mohawk valley Gardens & recipes
farming for change by Denise A. Szarek
In all the years I’ve been writing about vegetable gardening shareholders, and when we ended our CSA program this past and cooking from the garden, I realized I’ve never really talked October we were feeding 55 share families. about our farm. While we were very successful with the CSA program, Bernie started Szarek Greenhouses in 1996, with the blessCOVID-19 and our compromised immune system changed all ing and support of his father-in-law, Fred Atkinson, on his farm. that. We had 55 shareholders depending on us to feed them in Bernie and Fred worked side by side for many years, wholesal2020. But we had to re-think what that would look like. To coming bedding plants and hanging baskets and mums to many of ply with all the COVID rules, we were forced to pre-bag everythe local nurseries in the area. They started with one greenhouse one’s veggies, when they came for pick up they had to stay in and each year reinvested in the farm and their cars and we brought the food to them. added another greenhouse. Fred passed in It took the “community” out of CSA. Not Bernie Szarek reads in the warmth of March 2000. being able to have help on the farm from the greenhouse In 2003, Bernie and I married and I family, took a toll on Bernie. So we dejoined him in the greenhouse. That fall we cided that it was time, after 10 successful grew all the mums for our wedding that years, to end the CSA. we held at the Farmers Museum in Coo In March 2020, we were now perstown. In the following years, we added faced with how to bring our veggies to two more greenhouses for a total of 8. market, when the farmer’s markets were In 2008, with the downturn in the econshut down and we had a greenhouse full of omy, we realized that we needed to change greens: lettuce mix, spinach, arugula, and the direction of the farm as folks around pea shoots. us struggled with the economic downturn. I remember seeing Jose Andres, Flowers were a luxury, and by no means an of The World Kitchen, on a TV interview essential purchase. saying, “The business of feeding people is In 2010, we sold our first shares in the most amazing business in the world.” “Three Goat Farm-CSA.” CSA stands for So we bagged up all the greens we had in Community Supported Agriculture, the model for our modern the greenhouse and delivered it all to The Country Pantry in CSA started in Japan in 1987. Basically, a person will buy a share Clark Mills. We continued to send whatever veggies we had over in our farm in the fall and winter, and then in spring and summer the summer and into fall. in return, we give them a share into our summer harvest. It gives We then decided to open up “Szarek’ Succulent Shack” at us operating capital when we need it in the spring, and they reap our farm. In May, we sold plant starts, to the many new gardenthe reward in summer through fall. In 2010 we started with 11 ers looking to learn how to garden during a pandemic. Bernie
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