Buy Local, Grow Local

Full steam ahead!  We’ve kicked off the first long weekend of the unofficial summer.  Many of you are doing cook outs or working in the good green earth I am sure. So many people in Easton want to know where their food comes from and with times changing so fast stores can’t keep up with the demand of the ‘buy local’ craze. We are very fortunate to have options from Langwater Farm and Flynn’s Farm in Easton and both Garrys and Wards just outside of the town line so we can go right to the farmers who grow the food.  The Original Easton Farmers Market is open once again. All your long time favorites are back and with new vendors joining the ranks I’m sure you’ll find new favorites to add to the list. A great line I like to use is ‘know your farmer and you will know your food’.  If you show up at a farm and ask to go walk around and they hesitate, then there is a problem.  A good farmer has no secrets and is willing to teach others the craft of growing, from seed to harvest they know it all.  

With that in mind, let’s talk about victory gardens. What was once a way to lessen the food demands on commercial growers during the war has now turned into a grassroots revolution.  Today’s new, modern version of the victory garden is sprouting up everywhere.   The “war” is a revolution against gmo’s and large food conglomerates– and the battleground is right here on the home front.   It is all about taking back responsibility and control of our own food supply.  Many residents of Easton don’t have the space, sunlight, or good soil in their own backyards to have fruitful gardens, so they go elsewhere.  The Easton Agriculture Commission, Conservation Commission and many other town departments have put much thought and time into the new Wheaton Farm Community Gardens. With the goal being to provide something to the residents that is safe, organic and secure from predators, like deer.  The best part is that from construction to gardening, it is being done with little impact to the landscape, even with the new parking lot. No asphalt, no special drain pits. Its design is to make it look as if it was always there.  

The gardens provide 20x 20 plots and that can produce a lot of food. By using a high-density, high-yield, low-maintenance method, you can produce an amazing amount of food to feed your family.  Will it feed a family of four all its needed vegetables? Maybe not but it all depends on your planning and in-season rotations. This method is totally unlike the old-fashioned gardens of our grandparents, which required a lot of hard work tilling the ground and a lot of time watering and weeding. Weeds are few and far between in densely planted beds. Water requirements are lower with a high-density garden as well with the plants shading the soil, allowing it to hold moisture longer. Just like the farmers, the home gardening pros are often found at the local Community Gardens as well. You will be sure to find one or two older and wiser gardeners; they are the ones you want to be friends with. They have learned from their mistakes and most will be very humble as they teach the younger, less experienced gardeners and share growing tips. A cup of coffee or cold water on a hot day with a dirty hand shake will get you a great life lesson. I personally love to chat with them. Many of the old ways are still very much alive when it comes to soil care.

As my mentor said to me the other day ‘we are pioneers’, and he is so right. From the revitalization of ‘The Original Easton Farmers Market’ to the new community gardens, we saw the need, heard the people of our town and we provided.  I am grateful for the great team I work with on the Easton Agricultural Commission.  If you love agriculture and want to help us we welcome you to come to our meetings, held on the second Tuesday of every month at Town Hall.