Here at Two Peas in a Pod Homegrown Designs - we are big supporters of local agriculture. It's green. It's good for you. It's good for your neighbors. It's good for the community.
My very own gardener, my husband, supplies us with loads of fresh goodies all year long. Just tonight, we enjoyed sugar snap peas at dinner that we froze from our harvest.
Recently, I exhibited at the North Market and had the opportunity to connect with Jayne Barnes from Honeyrun Farms who produces amazing soaps and honey and more...
I asked Jayne if she'd write a guest post for me and she was kind enough to do so. I thought it would be a great way to gently nudge you all to seek out Community Supported Agriculture programs in your own town and to buy local. In the middle of winter - just reading about their operation makes me want to go bake some biscuits and smother them in her wonderful honey.
Let me introduce you to...{don't forget to read the entire post here - there is an awesome giveaway at the end of this post}
Honeyrun Farm was started in 2006, but the idea began much earlier when I was in college at Wittenberg University. My roomate, Becky Barnes, grew up on a large grain farm, while I had grown up on a small dairy farm. We both loved our farm backgrounds, and knew we wanted to eventually end up on a farm.
We always toyed around with the idea of farming together, but weren't quite sure how it could happen. We both did the 9-5 office scene for a while... but it just didn't fit either of us. Long story made short... after a few years, I married her brother... and now we are partners in a small produce/honey/flower farm!
Becky is the produce farmer and makes her full time living growing produce and selling it at Columbus farmer's markets, restaurants, and in 2010- through her CSA. My husband Isaac is the beekeeper and keeps 60 hives of bees... spending all summer working to keep them healthy, extracting honey, building equipment (he also works as a high school science teacher during the school year). I help with the bees whenever possible, and also grow fresh flowers for sale at markets and for weddings, grow greenhouse herbs and flowers in the Spring, and make handcrafted soap using herbs grown on the farm, as well as our beeswax and honey.
We use organic methods to grow our crops and in raising our bees. If we do need to treat the produce due to risking complete crop failure we will always tell the customer. We also welcome visitors to the farm for tours.
In 2010, Becky will be offering a produce CSA (Community Supported Agriculture.) Participants are able to buy a share of the produce from the farm for an annual fee, and in exchange receive a weekly bag of fresh seasonal produce. This way, the customer is able to share in the bounty of harvest, while also weathering the seasonal fluctuations of availability with the farmer. It will run from June 12- October 23.
Shares can be picked up at Pearl, Clintonville, and Worthington markets. The cost for 20 weeks is $400. Email Becky at honeyrun.produce@gmail.com for more information.
One of the best ways to support local agriculture is to support your local farmer's markets. Talk to the farmers and ask how they grow their crops. Buy from several farmers (not just the big, well-established ones!). Encourage your local grocery store to buy local products (even if they cost a bit more!). Grow your own vegetables in your backyard... it will surely give you a sense of the hard work that goes into large scale produce farming!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NJOUpnAdYo]
Want to see more on Honey Run Farm...go to You Tube and type in their farm name. You'll find a fantastic video done by their alma mater. (I would have loaded it here but its 10 minutes long and was taking too long to load - but you will want to see it. It's really great!)
Jayne has also been kind enough to offer a giveaway of her wonderful items for one of YOU!
To enter, simply visit Honeyrun Farm's website and then come back here and share what your favorite item over there is...leave it in the comment section. Our trusty random number generator will choose a lucky winner to receive this wonderful gift basket full of honey, soaps, and a beeswax candle. How sweet is that?! The contest will be open until January 20th - 10pm EST (open for our US friends only - sorry to our friends up north and across the pond).
Thanks Jayne! Be sure to visit the Barnes family and pick up some of Jaynes wonderful soaps while you are there!
xoxo,
Trish