Homestead Organics was the site of one of our recent trips. In Hamilton, we met Laura Garber. On a farm she's been tending for the last 5-6 years, much is now in flux. Much of what she and her now ex-husband put together is changing. Her soon-to-be husband is building a barn and with his experience in the Berlin Zoo, is bringing more animals onto the land. This closes the loop a bit, and as they live, eat, and poop in various areas around their farm, nutrient-rich fertilizer enters the soils. A fantastic plan saving resources and money, the pig, duck, goose, turkey, and chicken pens are moved once they've mowed down the cover crop and left behind some great products of their digestive systems. Flowers line the path down to the greenhouses (several of them), and an above ground river (new and not entirely expected) leads down to a small pond at the end of their land, perfect for waterfowl.
Laura is lowering the number of CSA shares they produce, while upping the ante on the store they sell their food through the market stand on the first level of the commercial kitchen/bunk house near the road. They also visit a few local farmer's markets and advertise the availability of their live chickens, which they are often kind enough to "butcher as a favor" for their friends/customers. A little store or restaurant on the horizon? Maybe. Laura has a plethora of ideas and the right team to make them happen. The diversification and closed systemness of it all is refreshing and exciting. As is the slightly drier, warmer weather for all of us up on the PEAS farm.
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