"Standing in the kitchen of Ted Wycall’s home — which happens to be upstairs from his 'central command center' at Greenbranch Organic Farm, right here in Salisbury — it’s hard not to envy the view.
Picture-windows aplenty frame the rows and rows of vegetables, some just starting out and some ready to be picked. There is everything from arugula to zucchini and most everything in between. There are different varieties of pumpkins, winter and summer squash, many different varieties of potatoes, peas, carrots, beats, scallions, onions, garlic, lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, sweet corn, cucumbers, beans, cantaloupes, strawberries, cabbage, broccoli, collard greens, bok choy and 30 different varieties of tomatoes."
-Monica Fleming
Picture-windows aplenty frame the rows and rows of vegetables, some just starting out and some ready to be picked. There is everything from arugula to zucchini and most everything in between. There are different varieties of pumpkins, winter and summer squash, many different varieties of potatoes, peas, carrots, beats, scallions, onions, garlic, lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, sweet corn, cucumbers, beans, cantaloupes, strawberries, cabbage, broccoli, collard greens, bok choy and 30 different varieties of tomatoes."
-Monica Fleming
Greenbranch Farm is a diversified vegetable and berry farm. This means that whatever vegetables and berries are in season, they will have them. They are and organic farm and use no synthetic chemicals. They have been using organic methods for years but have only recently applied for USDA certification.
The store has to be one of the best features of the farm. In addition to what ever is in season, you can get a range of other organic and fresh local products. Try the lettuce! Some of the store items are:
The store has to be one of the best features of the farm. In addition to what ever is in season, you can get a range of other organic and fresh local products. Try the lettuce! Some of the store items are:
- Vermont maple syrup, organic spaghetti, organic popcorn, organic white cheddar cheese curls, gluten free flours, gluten free crunch snacks. Products from Certified Organic Shiloh Farms, Sulphur Springs, AK.
-organic gardening supplies
-organic gardening supplies
-Johnny's selected seeds from Maine, 54 types
-local, handmade pottery, including berry bowls
-organic sodas-local eggs from Mt. Hermon Rd. ( free range eggs from Greenbranch Farm available in the fall!)
- herbs:catnip, lemon balm, chocolate mint, basil, oregano, cilantro, chives, dill
Greenbranch farm has also introduced livestock. No word yet on when that will be available.
I strongly suggest you stop by and check them out. That one extra stop will be worth it for the freshness and flavor and to know you are eating locally grown organic food. You know, what the hippies eat. Their prices are in line or lower than the grocery store and you are supporting local agriculture and not a national chain.
As the woman who works the store told me:
"Mid-July is really the height of the season, and we'll have several varieties of squash and tomato, watermelon, sweet corn, cukes, peppers, carrots, beans, and more. If you drive by another market and they have watermelon, corn, and tomatoes... they haven 't grown them. A lot of stands buy stuff out of state, and re-sell it, so it's no better than store bought. Those things just aren't in season yet!!!
While your there, don't forget to pick up a reusable veggie tote.
Tours available by request
THis place is great!! THey are right off Snow hill road- buy local!
ReplyDeleteIf those items aren't in season for the other roadside stands, what makes them in season for you?
ReplyDeleteAnd what part of ANY farm isn't organic?
ReplyDeletethe part that uses yuckky psticides and chemical fertalizers
ReplyDelete6:42 read the article again...
ReplyDeleteThis farm is great. It is run by great local people that have a lot of knowledge on organic farming. I am happy for the Wycall's and what they are offering our community. Thanks guys.
fyi, the yucky pesticides are necessary so there's a crop to harvest.
ReplyDeletethe chemical fertilizers are made from organic materials.
farmers can have GREATER yields because of them.
there's a difference in farming to feed the nations and farming on a whim. it's not like the wycalls do this for a living.
more power to them, but c'mon.
i know. came from a farm.
why do organics cost so much more, when it takes less to produce them?
Their food doesn't taste any better, you're less protected against certain bacteria that treated food has, and you have to pay a ridiculous amount of cash for it. Yeah, sign me up.
ReplyDelete6:23, look at the article again. They say that if another stand has the not-in-season produce, then they haven't grown them. This market only carries local, in-season produce.
ReplyDelete9:23, It takes less to produce organic fruits and vegetables?? If you factor in the man-hours it takes to farm organically, it costs a lot more. What a pesticide can do in an hour, it takes a person at least 5 times longer.
Chemicals are not necessary to produce a harvest. Good use of the land, however, IS necessary. Organic farmers use solid principles like cover-cropping, crop rotation, companion planting and feeding the soil rather than spraying death to get rid of insects and diseases that would not be a problem if the land were being used properly. For a prime example of what chemicals and poor land management does to farmland, read up on the Dust Bowl out in the midwest.
AND, organic supplies (such as seeds, compost, fertilizer) cost more because the provider of the seeds has to grow them organically as well. Compost has to be from organic sources. If the farmer chooses to use fertilizer, it must also be organic.
Everything used or produced on an organic farm must also be certified - which means the farmer has to have a stringent land-use plan that includes ways to keep neighbors' and/or government chemicals out of their growing area. Even mosquito spraying can mess up a farmer's organic certification.
