ENTERPRISE STORY: As snow falls, summer veggies sprout in Middleboro

By Alice Elwell,
ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT

MIDDLEBORO — While others were shoveling snow this week, two local farmers were starting their seedlings of onions, spinach, leeks and broccoli to get a jump on spring and be ready to offer up home-grown vegetables when the weather breaks.

Dave Purpura of Plato’s Harvest Organic Farm has already potted his onions and spinach plants, while James Reynolds of The Dahlia Farm is germinating his broccoli this week...

Reynolds grew more than 4,000 tomatoes plants last year with one German heirloom that weighed in at 3 pounds. There’s also basil, parsley, dill and cilantro for those gourmet cooks who seek the freshest herbs...

Laurie and Dean Rantz tried a half-share in Reynolds farm last year and said they were very happy with the produce. “It was something to look forward to every week,” said Laurie Rantz.

Dean Rantz said Reynolds would fill baskets each week with vegetables, herbs and flowers, sometimes with things the couple had never tried. One week they were given kohlrabi, something Dean Rantz described as looking like an alien, but turned out to be tasty. “Hey, I’ll try anything,” he said.

Rantz said another bonus is supporting local business. He said with all the talk of living green, he decided to do what he can for the environment and invested in a local farmer.

Read the complete story HERE.






Bumpkin says:
I had a half share last season from The Dahlia Farm and was very happy with it. Fresh, no chemicals, and a variety of stuff that you just won't see in the supermarkets. The eggs are 2nd to none with amazing orange yokes and texture. I wrote about the experience several times on my blog - nemasket.net
http://nemasket.net/new-csa/
http://nemasket.net/podcast-csa-middleboro/
http://nemasket.net/csa-update/

LOCAL, HAND-MADE SOAPS now available at the GIFT SHOP

We are proud to offer The Dahlia Farm hand-craft soaps this Christmas season here at Reynolds Flowers.

Once you have experienced the gentle, fragrant emolience of Dahlia Soaps, you will find it difficult to go back to the same old hard bar.

Made with olive oil, shea butter, and essential oils these quality soaps are an affordable luxury that will bring joy and comfort to anyone on your Christmas list. Stocking stuffer individual bars are only $5, and the stand-alone, cheerfully gift wrapped 3-pak is a wonderful value at $14.

Be sure to stop in this week and receive a free sample. You'll be merrily pleased.

MOTHERS DAY IS MAY 10, 2009

Mothers Day (and motherhood worship) dates back to the ancient Greeks with the festival of Cybele (a mother of gods), and the celebration of Rhea (wife of the mythological Cronos). Modern American Mothers Day was reportedly conceived by Julia Ward Howe in the post-Civil War era as an homage to "the inherent pacifism of mothers." The holiday is now celebrated around the world on varying dates, but owes is basis to mostly to these initiatives. Throughout Africa, Mothers Day follows the British model and much of East Asia has now adopted the United States' version.

If you need to send flowers for this Mothers Day please visit us at: http://www.reynoldsflowers.com/. We personally deliver to Bridgewater, Carver, EastTaunton, Halifax, Lakeville, Middleboro, & Plympton, and can arrange delivery to Florida, Maine or anywhere else in the free world.

Locally grown food finds niche in Brockton area - Brockton, MA - The Enterprise

Locally grown food finds niche in Brockton area - Brockton, MA - The Enterprise: "Locally grown food finds niche in Brockton area
Demand for local produce is sprouting

Tim Correira/The Enterprise
Jim Reynolds feeds his chickens at The Dahlia Farm in Middleboro on Thursday. Reynolds, who runs a successful florist shop, is expanding and will sell eggs and produce from his 6-acre farm.



