker A:Like when you bite in, it's so.
Speaker A:Almost hard to describe how intense, how intensely sweet it is.
Speaker B:So good.
Speaker A:But it's also so much of that.
Speaker A:You're getting that funk almost.
Speaker B:You're getting that musk still, like texture.
Speaker B:That's still.
Speaker B:And, you know, a few of ours weren't super sweet this year, which, you know, we were upset about.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And we were just really honest with people.
Speaker B:But they were still so juicy.
Speaker B:So we were like, well, we're going to sell them.
Speaker B:We're very honest with our customers.
Speaker B:We're like, while they're not super sweet, probably something to do with our soil.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:They were so juicy that it was like, if you're into the juice, which I.
Speaker B:I love, and you can mix it with something else, I.
Speaker B:But the piggies loved them too.
Speaker B:They were so happy with the cantaloupes I was like, they're.
Speaker B:They're sweet enough for the piggies.
Speaker B:So that was really fun watching the cantaloupes vine and grow.
Speaker B:And that was a really something special that we did this year.
Speaker B:But just got got me thinking about all the unique things we grow.
Speaker B:But that's part of the regenerative process too.
Speaker B:Trying new things, seeing how they react.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Like now we're going to look at that part of where we're not going to grow them again this year because they weren't sweet.
Speaker B:And you know, we could find out why, I'm sure with other ways.
Speaker B:But the way that we work, we're a little bit busy.
Speaker B:We're not going to do that.
Speaker B:We're just going to grow them somewhere different part.
Speaker B:We know we can grow them now.
Speaker B:We know they grow on our farm where syngom in a different area.
Speaker B:Maybe that soil will be better.
Speaker B:Yeah, sure, we could do a test, but some of that stuff, we're just not that scientific right now.
Speaker B:We're not that big either, you know.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So you also mentioned that you're not using power, you know, you know, big powered equipment.
Speaker A:So the ethos behind that, I mean, it sounds very crunchy, right?
Speaker A:It sounds like a very crunchy thing to do.
Speaker A:Now, admittedly, like, I've done tons of, you know, manual work with stuff.
Speaker A:Like I remember when we started our Christmas tree farm.
Speaker A:Yeah, we did use, you know, tractor to open up the things.
Speaker A:But I planted the first, you know, the first trees on our farm with my brother over like a week.
Speaker A:We just went out, shovel open, go plant and do all that by hand.
Speaker A:But we did, hey, we opened it up with.
Speaker A:With a tractor.
Speaker A:It was land that never been worked before that.
Speaker A:So how does that process with working without, you know, powered equipment?
Speaker B:It's crazy.
Speaker B:I remember that's how I knew is different than every other farmer is.
Speaker B:I was talking with my farmers one day.
Speaker B:I'm like, how?
Speaker B:You know, I had all these scabs here from dibbling and my friends like, what is she talking about?
Speaker B:What?
Speaker B:And I'm like, I'm in a room with farmers.
Speaker B:They're like, what?
Speaker B:And it's the machine, the hand machine that creates each hole and it's called the zibbler.
Speaker B:And it's crazy.
Speaker B:And I just.
Speaker B:Oh, those like the next, it's just a gouger, essentially.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Just a wooden.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker B:It has a little point at the end and then you can see how far down.
Speaker B:You want 2 inches, 5 inches.
Speaker B:But like we're doing 50 whole beds.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:You know, on just one.
Speaker B:One way.
Speaker B:You know what I mean?
Speaker B:So it is so stuff like that.
Speaker B:But because we're so connected to the land, like you said, and all.
Speaker B:Everything matters.
Speaker B:All those big machineries.
Speaker B:One of the reasons we don't use it, it's.
Speaker B:It packs down the soil and the soil needs to be aerated.
Speaker B:That's so important to it.
Speaker B:So, like, we, like, we're not even allowed to walk on the beds.
Speaker B:Like, my boss is really serious about that.
Speaker B:We really want to give them that air to breathe and all that buoyancy.
Speaker B:So that's one of the reasons the land.
Speaker B:We don't want to like, put electricity.
Speaker B:Just go.
Speaker B:Infrastructure stuff too.
Speaker B:That starts to like, lay into it as well.
Speaker B:And then again, you really know what is going on too.
Speaker B:Like, there's no confusion about what is anywhere because you just spent hours and then you really can see stuff.
Speaker B:And I think that's really important.
Speaker B:I think that goes back to being connected.
Speaker B:Like, we planted, I don't know, 5,000 garlic each hole, each baby.
