Our gardens fed more than the animals this year
We donated 4,516 lbs. of produce this year.
When most people think of Sweet Farm, they picture our 150 rescued animals: Alfie the goat taking his sweet time at breakfast, the turkeys strutting around the yard, Dusk the Yorkshire pig napping in the sun. But this year, so much more was growing here too.
Growing food has always been part of who we are. From our very beginning 11 years ago, we've focused on heirloom varieties and regenerative practices that build healthy soil and work with the land instead of against it. But in California, water always limited what we could grow. Moving to the East Coast changed that. With water available, as well four distinct seasons, we've finally been able to expand our agriculture program the way we always dreamed.
This growing season, we grew 85 varieties of tomatoes, along with 50 types of potatoes, 32 types of garlic, and hundreds of other crops of all kinds. Every one had its own personality, but our stand-out of the season was the Sweet Prince tomato, a fitting favorite for Sweet Farm. At all of our tomato tasting events, it was rated as the best tasting variety. (Missed our tomato events? You can buy tinned Sweet Prince tomatoes in our store, and capture a taste of summer!)
By the numbers:
Tomatoes: 85 varieties and 658 plants, with over 1,200 lbs harvested.
Potatoes: 420 plants. 708 lbs. harvested
Garlic: 32 varieties, 1,255 heads harvested, with 142 bulbs saved to replant this fall.
Donations: over 3,000 lbs by Sep. 10, more than any earlier season. That figure includes produce we fed to our rescued animals.
Cucumbers: nearly 400 lbs. harvested! A banner year!
And we didn't keep the harvest to ourselves. This year, we donated 4,516 pounds of fresh food to local food pantries, community organizations, and directly to individuals via our farmstand and the farm cart in front of our store, Sweet Farm Provisions, putting healthy, locally grown produce on the tables of our neighbors.
To us, this is what a sanctuary is all about.
The same compassion that guides how we care for our animals guides how we care for the land and our community. Growing food that nourishes people, without harming animals, is one of the most hopeful things we get to do.
None of this happens without people like you. Your support keeps the barn lights on, the animals fed, and the gardens growing. Every one of those 4,516 pounds is part of your story too.
Thank you for being part of the Sweet Farm family.
P.S. Want to see where it all grows? Join us for a tour to meet the animals and see the gardens that feed our community.