My garden is organically grown, before I learned some of the management techniques (such as companion planting and crop rotation) I spent hours out there picking bugs, weeding, adding compost, etc. etc. etc...
WHERE AT ON SNOW HILL RD?
ReplyDeleteIt's just off Snow Hill Rd, on Nutters Cross Road. Turn left if you are coming from SBY.
ReplyDeleteYeah 6:23, I think you mis-read something. If it's not is season, they WON'T have it.
Is this the Ted Wycall that used to be a dentist?
ReplyDeleteThis might be the son. This guy is only like 28 years old.
ReplyDeleteOrganic costs more in the grocery store because demand outstrips supply. It won't take long though, pretty soon supply and demand will balance and prices will come down. Thats good because organic yields more and it produces more nutritious and delicious food.
ReplyDelete11:09
ReplyDeleteYou can do that on a thousand acres?
C'man. Sell me something else. I'm sick of hearing about it. I don't wish anything bad for those who like to dabble, honestly, but farmers NEED leeway & any help they can get. they don't get it from mother nature or the weather, that's for sure.
I know that folks on the Eastern Shore are conventional thinking and set in their ways. It's time to wake up! Organic, local, sustainable farming should not be rejected out of some stubborn refusal to face the facts. This type of food and livestock production is better for everyone. EVERYONE man and beast farmer and consumer. Yes it's more expensive. If you don't take into consideration the scientifically proven costs to the health of humans and our water and air. Don't you realize that most of the food produced in the USA is grown and raised on corporate farms. Do you think they care more about your health and the health of the soil and water or profit? They employ very shady practices just to maintain control over the market and their bottom line. They bully local farmers in lawsuits over thier genetically mutated corn and put them out of business (Monsanto ADM.)Do you really think it's ok to raise chickens in a suffocating over crowded concrete block building where they can't even stretch thier wings and their lungs and feathers are burned from the concentrated ammonia? Is it alright to raise cattle on feed lots giving them antibiotics because they are given a sickening and unatural diet of corn, soy, and even concrete? Many of you are Christain and believe that animals were given to us to use as we see fit. Does that make it alright to create suffering when it is not needed? If so does that mean it's ok to beat your dogs or cats? Does the suffering we sanction make the world a better place or does it reveal hardened hearts too caught up with their own daily grind to care? Just because you do not work on a beef or chicken farm doesn't mean you get to bury your head in the sand forever. Sooner or later you will have to make choices about the food and livestick production methods which will sustain our planet and our health. I am living below the poverty line yet I choose organic, local, and sustainable food when ever it is available in this little town of Salisbury Maryland. The way I see it I can eat less food but food of a higher quality which will enhance my health and longevity. For example I choose not to buy processed foods like cookies, chips, and other foods that add pounds without giving me the nutrients I need. If everyone put the junk food producers out of business we would have more land to grow better food organically. Think about it, producing grain, sugar, corn syrup, etc to make that bag of snacks is wasteful. Even organic junk food wastes resources and out planet isn't getting any bigger. All I am asking you to do is just think about the future of our planet, local farmers, and your families health. When you chomp down on that fast food burger consider the source of that beef and if you really even needed a half a pound burger to begin with.
ReplyDeleteI know that folks on the Eastern Shore are conventional thinking and set in their ways. It's time to wake up! Organic, local, sustainable farming should not be rejected out of some stubborn refusal to face the facts. This type of food and livestock production is better for everyone. EVERYONE man and beast farmer and consumer. Yes it's more expensive. If you don't take into consideration the scientifically proven costs to the health of humans and our water and air. Don't you realize that most of the food produced in the USA is grown and raised on corporate farms. Do you think they care more about your health and the health of the soil and water or profit? They employ very shady practices just to maintain control over the market and their bottom line. They bully local farmers in lawsuits over thier genetically mutated corn and put them out of business (Monsanto ADM.)Do you really think it's ok to raise chickens in a suffocating over crowded concrete block building where they can't even stretch thier wings and their lungs and feathers are burned from the concentrated ammonia? Is it alright to raise cattle on feed lots giving them antibiotics because they are given a sickening and unatural diet of corn, soy, and even concrete? Many of you are Christain and believe that animals were given to us to use as we see fit. Does that make it alright to create suffering when it is not needed? If so does that mean it's ok to beat your dogs or cats? Does the suffering we sanction make the world a better place or does it reveal hardened hearts too caught up with their own daily grind to care? Just because you do not work on a beef or chicken farm doesn't mean you get to bury your head in the sand forever. Sooner or later you will have to make choices about the food and livestick production methods which will sustain our planet and our health. I am living below the poverty line yet I choose organic, local, and sustainable food when ever it is available in this little town of Salisbury Maryland. The way I see it I can eat less food but food of a higher quality which will enhance my health and longevity. For example I choose not to buy processed foods like cookies, chips, and other foods that add pounds without giving me the nutrients I need. If everyone put the junk food producers out of business we would have more land to grow better food organically. Think about it, producing grain, sugar, corn syrup, etc to make that bag of snacks is wasteful. Even organic junk food wastes resources and out planet isn't getting any bigger. All I am asking you to do is just think about the future of our planet, local farmers, and your families health. When you chomp down on that fast food burger consider the source of that beef and if you really even needed a half a pound burger to begin with.
ReplyDelete