Speaker B:And so when we are pulling them out, we're like, thankful.
Speaker B:And we knew them, we saw them as seeds.
Speaker B:So I think.
Speaker B:I'm sure there's some other reasons.
Speaker B:Like, again, I'm still newer at this.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker B:But those just basic reasons I know are huge, especially on such a small space.
Speaker B:Like, we.
Speaker B:We could produce, I think, more.
Speaker B:But why would we.
Speaker B:It's one acre.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:You know what I mean?
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:So let's.
Speaker A:Let's finish up.
Speaker A:Let's talk about garlic.
Speaker A:Let's talk about garlic.
Speaker A:Because garlic is one of those things where, you know, at some point people are buying the most processed version to use for general cooking.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:You're buying jarred heat, you know, pasteurized, you know, chopped garlic in a.
Speaker A:In a jar.
Speaker A:Jar.
Speaker A:Like as many people.
Speaker B:That's about it.
Speaker B:I never heard that.
Speaker B:It's amazing.
Speaker A:We'll derisively call it, and rightfully so.
Speaker A:But I think the interesting part about growing garlic is you have like three distinct, different opportunities.
Speaker A:And I say three as like a minimum.
Speaker A:Three distinct opportunities to taste garlic in.
Speaker A:I'll say four in its different forms that are all phenomenal.
Speaker B:So good.
Speaker A:So let's talk about.
Speaker A:Let's talk about the garlic life cycle.
Speaker A:Let's talk about garlic scapes.
Speaker B:Well, let me tell you, first of all, this is so funny.
Speaker B:They brought up, I'm helping do a little side business, and I'm helping anybody who wants to start a little backyard garden.
Speaker B:So I'm helping my girlfriend this year.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And I'm like, why are we not going garlic?
Speaker B:And I'm like, garlic was the biggest lie that was sold to anybody.
Speaker B:The fact that you're buying garlic is the easiest thing to grow.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:So, yes.
Speaker B:Let's talk about it.
Speaker A:It's durable, too.
Speaker B:It is insane.
Speaker B:And you just.
Speaker B:So garlic scapes.
Speaker B:That was one of the first things I learned on the farm.
Speaker B:So it's very dear to my heart.
Speaker B:I knew what a garlic scape was, but I didn't know anything about it.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:And it was one of the first things they had me go back and by beloved Grace, she was farming with me that year.
Speaker B:She was doing it, and it was.
Speaker B:It's so fun.
Speaker B:So that's how, you know, the garlic is really at its.
Speaker B:Its next level.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:This.
Speaker B:So, you know, the garlic grows.
Speaker B:It has its little fans out, and in the middle is a little green, tiny little cylinder thing that goes out and curls over.
Speaker B:And once it curls over, you're ready to pull it out.
Speaker B:And it's like this suck.
Speaker B:It's like this suction.
Speaker B:You gotta pull real gently to get the whole thing out.
Speaker B:And you pull it.
Speaker B:And it is such a fresh, delicious.
Speaker B:Almost like a scallion.
Speaker B:Like akin to a scallion.
Speaker A:Yeah, it has.
Speaker A:It has a little more density than a scallion because it's.
Speaker A:It has a specific.
Speaker A:Weirdly, it's almost like a very skinny asparagus in texture, you know, like super skinny.
Speaker A:Like, it's dense in a way that's really pleasant.
Speaker A:And it can be.
Speaker A:Once you chop it, it can be turned into so many amazing things.
Speaker B:So many things.
Speaker A:Because it's not densely garlicky, but it's distinctly garlicky.
Speaker B:And it smells.
Speaker B:So it's really.
Speaker B:That smell.
Speaker B:Garlic.
Speaker A:It's a little sweet, too.
Speaker B:Oh, absolutely.
Speaker A:It's delightful.
Speaker A:And it's the first thing you get off of garlic in the season.
Speaker B:And that's why when it curls, you want to pull it.
Speaker B:If you miss that, it gets too leathery.
Speaker B:And that's where so some people.
Speaker B:That's really.
Speaker B:There's like that quick time you want it, it comes out.
Speaker B:You'll notice that little curl.
Speaker B:Pull your garlic, because then you, like you said it can get a little leathery and it kind of can miss its prime.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And then let's talk about next up is green garlic.
Speaker B:Oh, the green.
Speaker B:Yeah, the green.
Speaker B:Fresh garlic.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:Or green, like when you get the green too.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:You know, we don't do that.