Related Links We need a diet of “real food,” Michael Pollan tells Bridgewater State audience (03/27/09)
By Kyle Alspach
ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
Posted Mar 27, 2009 @ 11:28 PM

MIDDLEBORO — A new organic farm in Middleboro and a farmers market in Bridgewater are set to debut this year, two signs that locally grown food is a growing commodity in the region.The Dahlia Farm on Plymouth Street in Middleboro will offer organic vegetables and herbs, eggs from free-range chickens and cut flowers, said farmer Jim Reynolds.People will be able to buy “shares” of the vegetable crop this summer, entitling them to an assortment of veggies each week starting in June...

Nearly 500 people who crowded into a Bridgewater State College hall on Wednesday to hear a talk from Michael Pollan, local food advocate and author of best-sellers “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and “In Defense of Food.”Pollan’s emphasis on eating “real food” — with little or no processing — is something that resonates with farmers such as Jim Reynolds.“People are becoming more and more aware of what exactly is in the food they’ve been eating — that just because something has an FDA approval, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good for you,” he said.The Dahlia Farm is located on the property of Reynolds Flowers, a business run by Reynolds’ family since the 1950s.Reynolds, 46, and his wife, Michele, will be farming the land together this year. One acre is being devoted this year to vegetables, he said.Another two acres are allotted for the farm’s 50 chickens, which are currently producing organic eggs for the Rockin K Cafe in Bridgewater.Reynolds joins several dozen other farmers in southeastern Massachusetts growing food mainly for local consumption.“There’s very much a movement of people becoming educated in what we’re eating,” he said...

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE POINSETTIA

Indigenous to Mexico, the "Flor de Noch Buena," was first brought to the United States in 1928 by then incumbent US Ambassador Dr. Joel Roberts-Poinsett. Known to grow taller than 15 feet, the colorful Christmas flower actually gets its appearance from its "bracts," vibrantly pigmented leaf-sections that surround the true-but-uneventful blossom.

FLOWER SCULTURES

Flower sculptures, or "shapes," are a specialty at REYNOLDS FLOWERS. Although complex and time-consuming, the process can actually be broken down to manageable steps, the first of which is to establish a small scale drawing. This "thumbnail" determines the proper proportions and angle the object will be sketched from. Sometimes three-dimensional, sometimes flat on, the smaller sketch is the determining factor in what the finished product will look like. From this work, I scale-up using the "grid method," transferring the sketch directly to dry styro board, then cut out the form. The remaining steps are entirely floral. I prefer to work with flowers in their natural state but when an item is just unavailable, I use specially formulated floral paints. There is not a color I can't make - even if there is no such flower. Each stem here on will be individually "picked" and the "sculpture" will be shaped as gradually as an elaborate cake or clay form. Generally speaking, any floral painting will be done before the blossoms are arranged. The background may be foliage or fluted ribbon. Final details such as line or minute objects are worked in to suggest scale and alignment, individually, on a piece-by-piece basis.

Tulips

Although generally associated with Holland & France, tulips originated in Persia and the Middle-east. The first tulips were brought to Europe from Turkey in the mid-1500s & for many years were grown only in university botanical gardens. In the early seventeenth century, bulbs were stolen from the University of Leiden and thus began "TULIPMANIA." In the late 1800s, when the Dutch industry began to officially classify tulips, a peculiarly attractive but virus-infected variety was categorized as the "Rembrandt" strain. Later a genetically stable hybrid was developed, bearing the same moniker. Today in the US, tulips are usually referred to as either "Dutch tulips," (the standard) or more recently in florist circles as "French tulips," (the premium or 'jumbo.')

ST. VALENTINES DAY - A Little History

Legend places SAINT VALENTINE as a 3rd century Roman priest. Under the rule of Claudius II, marriage was outlawed (because a stronger military was comprised of single men rather than family men). Fr. Valentine secretly married couples until he was found out, and put to death. Who says love is painless...?

CUPID appears in Roman mythology as the son of Venus, goddess of love (in Greek, he is Eros, god of love). The mischievous boy wounds gods & mortals alike with his arrows, causing them to fall in love and marry outside their social circles.