My First Visit to a Farm

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

On this first day of Spring, the G&G team is gearing up to start our weekly farm visits again! Looking back on last year, I can't help but laugh at how little I knew about farming. Before our first farm visit to D and A Farm, I actually Googled “how to talk to a farmer.” I was sitting at home the night before Emily, Danielle and I planned to take a tour of D & A Farm back in October. I actually typed that into the search bar. Embarrassing, right? I’d been to farmer’s markets plenty of times, but not to an actual working farm, talking to the actual farmer. I honestly didn't know what to talk about?! I haven’t grown anything since a science experiment in 3^rd grade where we had to determine if beans could sprout in the dark. Remember those days? Anyway... armed with the knowledge of the internet, we set off to D and A Farm the next morning to visit with Dave and Al.

Dave Bentoski owner and operator of D & A Farm was there to greet us and couldn’t have been more inviting. Dave has been working with Garnish & Gather since we delivered our very first meals. He grows beautiful produce year round. Dave explained how he and his Dad, Al (hence D & A) got started in 2001. Trading Michigan for Zebulon, Georgia, they became first generation farmers that grew D & A from a small garden plot into a 10-acre certified organic operation in just three years. Today, they are farming almost 50 acres! 24 of which serve as cattle pasture and pig woodlots. It’s amazing to think about and even cooler to see in person! 

Al and Dave walked us through fields of broccoli to rows of bright colored chard. I got to taste fresh turmeric for the first time that was being grown in one of their high tunnels. We caught the last of the field pea crops being grown for the season and learned their shells would be used for compost to fertilize future crops. We toured their mushroom operation and to top it all off, we got to see two of D & A’s sows. One had just given birth and had all her little piglets running amock. She was big and beautiful and they were noisy and rambunctious. It was almost too cute to watch. Almost.  

We all had a great afternoon. It was eye opening to see all the hard work that goes into growing and harvesting the food we eat. To know the people who grow our food is humbling. You can’t Google that.

What’s growing now at D&A Farm you ask? They’re gearing up for Spring and just harvested the first strawberries of the season! Get to Morningside Farmers Market early this Saturday and you might just snag some! As for this week in our G & G meal kits, we’ll be using Dave's sweet potatoes, collards and radishes in our meals. We are so thankful he is working so hard to bring us good, clean food!