Food Trends: Organic Growing

Summer strawberries in Portsmouth are just around the corner

The Local Patch is a diversified market garden dedicated to growing the highest quality produce using sustainable organic practices. “The goal is to grow healthy, strong, and productive plants based on management practices that emphasize soil health,” says co-owner Amy Smith, who offers summer favorites, including tomatoes, cantaloupes, carrots, and day-neutral strawberries, picked all summer long. “Typically, when strawberries are grown here in New England, they are June-bearing, available from around June 1 till mid-June. We grow the alternative, which starts fruiting in July and goes until October.”

“Our CSA program is a debit card system,” says Smith, “so people pay ahead as in a traditional CSA in the winter and then bring their debit card to the farmers markets and pick what they want, and spend at their own pace.” The farm also offers seed and starter plants. “I think it’s important for people who want to grow their own garden.” You can find The Local Patch at Aquidneck Growers Market from May through October. Portsmouth, LocalPatchRI.com

Pick your own veggies and more at a Warren farm

Long Lane Farm is committed to providing the freshest and healthiest products available for its customers. “We offer a variety of certified organic vegetables,” says Camille Abdel-Nabi, who runs the Warren seasonal farm stand with partner and wife Devin. “We are best known for our salad mix and our spinach, tomatoes, microgreens, and carrots.” The farm also sells jarred products, like stewed tomatoes and dilly beans, and holds a certified organic plant sale over three weekends in May.

Abdel-Nabi explains that Long Lane Farm’s offerings follow seasonal patterns. “April is the month for fresh greens and radishes. May is all about rhubarb, snap peas, and the first carrots of the season.” Snap peas continue in June along with garlic scapes and warmer crops like cucumbers and zucchini, and tomatoes start showing up around July 4. The farm stand opens at the beginning of April, and their CSA program runs from May 27 through September 23. “Our CSA follows a free-choice model where customers choose which veggies they take home each week instead of a pre-made bag,” adds Abdel-Nabi. Warren, LongLaneFarmRI.com

For a Tiverton family, success is in the soil

“Our mission is to grow the most nutrient-dense, fresh, and best-tasting crops for our community year-round,” says Kelli Roberts, who sells all-organic produce at Roots Family Farm. “We use no-till, regenerative, and human-scale farming methods, building healthy soil as our focus, and aiming to make high-quality fresh vegetables accessible to as much of our community as possible.” The farm carries dozens of vegetables and recently added perennial herbs such as rosemary, sage, thyme, and oregano this season. “In the warmer months, we grow a wide array of crops, and in the winter, we grow cold-hardy greens such as spinach, kale, Asian greens, and escarole in our unheated greenhouses.”

The farm offers flexible full-choice veggie memberships, and a community cost-share option, partially funded by donations from current members and available at their online site. You can also find Roots Farm at area farmers markets including Mount Hope Farm in Bristol on Saturday mornings year-round and the Aquidneck Growers Market on Wednesdays and Saturdays, beginning in May. Tiverton, RootsFamilyFarm.org