Monday, July 30, 2012

Dinners and a Farm Wedding

We've been busy getting the grounds ready in preparation for our fourth year of Dinners at the Farm!  Come join us for a magical evening and a delicious dinner prepared by Jonathan Rapp and his crew from River Tavern. The dates are August 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11 and 12.  You can make reservations by going to www.dinnersatthefarm.com.

We will also be hosting the wedding of Erin and James.  Most people don't think of a farm as a place for a wedding venue, however over the years, Barberry Hill Farm has hosted well over a dozen weddings and received many requests for special events planned here.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Local Connecticut Honey

Claire arrived for work the other morning carrying a very large jar of honey.  She and her family have raised bees for decades, but this was a particularly good year.  That's fortunate for all of us, as they have plenty to share.
We will store our jar of 20 pounds and fill a smaller honey pot for daily use.
You can contact the Thomson Family Apiary at 860-663-4222
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Thursday, July 5, 2012

Our Road-Side Stand

 
Road-side farm stands are a great American tradition.  Farmers put their fresh crops out, and sell directly to customers.  Everyone wins!  There are plenty of families today that do what we did when I was a child - travel the secondary and blue highways living primarily off the local produce.  I have gotten into great conversations with people at our own stand from as far away as California.

What surprises a lot of farm supporters and fresh food enthusiasts, however, is that not all road-side markets are the same.  Many trucks that park in parking lots and put out farm stand looking set-ups are not selling their own food.  Instead, they purchase the same food from the same regional wholesalers markets that supply Stop and Shop and other large food chains.  What looks like Connecticut grown tomatoes, for example, may have been grown anywhere, and under any conditions, and transported thousand of miles. 

What I hear again and again is that people like our CSA and road-side produce because they know it is grown the way they want it grown.  In fact, whenever you visit our stand, you can see the fields right behind where the food was produced.  And yes, sometimes when you visit it will be self-serve.  That's because you really are buying from farmers, who have to head off and tend the fields.  Not hang around in a parking lot.