The Food We Eat – Local Farm Photos

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Local Farm Photos: Greg Balog grafting tomato plants in a his greenhouse at Heron Pond Farm in South Hampton, New Hampshire. (Jerry Monkman)

Back in March (was it really March?), I discussed my work at Heron Pond Farm in the post, The Importance of Personal Photography Projects.  I made more photos at the farm in May, and visited again this morning for a couple of hours.  Wow, do things change on a farm between March and June!  Ground bare in March is now bursting with color and food.  Some crops, like strawberries are already nearing the end of their season.  (I’ll admit to sneaking a few of the remaining strawberries this morning – oh so sweet!)  In the greenhouses, the onion seedlings I photographed in February and March have been transplanted to nearby fields, and tomato plants are full size and bearing bushels of ripe fruit.  The series of photos in this post show the process of growing tomatoes at Heron Pond, from grafting seedlings to more robust root stock in March, to the resulting ten foot high plants that they are today.

By grafting tastier varieties to more robust root stocks, tomato growers are able to have the best of both worlds: delicious fruit that is more resistant to disease.

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Greenhouse Irrigation.

Here’s the same greenhouse today, June 9th!

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And what’s a farm without an abandoned pick-up in the field!

I love knowing where my food comes from: the dirt it grows in, the landscape it occupies, and the people who grow it.  About 3/4 of the fresh produce we eat year-round has come from Heron Pond Farm over the last few years.  I like to think it is making a difference by using less carbon dioxide for transportation costs, and I know that it is a positive to have the farm succeeding and providing open space in sprawl-prone southern New Hampshire.

Until next time…

-Jerry

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