By SALLY B AIK
Staff Writer
LANCASTER - “I wouldn’t want to live
anywhere else,” Carol Hottenstein says
with conviction. “I love it - we all like it.”
Carol is referring fondly to the way of
life her family enjoys on their farm at 1900
State Hoad, Lancaster. She and her
husband, John H., and their three children
have lived on the farm for seven years,
and it is truly a way of life for them.
Carol is a busy farm wife, and for the
next several months she’ll be busier than
most women. Like most farm wives, Carol
raises vegetables. Unlike most farm wives
she raises them by the acre and sells them
by the bushel! Carol has a self-service
roadside market in her front yard, and on
her little picnic table thdte will be a wide
variety of bounty for anyone who wants
fresh - and perfect - produce throughout
the vegetable season.
Gardening brings great joy to Carol, and
she laughs about how she got started
selling vegetables.
“It became my project by accident. I
had a few leftover sugar peas at our home
along the Harrisburg Pike and I sold them
for pin money,” she says.
That was 11 years ago, and now she no
longer has leftover sugar peas. In fact, she
states, “People have wanted to buy
everything. I keep selling more and
more.”
When she was selling her “leftover”
sugar peas, she sold mostly wholesale to
local stores. However, she says, “The last
few years I haven’t sold anything
wholesale.”
Her picnic table is so successful that she
has trouble keeping food for her family.
“Last year I could have sold everything I
grew. I had to say ‘no’ or we wouldn’t have
had anything.” This year she vows, “Fm
making my freezer a priority. Fm
prejudiced, but mine tastes so much better
than bought vegetables. I really try to see
that my freezing gets done. Why should I
sell vegetables and not have any for my
family?”
To keep the steady supply of produce
coming, Carol has expanded some of her
planting, and has added some new crops
for sale, including 500 broccoli and
cauliflower plants. The variety is wide:
green and yellow beans, sugar'peas, sweet
com, onions, cabbage, tomatoes, squashes
and others. Carrots and red beets are new
this year and she says candidly, “L don’t
know how it will go.” Hull peas are offered
as pick-your-own.
How can she be so successful? Carol
explains, “I’m fussy with my vegetables. I
pick things young, but not too young. I like
to sell something that’s perfect. People
want quality and they want fresh things.
When you buy vegetables in a super
market you don’t know how long it’s been
Carol enjoys a moment with her 2-year-old son Doug at the kitcheniable.
Homestead Notes
there. I try to give, good measure, and I
keep my pricestlown.”
In setting prices, Carol said she calls
local markets to find the going rate, and
usually sets her prices several cents below
the lowest price. She said shefeels she can
do that because she has no overhead,
although customers have told her she
could charge more
freshness and quality.'
Another reason she can sell so much
produce, Carol surmises, “People are
freezing more now and are more conscious
of preserving their own food.”
Everyone pitches in at the Hottensteins’,
because
of the
including the children Johnny, 8; Jimmy,
5; and Doug, 2. “The children help - they
are often with me. That’s what we really
like - the fact that we can do it together.
We’re with them.”
Any trampled vegetables? Carol says,
“They must learn and must be -careful
where they walk.” When the children tire
of helping, they have lots of open .space
where they can play and still be near their
parents as'the work is being done.'
John helps with the vegetables, and
Carol, of course, helps with the field work.
On the 68 acres available te them, 45 on
their home farm, they raise com, hay,
wheat, oats tobacco and the vegetables. So
far, very, early in the growing season,
Carol has two acres planted. Since she is
expanding, the total size could go larger,
but she explains that some vegetables will
be planted after others are harvested.
Carol grew up on a dairy farm in the
Manheim area so she said she feels that
spared her interest andlove of farming.
“As the oldest of four children I was
always the one to help Dad. We always had
a garden too,” she states. However, she
admits with a laugh that her current love
of gardening was not always evident then.
“When I was a kid, I would do any other
jobtogetoutof picking peas,” she laughs.
Carol readily states that she is still
learning, and that trial and error accounts
for much of her useful experience. Not
every crop is successful every year. She
said, “I read books and refer to than of
ten, and I talk to friends. People have been
very helpful to us in giving advice as we
get started.” Carol keeps a complete and
detailed record of when vegetables are
planted and harvested.
Carol says she often rises before the
children, works in the garden and then
gets breakfast for the family before
returning to her work. Last.year they
managed to do all the work themselves,
but she said she may need help this year
with the extra vegetables.
To keep the large garden looking good,
Carol uses a tractor to cultivate the rows.
This takes care of most weeds with an
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