Posh Market Garden is Open for Business
Fresh Swiss Chards
I’m excited to share that Posh Market Garden is open for business! This is our first season as a market garden. Because I’ve not ever gardened at this scale before, Andy and I decided to allow ourselves time to figure things out, see what grows and learn the ropes as new farmers. Never in our wildest dreams did we think we would be selling our produce this first year! But I’m pleased to report we are! I recently delivered my first batch of Swiss Chards to Blaine’s Farm Store. These are the folks who also sell our Pecans during the winter months.
I handpicked five pounds of Swiss Chards in the morning, packaged them in ½ pound bags and delivered ten of them to Blaine’s that afternoon. They were very complimentary on my presentation and how well the Palisade Posh logo looked against the green of the Swiss Chards. It was an amazing feeling!
They are also interested in our Sugar Snap Peas and Lemon Cucumbers as well as our Delicata Squash and Honey Nut Squash. All of which are coming in nicely, barring, any unforeseen misfortunates, for example the dreaded Squash bug. I’m currently battling this beastie in our pumpkins but am hopeful they won’t get the Delicata or the Honey Nut because I planted Marigolds around them. As a companion plant, Marigolds are said to ward of these nasty little creatures! Fingers crossed.
Until we get good at the farming aspect and figure out all the ins and outs of what grows when and where, I don’t think we will be rolling in the dough any time soon. But then again that isn’t why we are doing this. True, it does allow us to keep our Ag status which helps with taxes, but it’s really about the experience. There is just something very joyful about growing your own food. Once the Airbnb is complete and open for business, our guests can also visit the garden and harvest veggies for a farm to table experience.
As the various veggies are ready to harvest, I’ve started researching different recipes for them. Andy had the brilliant idea of putting together a little cookbook of sorts for the Airbnb so depending on what is in season, guests will have ideas on how to cook whatever is available to them. I love to cook so I’m looking forward to this little side project and think it will be a unique touch for our guest cottage and makes for a perfect connection between it and the Market Garden.
Because we are growing way more food than either of us can consume, we eventually want to start a CSA, also known as Community Supported Agriculture. This is a production and marketing model where consumers buy shares of a farm’s harvest in advance. Consumers become CSA members by paying an agreed amount at the beginning of the growing season, either in one lump sum or in installments. This business model could prove to profitable for the Market Garden but it’s a few years out at least! Until then, I feel fortunate to be able to partner with Blaine’s Farm Store. So, if you live in Palisade and you want to purchase some fresh produce from the Posh Market Garden visit Blaine’s… Or reach out to me and buy directly from your friendly neighborhood farmer! Either way you support our local farming community and that is always a good thing!
