Superganic Farms

It's been less than a week since I decided to go local & sustainable in the coming year, yet everyone has been so helpful that I've already had my first farm adventure. Since I'm a lazy slug, spoiled by convenience foods from megamarts, I'm exhausted. I feel like I grew the stuff myself, only without the sense of accomplishment. I'll give the brief rundown here, and perhaps elaborate specific points in the future.

Today I visited Superganic Farms. It's not so much a farm as a small plot of raised beds. Farmer Bill has been practicing biodynamic farming at the plot I visited today and at a second, larger farm for 25 years. The place is a bit hard to find, and kind of a mess - if you don't have a clue how composting and collecting rain water and other sustainable farming works. I grew up in the 70s in rural Maine, so I recognized the seeming disorder as part of the farming process. In case I hadn't, Farmer Bill was more than happy to give me the grand tour and discuss the inner workings of his farm in great detail. He's obviously deeply passionate about his produce and process, and it shows in the herbs and veggies he grows. They're freakin' beautiful. I can't even pronounce kohlrabi, but I bought some because it was so gorgeous. I also bought some kale, and a rutabaga. The leeks weren't ready yet, so he threw in some scallions for free to tide me over. I hand-selected all my produce, and he cut it out of the ground for me and washed it in rainwater. Final cost for my 3 lb rutabaga, my 2 lb kohlrabi with all its gorgeous greens, a large head of kale and my scallions: $ 9.40. All organic, local, and beautiful.

I roasted the rutabaga tonight with the scallions, some garlic, olive oil, salt & pepper. Although I'd never served it before, all 3 pounds were gone by the end of dinner, which is obviously a ringing endorsement. I trimmed the greens off the kohlrabi and, I confess, threw them out. I know they can be prepared like mustard greens, but, well, I'm a Yankee. I don't know how to cook greens and I'm already pushing the envelope this week with all this fresh produce. So sadly, the greens and scallion tops are already gone. The kale took a while to clean. I let it soak in ice water during dinner, then cleaned and trimmed all the leaves individually. The kale in particular came with lots of extra, um, protein, in the form of 2 spiders and 3 caterpillars, so I was extra-cautious washing it. My husband, annoyed at being asked to take yet another bug outdoors, said, "This is what happens when you get organic!", but I pointed out that even if we bought organic at the megamart it would have been power washed. These bugs were natural predators of the bugs that would have eaten our lovely produce, and thanks to them, we have these fantastic vegetables. So nah. The man didn't complain when he was eating, I noticed.

So my first adventure was a good one. Thanks to my dear friend J for helping me find the place and showing me the ropes! Yes, I had to get up earlier than usual on a Saturday. Yes, Farmer Bill was very social and talkative, so I spent more time shopping than usual. Yes, my produce took more work to prepare than usual. However, it is local, organic, sustainable, and beautiful. My children raved about their vegetables, and can't wait to eat more. The quality and quantity of the produce I bought blew the organics at the area grocery stores or health food stores out of the water, and at half the cost, if that. I trust Farmer Bill to let me know what's in season, so I'm giving my family an ever-changing variety of vegetables at the peak of their nutrition and flavor. Will I do this every night? No, I'm pretty sure I won't. It's a lot of work. But if I do this 3 or 4 nights a week, think how much better off my family and the environment will be.

Click here for a segment Channel 3 News did on Bill and organic produce.