Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Tuesday Tidings-Local CSA


At a recent visit to the Lakeland Farmer's Market,
I met Carol and Rodger, who own the
They have created a successful CSA
about 30 minutes from our location.
After talking to Carol for a bit,
 arrangements for a farm tour were made.



The farm qualifies as a Certified Naturally Grown resource,
which is an alternative to certified organic.
You can find out information on the difference
between these two designations here.




Beautiful lettuce as far as the eye can see!





Romaine has to be my favorite salad foundation.





Some crops are grown on white plastic,
some on black plastic,
and some come right out of the soil.
Through trial and error,
Rodger has found what works best for each crop.
Everything here is grown sans pesticides.




Look at this tasty morsel.




One unusual variety found here
is this ebony-hued tomato.







Bilbrey Family Farm grows everything from
arugula to turnips.
Rodger told me that Swiss chard is becoming more popular.
Seems that those of us with low iron
should be eating it regularly.







Everything looks so healthy and vibrant.
You can see the passion in every plant.









There's always another crop going in.
We are blessed in Central Florida to be able to garden
nearly year-round.




Black-eyed peas on the vine




The Bilbreys have a greenhouse
to give seedlings a great start.







Scallions anyone?





It was a beautiful way to spend a couple of hours.
I'm so excited to see that even here,
where fast food seems to be King,
the message of slow food is trickling in.
There's hope for this place yet.

What wonderful food sources have you found?


6 comments:

  1. Beautiful and healthy looking plants! So interesting how they cover some of them with white plastic. I've learned gardening is a lot of trial and error.

    We have a farmers' market from April-November that is great. Lots of wonderful local produce and crafts. I always miss it in the winter!

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    Replies
    1. Having a local farmer's market is such a blessing. Gardening is ALL trial and error, as I'm now learning! Have a great day!

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  2. Wow. What a lovely place and a lovely reminder that there's more than a fast-food drive-through.

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  3. It's so nice that you were able to tour! Looks like a beautiful place!!

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    Replies
    1. They really know what they're doin'! Thanks for visiting!

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