86-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 11, 2001
Certified Organic Farmers Preserve The Land, Open Health Food Store
LINDA WIIIIAMS
Bedford Co. Correspondent
BEDFORD (Bedford Co.)
“God has really blest our land we
should take care of it,” said Ger
ald Smith, an organic farmer and
health food store owner.
Gerald, his wife, Julie, and
son, Joshua, live on a farm just
south of Bedford where they have
five acres of land in organic fruits
and vegetables.
“We plan to clear more land as
we have the time and money to
do it,” Gerald says.
Neat, weedless, rows of blue
berries, black berries, red and yel
low raspberries, tomatoes, cu
cumbers, squash, and corn all
grown organically are a delicious
sight on a cloudless July morning
when the air is heavily scented
with the smells of summer. Huge,
mouth-melting blueberries are
ripe and are just one of nearly a
dozen varieties grown by the
Smiths. Gerald says there are
more then 200 varities of blueber
nes.
Raspberries, so sweet, one
could easily bake an unsugared
pie, will soon be ready for pick
ing.
“This year, for the first time,
we hope to open picking to the
public,’’ he adds.
“We are certified organic
fanners and, that is no easy task.
We must pass an inspection each
year. We use no chemical fertil
izers or sprays and we use no
chemicals for pest control. We
even have to be careful of the
type of bindertwine we use.” Ger
ald said.
Gerald and Julie began their
farming experience in 1989. As
Rodale Institute To Host
Workshop For Family Farm Owners
KUTZTOWN (Berks Co.)
The Rodale Institute will host a
Field Day and 'Workshop on
Thursday, Aug. 23 titled “Prof
itable and Environmental Ap
proaches to Regenerating Fam
ily Farms.”
The workshop will cover
farming and marketing tech
niques designed to help family
farmers learn how to “regener
ate” their farm for improved
yield and profitability.
Topics to be covered will in
clude: soil and livestock/
nutrient management for im
proved water quality; cover
Tips To Store Garden
Most garden produce needs to
be stored either cold, 32-40 F or
cool, 50-60 F. Two refrigerators
will simplify matters. If cool stor
age is not available, those vege
tables should be stored only brief
ly. Humidity is also important.
Some vegetables need dry storage
about 65 percent relative humidi
ty (RH); others need moist 95
percent RH. Home refrigerators
are usually dry 50-60 percent
RH.
Use perforated plastic bags to
create moist conditions because
unperforated plastic may cause
excessive moisture.
The following crops should be
stored cold and moist. (Storage
times are estimates).
Broccoli keeps about 2 weeks.
Cabbage keeps up to 5 months.
Green beans keep about one
week. Will develop pits below
40F.
Escarole stores two to three
weeks.
their interest in organic farming
growing increased so their inter
est in alternative health care. In
creasing their knowledge in vita
mins, minerals and other natural
supplements, the young couple
featured a line in a local open
market store. As the demand in
creased, they saw a need for more
space and, in several years ago,
opened their own store on Pitt
Street in Bedford.
“With more space we are able
to carry cereals, canned items,
and other organically grown or
natural products,” explains Ger
ald. “We try to cany organic pro
duce such as kiwi and bananas
when possible. The store also pro
vides a market for our own pro
duce.”
In a small town, word travels
fast and it doesn’t take long for
any of the outstanding vegetables
or berries grown on the Smith
farm to disappear.
Some of it never makes it to
the shop as Gerald also trucks or
ganic produce to a larger market.
“Our number one problem is
predators,” the young farmer ad
mits. “We have bugs, birds, rac
coons, skunks, opossums, and
deer.”
“Fighting them naturally isn’t
easy. We use the praying mantis,
ladybugs, green lacy wing, and
hairy flies to fight bad bugs.
We’re grateful for birds like the
Eastern bluebird and flycatchers
which devour tons of our bug
predators.”
They use bird callers which
sound like hawks or crows to
keep the bad birds away and trap
a lot of the smaller mammals,
transporting them to another lo
cation.
crops and rotations; transition
ing to an organic system;
marketing techniques; and a
farm equipment tour.
The field day will take place
at The Rodale Institute Experi
mental Farm, 611 Siegfriedale
Road, Kutztown. Admission to
the workshop is free, and the
first 100 registrants get a free
lunch and mileage reimburse
ment. Preregistration is re
quired, and walk-ins must reg
ister upon arrival. Interested
farmers should contact Maria
Pop at (610) 683-1481 or mari
a.pop@rodaleinst.org.
Lima beans, shelled, keeps
about a week
Muskmelon and ripe melons
will store up to 10 days
Sweet corn, husk to conserve
space. Keeps 2-5 days depending
on variety.
These crops should be stored
cool and moist.
Slicing cucumbers keeps about
a week; develop pitting below
40F.
Eggplant stores about one
week; will discolor below 50F.
Okra stores for one week.
Summer squash about one
week; if refrigerated, keep only a
few days.
Sweet peppers will keep two
weeks; develops pitting below
45F.
Watermelon will keep about
one week at room temperature,
two weeks in the refrigerator; de
cays below 50F more than a few
days.
Tomatoes are best never refrig-
“Then there are droughts or
late frosts to add to our aggrava
tions. We have an irrigation sys
tem but, thankfully, have not had
to use it much this year. It’s been
a wonderful growing season. To
mato plants were out very early
and we only had a few nights
that we had to cover them.
“But despite everything, it’s all
worth it! We like what we are
doing and we are preserving the
land God gave us.”
The day is being co-spon
sored by the Pennsylvania De
partment of Environmental
Protection and the USDA Ini
tiative for Future Agriculture
and Food Systems. The Rodale
Institute Experimental Farm is
comprised of 333 acres, 290 of
which are certified organic. The
acreage has been organically
farmed since 1972, and func
tioning as a CSA since 2000.
The Experimental Farm con
ducts a variety of research on
soil health and compost, as well
as growing grains and forage,
vegetables and apples.
Vegetables
erated. Exposed to temperatures
below 50F, unripe ones will not
ripen. Ripe tomatoes loose eating
quality rapidly in the refrigerator.
Garlic and ohions need cold and
dry storage. Winter squash and
pumpkins need cool and dry.
Storage life depends on the
condition of the produce as well
as storage conditions. Don’t ex
pect to store damaged vegetables
for these lengths of time.
The raspberries are almost ripe and ready for picking.
Gerald at work in the organic store he and Julie oper
ate on Pitt Street in Bedford.
Gerald and Josh work at weeding the blueberries.
OMESIEAD OfES
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