One season has passed since I started the putting my skills and curiosity to work for the community. My desire to grow things and to be part of a community has taken the twist into reality through Jake and Arielle's creation of the Twin Towns Gardeners' Market.
In 2007, I bought a small 6 acre farm near Wyndmere, ND with visions of growing fruit and vegetables like my family did as I was growing up in central MN. My visions at the time were with the intent to grow for my own family not exactly to grow for the public, but it is funny how life can turn in a new direction at a moments notice.
When I started a garden of my own in 2007, I picked a twenty foot square plot of my lawn were I planted potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, strawberries, onions, some greens, and a few other things. I had to peel the sod off and till the ground with a shovel because that was the extent of the tools I had. Needless to say there were a several blisters formed and many gallons of water consumed before the initial step was complete. I planted the seeds and plants as my parents and grandparents had showed me when I was growing up. The season ended with plenty of goods to eat. The next season, I used the same plot, again with success other than more weeds than I cared to ever see. I was graced with a bounty of potatoes and ripe tomatoes, but something was missing.
When I was growing up, we had many fruit trees and grapes. Between my parents dairy farm and my grandparents place next to ours, we had a selection of about 10 apple varieties, chokecherries, plums, and currants. Every year I would learn more about the trees and how they grew - I was hooked. In 2009, I took a stab at it. I planted four varieties of apples, a couple peach trees, some pears, cherries, and plums. To top it off, I planted three varieties of grapes in a small trellis system I made.
By now, I had an inkling of starting a small farmer's market stand. Where else would all of my fruit go? It was more than one person can eat or even give away in a small town. Another year went by some trees made it to the next season and others did not. I planted some varieties of trees that were a stretch for the area and probably didn't give them the attention they needed. By this time, I had been introduced to the idea of starting a market in Wahpeton with Jake and Arielle. And so it all began....
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