Farms & Gardens

This 90 second video features Danny Schwartzman from Common Roots and Greg Reynolds from Riverbend Farm discussing where the food produced on the farm goes, and a bit about CSA programs, and who certifies food organic in Minnesota. Filmed on May 24, 2009 at Riverbend Farm.

Organic certification is a substitute for knowing who's growing your food and how they're growing it.

- Greg Reynolds, May 24, 2009

A quick look at what's coming in my CSA box this week, along with ideas from Harmony Valley Farm on what to do with it all. This content comes directly from the Harmony Valley newsletter:

Are you a farmer who's considering going organic? From Minnesota's Land Stewardship Project:

There is a new federal source of funding for landowners who want technical and financial support as they convert their farms to organic production or add certain practices to their already-certified operations. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Organic Initiative has just been announced with a 3-week sign-up period that ends May 29, 2009. All applications must be turned in to your home county Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) office by that date.

I've been a CSA member for a whole entire week now. Here's what I've learned:

Greg Reynolds, whose Riverbend Farm provides fresh, local, organic produce to many markets and restaurants in the Twin Cities (including The Craftsman, The Birchwood Cafe, and Common Roots Cafe), has asked for some help. I'm hoping that - together - we can provide it.

The waiting is finally over. On my way home from work tonight, I'll be picking up my CSA box from Harmony Valley Farm. Here's what I'm expecting to pick up (direct from Harmony Valley's "What's In The Box" email newsletter):

Here's what most people in Minnesota and Nebraska and Idaho don't know and would never suspect about New York City: we are a farming town.

CSA sign-up season has officially kicked off in New York, and, as seems to be the case every year, memberships are getting gobbled up faster than they can be publicized.