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Satur ay,June17,2023|

Garden Garden plenty plentyof

FocusingonToday’sRuralEnvironment

BYSARAHCOLBURN STAFFWRITER

Saturday,June17,2023

Larsonsfosterskills,lifelessons

region.Thethousandsof poundsofvegetables producedinthegardeneachyeardonot gotowaste.Thefood ful llsthedemandof 30to60payingcustomerswhoannually participateinMNyou YouthGarden’sCommunitySupportedAgricultureprogramand receiveweeklyshares ofproduce.Those CSAsharescostmore thantraditionalshares becauseeachprovides matchingCSAshare tobegiventoafamily

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Checkoutthe restofthe farmfamilies inBSection!

need.BrentandDeb Larsonoverseethe program,whichwas startedbytheirson Benandco-founderNateEricksonin 2016.“Wealwaysnd anoutletforeverythingwegrow,sothe kidshaveanunderstandingwe’renotjust pickingweeds;we’re actuallymaking differenceinpeople’s lives,”Brentsaid.sons’ThisyeartheLareffortswererecognizedastheywere

Acres cres

Volume10,Edition09

Spreading Spreading

Saturday,January20,2024

in

namedtheKandiyohi FarmFamilyofthe Year.InadditiontorunningtheCSAprogram,theLarsonsand theirstudentcrewsell produceatafarmers market.Anyadditionalproduceisdonated toHopeforOurCity, thefoodshelfand churchintownthat distributesfood.Throughthe program,theyoung adultslearnseedling management,pest management,transplantandharvesting skills,greenhouseand hoophousemanagement,marketingskills

PHOTOSUBMITTED Ben Larson picks beans alongside Ava Lundgren

BYSARAHCOLBURN STAFFWRITER

Boutiquemicroflowerfarm

andcustomerservice, amongotherthings.Thegardenitself touts plethoraof produce.Thereare morethan20vegetablesgrown—everythingfromtomatoes, zucchini,cucumbers, carrotsandbeansto radishes,rutabaga, turnipsandpotatoes. Inbetweentherows ofveggies,theyalso growowersforcutting.Thethree-quarter acreplotoflandjust outsidetheLarsons’ homeisturnedover threetimesayear, sothere aconstant uxoffoodbeing

inspiredbyinfertility

The garden helps provide food securitythroughoutwest centralMinnesota. WILLMAR— Eachweekteensand youngadultsgather around tablewith theirmentorstoshare in mealwithfood theygrew,harvested andcookedthemselves.TheMNyouYouthGardenserves asatrainingground foryoungpeopleto learnskills,make moneyandhelp diminishfoodinsecuritythroughoutthe

grownandharvested. Fouryearsago,the familymoved greenhousetotheirproperty fromtheMinnesota WestCommunityand TechnicalCollege tosupporttheprogram.Thegreenhouse allowsthemtoextend theirfood-growing seasonasdothetwo hoophousesonthe Larsons

At18-months-old,EveBi-schoftoddlesaboutthe fthof anacreoflandthatmakesup HoneydewFieldsinSt.Cloud andSaukCentre.Sheplucks weedsfromthesoil,grabsat owers, sprinkles seeds and watches alongside her mom LeahBischof. This is the second year HoneydewFields,aboutique micro ower farm, is growingandsellingowers.From sun owers and lisianthus to ranunculus, peonies, dahlias, snapdragons, larkspur, pincushions, straw owers and rudbeckia,thefarmhasalittle bitofeverything. Leah bundles the owersintobouquetstoserveher weekly or bi-weekly Fresh from the Field subscription customers.Shealsoprovides wholesale owers to orists and oraldesigners. Onthefarm,Leahfocusesonregenerativefarmingas thefarmingandowersquite literallyregeneratedher.Originally,shegrewvegetablesin hergarden,butafterreading about the benetsofpairing

themwith owers,shefound newpassion.Thefocuscame at timesheandherhusband Bradwerestrugglingwithinfertilityandsheputherenergy intothegarden,ndingsolace inthework.“Flowers ultimately became this beautiful thing in not-so-beautiful situation,” shesaid.“Theywerethisthing thatbroughtsomuchjoytome in all.”timethatwasjustnotfun Now,shesaid,she’sgrowing owers to bring joy to others,andsheworksside-bysidewithEve. “I want to teach her the lifelessonsthatgrowingupon farmtaughtme,”Leahsaid. They grow lot of the owers from seed, and others they sow directly in the soil.Leahsaidtheycarrythe transplant seedings outdoors tually,hardenoffandthen,even“I’mgetthingsintheground. more focused on workingwithMotherNature directly,”Leahsaid.“Acommonquestion askmyself howwouldMotherNature Honeydew page

ST R Publications bliti Thenewspaperoftoday thehistory tomorrow.

Thismonthinthe COUNTRY: Watchforthenexteditionof CountryAcresonJuly15,2023

7ParadeSeasonTiffanyKlaphake column

Nonprofitprovideshelp tothefurry,feathered

9Atrailofpainted patchwork Staples

16StrawberriesGalore Albany 21Countrycooking Villard 20 Quoththeraven NancyPackard Leasmancolumn

PHOTOSUBMITTED

LeahBischofandherdaughterEveplanttogetherin bedatHoneydewFields.Evecanoftenbefound sowingseeds,plantingandpicking owers.

