Joseph's Naturally Grown Farm-Garden

Contents

Joseph's Naturally Grown Farm-Garden
Paradise, Utah
(South of Logan, Utah)
Contact: Joseph Lofthouse
Phone: (435) 237-9112
Email
Available by CSA subscription or at The Paradise Market.

I grow and sell the freshest possible fruits and vegetables in Paradise and Mendon Utah.

Community Supported Agriculture

Emphasis is placed on having several different vegetables available every week starting in mid summer rather than having an overabundance of any one thing. The vegetables produced during late fall will be in larger quantities and will be more suitable for long term storage. No extra charge for canning quantities. Local delivery included to Paradise, Avon, Hyrum, Wellsville, Mendon, Mantua, Brigham City, Perry, and Willard. Workshares available.

Delivery of produce is expected once a week (sometimes twice) from June to October. By joining a CSA you are sharing with me in the risk and benefits of farming. You risk crop failure. You get the benefit of the freshest healthiest produce available anywhere.

Full Share: $300/year; $20/week

How To Get My Produce

For the freshest possible produce stop by my gardens in Paradise or Mendon whenever you see my truck there and I will pick whatever you want right then. If I am not there, check to see if I left anything in a basket by the gate.

My produce can be delivered to your home weekly in Paradise, Avon, Mendon, Wellsville, Brigham City, Perry, Willard and Mantua and is available at the Paradise Farmer's Market. My produce is so fresh and so popular that I have even been known to do weekly mailings by Priority Mail to people in the city at double the weekly cost. If you put together a group that will buy a pickup load at a time, I'll drive up to 150 miles to deliver produce to your drop point.

Crops Being Grown

Crops contemplated for this year include all the normally grown fruits and vegetables, and some unusual crops from the tropics. If you'd like me to grown anything special just let me know. I don't always bring highly perishable items to market every time, but I can if you ask in advance.

Currently Available

As of January 2010, I still have for sale small amounts of flour corn, popcorn, and walnuts. Excess seed available from the 2009 harvest includes watermelon, cantaloupe, Hamson's tomato, Indian winter squash, salad cucumbers, and Indian corn. These ship well to anyplace in the USA without plant import restrictions.

No Added Poisons

To provide the safest food possible I do not knowingly add any of the following to my garden: herbicides, fungicides, synthetic fertilizers, synthetic pesticides, bone meal or other animal remains, genetically engineered plants, sewage sludge, or treated lumber.

Bug Management

Insects are managed with a combination of, biological controls, traps, lures, hunting, introduction of predators, companion planting, diatomacious earth, plant extracts, vegetable oil, and soapy water. But mostly I just don't grow plants that are prone to insect damage. I am breeding plant lines that are immune to our local pests.

Certifications

I am not pursuing certifications from `USDA certified Organic` or `Certified Naturally Grown` because we don't have a thriving organic certified infrastructure in the valley. I do not make a heroic effort to obtain certified organic or CNG seeds and plants, nor to determine the 3 year history of mulches and manures. If certified items or equivalents are readily available at reasonable cost I use them preferentially over uncertified items.

Micro-organisms

The garden is watered by sprinkling with untreated irrigation water and the produce is not washed at the garden, except for root crops. I highly recommend cooking, or washing before use since there is no telling what the irrigation water brings with it. Irrigation is not started if the water is unusually turbid. To further minimize the risk of bacterial contamination, manure, if used, is only applied in the fall after crops are harvested.

Plant Breeding

I am breeding genetically diverse adaptivar landraces of my favorite crops. My locally adapted surplus seeds are available at the farmer's market or by eMail. My big breeding project for 2010 to 2012 is breeding a sugary enhanced multicolored sweetcorn that is higher in phytonutrients and antioxidants than commercial varieties. I am looking for a few small garden plots in which to conduct plant breeding isolated from my main fields. I would like to trade produce.

Current Status

• February 27th, 2010 – Planted tomato seeds in greenhouse. Peppers are growing well. Rented a tiny garden for plant breeding. (Still looking for a few more.)
• January 8th, 2010 – Planted pepper seeds in greenhouse. Most seeds for this spring's planting are already on hand. Looking forward to growing Painted Mountain corn.
• January 1st, 2010 – Rented the 2009 field for another year. Rented a second field to more than double available space. Two acres under cultivation for 2010. (Would like to rent other lots in Paradise or Avon: 1/8 to 2 acres.)
• November 5th, 2009 – Two fall tillings are completed. Planted garlic, lettuce, swiss chard, salad greens, and spinach for an early spring crop.

Stay Informed

If you'd like me to notify you when produce becomes available please write me or call. (My next harvest will be in late February or early March when I dig a few bushels of the sweetest carrots ever!)