Know Your Farmers: Garden Window Farm increases bio-diversity in Denton
{Contributed photo/GeoCore Creative}
Meet Ben Geiger, this thirty-two year old is owner and operator of Garden Window Farm with his wife Bethany in Denton, NC. After years of working in restaurants and retail management he knew he wanted to start his own business. Due to low start up costs and his passion for great food he started a food truck business. His menu relied on high quality ingredients and focused on simplicity that allowed the ingredients to shine. He wanted to source his ingredients locally however it became very difficult. Small farms were hard to come by in the area of Colorado where he and his wife resided at the time, this caused him to become interested in what it would take to grow his own ingredients. “I had a little experience with gardening from helping my mom and grandma in the garden when I was a kid, but I knew I had a lot I needed to learn,” he says.
In 2019, he began researching, reading and taking online market farming courses to get an understanding of what it might take to get a small farm started. At the same time he and Bethany began researching places across the country to start a farm and that is when they honed in on North Carolina. At the beginning of 202 they moved to North Carolina, Ben spent the next year interning at two small farms, which is what brought the Geigers to Denton.
Windows in their home are perfectly overlooking their fields, this along with his favorite album by a band called O’Brother, was the inspiration for the name of Garden Window Farm. Their farm sits on three quarters of an acre, and they grow a large variety of seasonal vegetables from purple and white cauliflower, broccoli, small sweet potatoes, herbs and mushrooms plus more year round. They specialize in year round lettuce production and have also started to specialize in Italian vegetable varieties being that they work closely with a chef who is originally from Italy and offers authentic, artisanal Italian cuisine.
“It is our goal to build healthy soils, create biological diversity, and mitigate the use of synthetic chemicals so that we can provide the most nutrient dense and delicious vegetables possible. Garden Window Farms commitment to growing this way is why they are certified naturally grown. Growing without any synthetic chemicals and GMO’s and ensuring that their growing practices continue to increase the sustainability for the soil, plants and animals around us. This certification uses a peer review system, in which local farmers agree to be inspected by other farmers to confirm that they are following guidelines spelled out by a nonprofit. This certification also allows them to network with other amazing farms in the area and share ideas with farmers in the community..
The farm is currently working towards implementing a no till growing method which reduces soil erosion, increases soil biological activity and increases soil organic matter. They are also working towards other practices such as cover cropping that provides a natural means of suppressing soil diseases and pests. It can also serve as a mulch or cover to assist in suppressing weed growth. Pollinator habitats, areas of permanent vegetation located in an agricultural landscape like field edges, field middles, odd corners, or virtually any location that is suited for a pollinator habitat., increasing their biodiversity, and reducing single-use plastics which will prevent further pollution by lessening the amount of new raw materials used.
They encourage their customers to ask about their sustainable practices or schedule a farm tour to learn more about these practices.
A goal the farm would like to expand on are more food based events to build community engagement. “Every year we plan a farm to table dinner with local wine pairings in the fall, it’s such a great way to share the bounty of our harvest while showcasing several small businesses.” Their first year they partnered with Piccione Vinyards and Mano Bella Artisan Foods, both out of Charlotte.
You can find them at the Thomasville and Lexington weekday and winter markets and at Charlotte's Uptown Farmers Market on Saturdays. Following their social media will provide great updates as well as checking out their events page on their website Garden Window Farm.
“Being a very new farm I wanted to thank all of our customers and the communities in Lexington, Thomasville and Charlotte for embracing us with open arms! Farmers markets are the backbone of our local food economies and I feel very lucky to have been welcomed into several of them.” - Ben
By supporting local farmers and farmers markets today, we help to ensure that there will be farms in our future communities. It ensures that we have access to nourishing, flavorful and abundant foods. Our community of farmers care not only about our today and tomorrow but our future. Garden Window Farm plans to sell through Piedmont Fresh, Davidson County Local Food Network's online farmshare program starting in September.
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