ST R Publications

22Planning placewithpurpose Herman 25 Likefather, likedaughter Randall

ST.CLOUD—When RobbiHoywasrunningher gardeningbusinessin2012, shewasnotone thinkmuch aboutwildanimals,shesaid, otherthanwhentheyannoyed herbydiggingupherplants. Thenshecameacrosstwo infantsquirrelsthatseemedto beabandoned.Hoycontacted wildliferehabilitator.“Shesaidtoleavethem fortwohoursbecausethe mommightcomeback,which shedid,butsheonlytookone babywithher,”Hoysaid. foundoutfromtherehabilitatorthat wasbecausetheotherbabywasn’tveryhealthy. Itwasdehydratedandinbad shape.”Withhelpfromtherehabilitator,Hoylearnedhowto takecareofthesquirreluntilit couldbereleasedintothewild. “Iloved somuchthat thenextyear earnedmy rehablicense,”Hoysaid.“The restishistory.”

Peeling

SOUTH

Folkertoperatesahulling siteforblackwalnuts

guidance.“Lindawastraining Barbmoreonrabbitsand meonsquirrelsbecause thatiswhatwehad,”Hoy said.“ThenBarband metandbecamefriends andstartedsharingour animalsoncewewere licensed.”rehabilitationAtthetime,theonlycentersavailablewereinRosevilleand Garrison. foodwereverydif ustocover,”Hoysaid.“We decidedtostart nonpro tomakeiteasierforanybody whowasinterestedinhelping withrehabbinginthisarea,so theywouldn’thavetopayso muchoutofpocket.”generalHoyandSchaafhavelicenses,whichmeans theycanrehabilitateanything exceptlargegameanimalsand endangeredspecies,which theycantakeinbrie but musttransporttofacilitieswith speciallicensure.Hoyalsohas aspecialpermit rehabilitate Saturday,September16,2023|CountryAcresSouth•Page1 Saturday,September16,2023

offthelayersofapossibility

stations,eachmanaged byindependentcontractors.Anyonecanbringblackwalnuts buyinglocation,meaningthe nutsarealmostallwild harvestedandgrown withoutmanagement.walnuts,Ready-to-eatblackwalnutcooking oilandproteinpowder areproducedbyHammonsProductsCompany, amongotherproducts. Forhisrstseasoncollectedoperation,Folkert27,782pounds ofhulledblackwalnuts. Thisyear,hehopesforan evengreateramount.“Thisyear,especiallynowthatit’snotthe rst yearandpeopleknow aboutit,it’sgoingtorun alotbetter,”Folkertsaid. “I’mhopingtohavean evenbetterturnout.”Folkert,whogrewup onafarminthearea,operatesthehullinglocation as part-time,seasonal job.Hisfull-timejobatRochesterkeepshimoccupied

PLAINVIEW— MattFolkerthascracked openanopportunityfor himselfinsoutheastern Minnesota.Itrevolvesaroundblackwalnuts.Plainview,Folkert,ofrural began buyinglocationforblack walnutslastfall.The 27-year-oldoperates theHammonsProducts Companyhullingsiteas anindependentcontractorofthecompanyat hisuncle’sfarmsitenear Elgin.HammonsProducts Companyis family-ownedbusinessthat buysblackwalnutsfrom acrosstheMidwestand isbasedinStockton, Missouri.chasesThecompanypur-25millionpoundsofblackwalnutsfrom 11stateseachfall.Todo so,HammonsProducts Companyworkswith morethan200buying

cannotrehabilitateanimals withoutlicensure,theycan helptransportanimals,clean cagesorfeedanimals,workat CMWRfundraisersandhelp gatherordonatesupplies. Facebook“IcanputoutonoursitethatwearelowHoy/Schaafpage2 Volume2,Edition

STAFFWRITER youngraccoonstretches Hoy’shome St.Cloud. theanimalsmostoften brought bythepublic throughHoy’snonprofi organization,Central MinnesotaWildlife Rehabilitation.

duringtheweek. “Generally, also reallylovegardeningand beingoutside,”Folkert said.“Ilikehelpingon

MattFolkertcarries50-poundbagsofblackwalnuts 2022 hisuncle’sfarmsitenearElgin.Folkertlaysthebagsonpalletsuntiltheendoftheseason.

FocusingonToday’sRuralEnvironment ST R Publications bliti Thenewspaperoftoday thehistoryoftomorrow.

BYMARIABICHLER STAFFWRITER PHOTOSSUBMITTED

thefarm.”Whensomeonebrings blackwalnuts thelocation,thein-hullnutsare processedthrough hull-

ingmachinewhichstrips thegreenouterhulland thehulledblackwalnut remains.Then,thehulled nutsareweighed.Folkert

MattFolkert(center)andhisfatherGeraldFolkert(right)help harvesterunloadandprocess pickupbedfullofblackwalnuts in2022nearElgin.Theblackwalnutsareprocessedthrough hullingmachine removetheouterhull.

PRSRTSTD ECR U.S.POSTAGE PAID PERMIT#278 Madelia,MN522Sinclair LewisAve SaukCentre MN56378 BirthdaysAmyKylloColumn 5 4-Hcountyspotlights

Thismonthinthe COUNTRY: Watchforthenexteditionof CountryAcresonOctober7,2023

payseachcustomer setamountperpound.

Folkertpage2

MattFolkert(right)helpstwoharvestersunload loadofblackwalnuts 2022athisuncle’sfarmsitenearElgin.FolkertisanindependentcontractorofHammonsProductsCompanyofStockton,Missouri.

MattFolkertstandsnexttothehullingmachine in2022athisuncle’sfarmnearElgin.Folkert operated blackwalnutbuyinglocationforthersttimelastyear.

10 Beef,cashcropsandhops Chatfi 14 Applesgalore Crescent

(left)andRaiyaSebestain theMNyouYouthGarden

Willmar.

Wabasha

Winona Olmsted