From Field to Fork: Homegrown and Handmade

Ben’s Farm Fresh Veggies from the field to your fork! Also featuring “From T’s Kitchen”!

I am a single Mom with a busy career and an active teenage son. My son, Ben, and my Dad “Pop”and I have a hobby farm that started as a way for Ben to make money in the summer. It began with a few tomatoes, squash and cucumbers he would sell at a table in front of Don’s Repair Service. This is the fourth year we have been on this adventure that has grown in both size and offerings. Because we start with so many plants, I now start a lot of our plants from seed in my greenhouse. We have also added several container garden areas. Ben is involved in every step of the process from planting, to weeding, to picking, to selling. This is still his summer job.

We have expanded the produce to include heirloom tomatoes, okra, summer squash, both hot and sweet peppers, zucchini, spaghetti squash, cucumbers and whatever seeds peek our interest that season. This year, Pop obtained a few swarms of honey bees and the beehive station was born. I don’t know if honey will eventually be offered, but the bees are great for pollinating the plants. And if you are lucky and the girls are laying, you can often get fresh brown eggs from Pop’s flock of chickens.

We learned pretty quick that any unsold produce made for great canning. So “From T’s Kitchen” was born. You might also be able to grab a jar of honeysuckle jelly, corn cob jelly, muscadine jelly, habanero pepper jelly, or fig jam if we have the fruit. Everything is homemade from my kitchen, made in small batches and canned the way my grandma used to do it.

Come enjoy the fruits of our labor. Garden therapy is the best! Let us know if you need anything in between the times Ben sets up at the Carlisle Pavilion! Follow this page to find out when he will be set up to sell veggies and canned goodies. We look forward to meeting you!