Speaker A:Oh, so green garlic can be great too.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So you can actually cut the greens and use those.
Speaker A:And they're even lighter garlic flavor.
Speaker A:And they are a little more durable.
Speaker A:Kind of like a soft leek.
Speaker B:I wonder.
Speaker B:It's absolutely right.
Speaker B:I want.
Speaker B:I'm going to talk to my boss.
Speaker B:There's probably.
Speaker B:They've been doing it so long.
Speaker B:I bet you there's a reason why.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:It must be, like, probably really hard to pull.
Speaker B:I wonder if that's how we do it.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:But I'm saying for us then to later pull.
Speaker B:Because it is a lot easier when they're big stock.
Speaker A:For sure.
Speaker B:I wonder if that's why we don't pull.
Speaker A:But they're great because they're.
Speaker A:It's almost like a.
Speaker A:Like a young leek kind of texture.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker A:And they're phenomenal.
Speaker A:It's another thing that's softer, more.
Speaker A:More mellow garlic flavor.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Because, I mean, don't get me wrong.
Speaker B:I know all that smells.
Speaker B:And I'll eat them.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Because we'll break them off.
Speaker B:But we don't actually do that.
Speaker B:I'm gonna talk to her.
Speaker B:But I wonder if that's why.
Speaker B:Just the nature of pulling 2,000 if they're not.
Speaker A:Oh, God.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:But then let's talk about fresh garlic.
Speaker B:I love the fresh garlic.
Speaker B:I didn't.
Speaker A:So not.
Speaker A:Not cured.
Speaker A:It's still like fresh pulled.
Speaker B:And it is like.
Speaker B:And people look at you crazy sometimes when they're like, what do you mean, fresh garlic?
Speaker B:I'm like, this is it.
Speaker B:You can have it.
Speaker B:And we do a very special amount.
Speaker B:You know, we go through.
Speaker B:And that's really cool to harvest, too.
Speaker B:You look through.
Speaker B:We're always looking through, like, the perfect medium size because you want to save your biggest bulbs for next season, but you want to get.
Speaker B:So we are, like, saving our biggest bulbs and we want to replant.
Speaker A:Because you're selecting.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Well, you're selecting over time.
Speaker A:And that's the difference.
Speaker A:Difference between like, necessarily buying large garden.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker A:And basically over time, finding the garlic that grows best on your farm.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker A:And you are selecting over time, which is, you know, it's intentional breeding, essentially.
Speaker A:It's not breeding, but it's not.
Speaker A:Not.
Speaker B:It's the word breeding time.
Speaker A:Because it develops over time.
Speaker A:You get your garlic from your farm that you've chosen the profile you want.
Speaker B:Exactly.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:And the big.
Speaker B:Yeah, so that's exactly it.
Speaker B:So the fresh garlic is such a special time.
Speaker B:They're just so tender and like that smell that I think that garlic smell people are thinking of.
Speaker B:That's it that's the real.
Speaker B:They're mimicking that.
Speaker B:However they're creating it, that is the garlic smell.
Speaker B:It's so vibrant, like, you pull it and like the moisture, like, it's like the.
Speaker B:So fresh.
Speaker B:Garlic is really specialty.
Speaker B:We probably do it for, I would say, maybe two or three weeks.
Speaker B:It's always.
Speaker B:And that's type of stuff that we'll offer to the CSA member.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:We tried off a little specialty.
Speaker B:We'll sell some at the market.
Speaker B:But.
Speaker B:And that goes into how much was successful in the stock of it.
Speaker B:But we grew a huge amount.
Speaker B:And fresh.
Speaker B:You're right.
Speaker B:I love that.
Speaker B:And then the cured, like, grow your own garlic.
Speaker B:People, if you leave this.
Speaker B:This podcast is one thing.
Speaker B:Call me.
Speaker B:Ask us.
Speaker B:As long as you have soil that is not full of lead, grow in a pot.
Speaker B:Just do one.
Speaker B:Just do one guy.
Speaker A:Highlight it, Highlight it.
Speaker A:Because each of those things are equally great.
Speaker A:And when you understand each of them and you embrace each of them, you can have these amazing, simple dishes all year round.
Speaker A:When you're thinking about the simplicity of those dishes, like, I'll take garlic scapes.
Speaker A:I will puree it with, like, silken tofu with miso and other things like that and make this just beautiful, creamy sauce.
Speaker B:So easy, so simple.
Speaker A:And, you know, it can be intensely savory and, you know, but it gives this beautiful green color and with all that stuff is so fun and light, and it feels so spring.
