The first farm that Greg ever worked on did a little of everything. They grew veggies, raised chickens, turkeys, pigs, and beef and they had a dairy cow too. After that, he spent years working on farms that grew only veggies.
When we were figuring out which direction to go with our own farm, we decided to focus on organic livestock and luckily, that is a decision that we have never once regretted. But for Greg especially, all that veggie-growing knowledge was hard to let go of.
I remember our first year being full-time here at Stonecrop. We were was sooooo busy planning and building and mowing and moving animals. But somehow, in the midst of this most intense and back-breaking year, we convinced ourselves that we should ALSO plant ourselves a garden.
I pictured a a little herb garden with a few tomatoes and onions. But as time went by, I realized that Greg had a very different mental picture. His idea of a garden was like a miniature veggie farm and this meant that we were growing almost everything. He plowed up and planted 100-foot long beds with more vegetables than we could ever eat in a year. It was insane.
The daily tasks of weeding, planting and harvesting were too much, especially with the ridiculous responsibilities we already had starting our farm, and we just couldn’t keep up. Which meant that just like that, the veggie garden turned into a giant weedy unproductive mess that made us feel so bad to look at.
The next year, we made the best decision. We let go of the silly notion that we could “do it all” and we joined an organic veggie CSA. Joining a CSA has allowed us to have the highest quality food without having to shop around. During this season of life, where we don’t have a lot of spare time, the simplicity of having pre-paid for all of our food for the season is THE BEST.
If you’re interested a joining a veggie farm this year, we want to invite you to check out Mud Creek Farm and Deep Root Farm. They are wonderful farmers and they offer great CSA programs with different pickup options in Rochester. And if you’re interested in becoming a member of our chicken or egg CSA, please click here. We only have a few spots left and we would hate for you want to miss out.
Your Farmers,
Jenney and Greg