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Where have all the plant nurseries gone?

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After coming home from a few extended trips away, my boyfriend and I were inspired to do a little work on the small yard we have. As a talented cook, my boyfriend always has fresh herbs growing in the house. Additionally, he is always able to resuscitate the brown leaved plants that I seem to create with my lack of plant care skills. So in addition to the small basil, cilantro and lavender plants that were germinating and sprouting, we went out in search of additional plants to plant in our new garden to be.

This proved to be a difficult mission. One place that we had gone to previously was Plant Depot located on Route 9 in Fishkill. Though they had a decent selection, the prices compared to was I was used to growing up was outrageous. The hanging plants were priced between $35-40. I ended up leaving there completely disappointed. While I have a real appreciation for Adam’s Fairacre Wappinger Farms in Falls, their plant selection was not very big and they were out of hanging plants with flowers.

That lead us to our next stop which was Blooming Hill Farm in Blooming Grove, NY.  This is one of my favorite places in the valley, and I pretty sure I have mentioned it in earlier posts. They are a small, independently owned family farm that offers monthly farm dinners, has breakfast on Saturdays, and supplies products to many top rated restaurants in New York City (They also make a few of the farmers markets in Northern Jersey!). Including an outstanding homemade and local produce breakfast, we were able to pick up another lavender plant as well as a rosemary one. We also got a few beautiful flower planters, one with Black Eyed Susans, and another of Zinnias. These we planned on using to spruce up our deck a bit, as well as our home office.

After Blooming Hill Farms, we left in search of a true plant nursery. There used to be a decent one located on Rt. 94 in Salisbury Mills. Pennings Nursery was closed with a sign that said for sale when we drove by. If you check out their website, the latest update says that they are selling wholesale to the public and to call for information. Adament to continue our mission, we looked on yelp for more nurseries, and drive to two more when were both closed.

This lead us to Adam’s Fairacre Farms in Newburgh, NY, our final stop of the day on our gardening mission. Image

Here we were able to fill up our cart with plenty of perennials to plant in our back yard, a lilac plant, a planter for my front porch, as well as a hanging plant. The price for all of this as well as four bags of soil was approximately $150. We are really happy with how it turned out, and I have a small table in the kitchen with even more plants germinating (small spider plants from the one bigger spider plant that I have managed to not kill on my own!).

I’m excited to see how our garden will grow. In the meantime, I am going to continue my mission to find the smaller farms/nurseries and greeneries to support as well. It was disappointing to see so many out of business in such a lush and farm friendly area. I will not resort to purchasing my plants at a Lowes or a Home Depot. While we didn’t make it to Warwick or New Paltz, both are places I would like to check out in the hopes of finding farms like the ones I had as a child.

Does anyone else know of local farms that sells plants (flowers, herbs, veggies) to the public in the Hudson Valley? I’d be curious of those especially in the mid and upper valley areas. Please share any that you know of!

Scary News about Meat

Scary News about Meat

Not that I eat a lot of meat to begin with… and less so now that I am dating a vegetarian, but this is scary news. I don’t think I will be ordering red meat at a restaurant again (even though steak may be one of my most favorite food items!).

I’m now on a mission to find local organic grass fed meat.
I know of Hemlock Hills. Anyone know of others?

If you are going to still purchase processed meat, I did a quick search online and found a few brands that sell sodium nitrate free products. Even Boars Head and Applegate are not entirely sodium-nitrate free, so pay attention to labels!

This however is not a credible source, printed in sensational style, and is definitely missing sources. Not to mention the publication date as being April fools! The New York Times recently published an article with similar danger, an conveys the danger in many red meats, without the sensations. This is the link.

CSA or no CSA?

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I have spent a great deal of time in the last few weeks researching local CSAs. I love the concept. For those that don’t know, CSA is short for Community Supported Agriculture. Basically, you pay a yearly membership, and in turn, are provided with a “share” of the farms harvest to which you belong. It can be for just veggies and produce, but can also include fruits, juices, wines, and sometimes community pot-lucks, and educational programs. Some even offer a ‘you-pick’ component (I imagine that may be a perk for people with children especially).

In the past, I participated in a CSA located in New Paltz that I loved. It was the Brook Farm Project CSA. I had outstanding veggies from June through October, and was able to participate in a few community pot luck’s that were really fun. They sold fresh eggs and local goat cheese on pick up days as well, and I loved supporting a local farmer and eating fresh and seasonal vegetables.

The debate that I am having now is whether or not to join a CSA that is closer to my new home, or to just shop at local farmers markets and farms as my shopping routine. I am at most, shopping for myself and my boyfriend, so in my experience, the CSA shares are often enough produce for an entire week, plus some! My boyfriend is not in favor of the CSA as he likes to cook what he would like, and not have the menu depend on what if provided. Additionally, as we have at least two, but likely three weeks we are away this summer, its possible we will miss those share weeks, and still have to spend money elsewhere on food. He also prefers to go to a place like Blooming Hill Farm in Blooming Grove, NY. They have outrageous produce that they supply to major restaurants in NYC. On the weekends, they open to the public to sell produce, as well as fresh and homemade items right on the farm (personal favorites include the ramp pizza, and breakfast pizza, as well as the homemade ice tea!) While their produce is delicious, and I love the experience of going to the farm, eating breakfast, and sitting by the stream while I wait for the food, it’s also a bit pricier than a place like Adam’s Fairacre Farms or a CSA.

I’m still doing more calculating, but these are the CSA’s I have found most recently and am still considering.

Obercreek Farm CSA – http://www.obercreekfarm.com/

Fishkill Farms CSA – http://fishkillfarms.com/csa_fishkillfarm.html

Stonegate Farm CSA – http://www.stonegatefarmny.org/

Anyone have any experience with any of these farms? Or shed some insight on how the CSA’s have worked for you?

I want to shop local, I want to eat fresh and seasonally, and I want to support safe farming practices. I need a solution to address all of those things on a budget…I really do want it all!