Speaker A:And as we're getting into the first things coming out in, you know, in April, you know, the first things coming out in spring, what I'll say to everybody is try to get something that is specifically first out for spring.
Speaker A:You know, get some ramps, get some scapes, get some other things as they come out.
Speaker A:It's really special.
Speaker B:It really is.
Speaker A:To taste spring, especially as we're coming out of a, you know, depressing season of many different things.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:And now, you know, with a season of a lot of snow, and now we're getting to spring.
Speaker A:Try to get something that is distinctly our season in spring and really enjoy it.
Speaker B:Really do that.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:I cannot agree with you enough, Chris.
Speaker B:It is so important.
Speaker B:And I'll bring you.
Speaker B:It'll just connect you so much more.
Speaker B:And that thing you loved already, pick something that you love, too.
Speaker B:Pick something that, you know, don't.
Speaker B:Don't pick something to try something.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:New.
Speaker B:New.
Speaker B:I would say pick someone that you know, because you will fall that more in love with it, and then you will really find yourself yearning for that and those taste buds will grow stronger and your desire to support local farms, even if it's not to the join a csa.
Speaker B:Go into abundance or when you go to Wegmans, they have a local section, you're going to choose that and it might be a dollar or two more, but it'll be worth it.
Speaker B:Just like your strawberries are.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So once you get the plugs out again.
Speaker B:Oh yes.
Speaker A:Growing family and where people can look into the CSA.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:So growingfamilyfarms.com you can go to.
Speaker B:We have a section that says csa.
Speaker B:Click that.
Speaker B:You can pick all three options.
Speaker B:You can pay by card, cash.
Speaker B:Give us a call.
Speaker B:Instagram, Facebook, you can join our email list.
Speaker B:We're sending out emails and newsletters I should plug.
Speaker B:We're partnering with Natasha from the Mezcal Project at Pearson.
Speaker B:She's creating this year.
Speaker B:You're getting recipe cards with your CSA each week, which is going to be incredible.
Speaker B:Ben from Microgreens is offering you can buy mushrooms with our CSA this year.
Speaker B:And you get to hang out and see me and Clovia each each week and talk to your farmer.
Speaker B:So if you have any questions, you can, like I said, Instagram, Growing Family Farms is our Instagram thing.
Speaker B:That's really our tag is the best way to reach out.
Speaker B:Clover manager, she runs that and then you can go from there.
Speaker B:Have our numbers and stuff.
Speaker B:But please, if you have any questions also I hope this will come out but Thursday, this Thursday the 27th, living roots from 4 to 6.
Speaker B:If you have any last minute burning questions, if you just are on the fence, come chat with us and it's not a fit for you.
Speaker B:Like he said, there's a ton of other local farms Google csa.
Speaker B:We are in the best space to look for a local farm to join a csa.
Speaker A:Well, I'm really glad we made this happen.
Speaker A:This was a fortuitous little circumstance.
Speaker A:So thank you so much for coming over.
Speaker A:And for everybody that wants to learn more about the other shows on the lunch at our podcast network, I would love for you to check out some of our newest shows.
Speaker A:So we have a music show from the team from the Sound called Nights and Weekends.
Speaker A:We also have our new audiobooks from in this Moment that three of them are now out.
Speaker A:We're really excited about that.
Speaker A:And the newest show that just came out, Murphy's Rank the World.
Speaker A:It's three siblings who are just the most interesting people I've ever been around.
Speaker A:They are weird and they have thoughts and you want to hear them.
Speaker A:So thanks so much for listening to another episode of the Food About Town Podcast.
Speaker A:We'll be back next time.
Speaker A:See ya.
Speaker A:Thanks for listening to the Food About Town Podcast.
Speaker A:If you aren't already subscribed, what are you waiting for?
Speaker A:Go to your podcast app of choice and make us your favorite podcast by subscribing and leaving a review if you can.
Speaker A:Music for the Podcast was created by the Fabulous Torres Savant.
Speaker A:You can hear more of his work@taurussavant.bandcamp.com and make your presence known by seeing him perform live.
Speaker A:Food About Town is a pro proud member of the Lunchadore Podcast Network.
Speaker A:Oh no.
Speaker A:Here comes McKenneth.
Speaker A:This has been a presentation of the Lunchadore Podcast Network.
Speaker A:We're gonna try this out one more time.
Speaker A:Regenerative.
Speaker A:Regenerative.
Speaker A:Regenerative.
