We’re so ready to kick off this White Bear Lake Winter Farmers Market season. What started small has grown to be a much anticipated community-wide event each winter.
This season’s market dates are set for November 13 th , December 11th and January 8th. The markets will run 10am to 2pm outdoors, right in front of Tamarack Nature Center. Bringing together local farmers, makers and community is the driving force behind the event- which continues to evolve each year.
Winter Farmers Market Haul!
Last year because of Covid, we moved the event outside and you, the community, didn’t skip a beat! Local food lovers don’t seem to mind an outdoor event, and with Ramsey County Park buildings still closed, we’ll be staying outside again this year. Of course, we’re making it extra cozy, with free hot apple cider from Pine Tree Apple Orchards, and a warming fire pit courtesy of Tamarack Nature Center.
As more people are looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint, they’re finding decreasing food miles can make an immediate impact. There’s a simple way to focus on eating local- cooking up a 100 mile meal!
Whatever lens you look at local food through- food miles, local economy, food waste, ecology, soil health, humane animal care, climate crisis, community building, nutritional content or simply TASTE- local food wins. Hands Down. Hands in the ground.
Let’s savor the ideas of “Growing Your Own + Knowing Your Farmer” as a two tined approach to digging in and eating more local.
Forks in the Dirt
Cows at Miron Dairy in Hugo MN, 13 miles from my home.
By the Numbers
Figuring out food miles can be a little shocking at first. It is estimated the average item you pick up from any grocery store has traveled around 1,500 miles before you find it on a shelf. Think of different common foods you buy if you pick up around the Twin Cities Metro Area:
Raspberries from Mexico- 2,000 miles
Garlic from China- 5,000 miles (90% of garlic comes from China)
As you drive up the country lane you can’t help but feel the at home arriving to this teaching farm. This unique farm combines a quaint country landscape with wagon loads of knowledge and passion to empower people with developmental disabilities.
This is one of those magical places where time stands still, and you get to simply BE in the moment; whether you are visiting the apple orchard, chickens, cats, goats, donkeys, cows, bee hives, gardens or meandering wildflower paths.
But there is a lot more than wondering and wandering happening on these 21 acres. just north east of the Twin Cities.
Teaching Farm
As a teaching farm, the space is specifically designed for adults and children with disabilities. They offer seasonal day programming and special events throughout the year as a way to “foster inclusive connections that are rooted in real life.”
What a gift to the community the three main staff have cultivated with sweat equity – and a guardian angel who wishes to remain anonymous.
I first met up with the team on a frigid + snowy day in January, and like all good farm folks, they were deep into dream mode! Even in the snow they shared their vision of hands-on activities giving those with disabilities a chance to commune with nature and each other.
That dreaming and planning paid off this summer. Even with Covid, they continued with programming for most of their farmers, a huge feat considering the current situation. I see it as more evidence of the commitment to their vocation, the farmers and animals who know this teaching farm as home.
It certainly takes a deep commitment to keep a farm like this up and running. Three highly trained and passionate staff keep things sprouting and running.
Meet the FarmHers
Laura, Amy and Brittany of 21 Roots
Meet the brains, brawn and heart of 21 Roots. Like any great team they create a synergy together that is inspiring to watch.
Amy – Co founder and Farm Operations Brittany– Co founder and Program Manager Laura – Farm Manager
The Origin Story
Amy and Brittany were college friends and the dream to open something like 21 Roots Farms took hold shortly after they graduated. After gathering ideas and experiences, they are living the dream! They purchased the farm (with the help of a guardian angel) in October of 2018, have now gained 501(c)3 status and are offering the nature-based programming they’ve dreamed of.
The Farm Land
A variety of hands-on experiences center around sustainable farming practices. They have an orchard full of fruit trees; cherry trees that produce enough to be used by Sarah’s Tipsy Pies, and apple trees heavy with fruit every fall! The chickens also hang out up in the orchard and are much loved (read chased!) by all the visiting farmers!
The larger animals; their cows, donkeys and goats are kept in the big red barn seem to be the real stars…They have an adorable page dedicated to their animals, I highly recommend visiting the “Meet the Animals” page on 21 Roots to get in your daily does of cute!
They have a few different field and garden spaces where they’re growing food crops as well. Raised beds with square foot gardening grids sit next to wide open rows of crops.
The garden area even has a fun potato growing bin- my kids thought this was the coolest potato plant they’ve ever seen- because they could actually SEE it! I mean really, how cool is that!
The underground worm bin and hot compost in the chicken area are other working experiments that show the love of learning from real life that the farm provides.
The wildflower fields are thanks to the previous owners’ prairie restoration project that was started a few years back and is flourishing now.
The Programs
The farm offers day programs, which were able to continue even during Covid as all activities are held outside and were capped at 10 ‘farmers’. Different days focus on slightly different facets of the farm, but all days include time to love on the animals and appreciate nature doing her thing. The personal attention and innovative farming and teaching techniques make for a bit of learning magic!
Farm to Home Animal Yoga Video
The Popular ‘Farm to Home’ videos cover bite size pieces of information while up close and personal with animals. Sometimes reading children’s books, sometimes just hanging with the cast of animal characters on the farm. Another gift they freely give to us all.
I joined in the fun this summer during one of their “Wednesday Explorers” sessions. We talked about seed saving, walked their wildflower fields and made pollinator seed bombs. What a fun way to spread my love of gardening!
We’re planning a seed saving event of a larger scale this fall as well- if you’re interested in saving seed from this farm’s prairie restoration area for use in local Seed Libraries, please contact me directly by commenting on this post, or messaging me on social media!
Part of the Sunflower Circle + Barn
Get Involved
Like any nonprofit 21 Roots always benefits from both volunteers and donations. They have a volunteer interest form you can fill out online and a link to donate as well.
Your time and efforts will reap more than you sow – it’s just that kind of place. Every time I visit I leave feeling good knowing this farm is out there, ready and waiting to serve as inspiration to keep adults and children with disabilities learning from and connecting with nature.
Simply being at 21 Roots Farm helps your spirit roam wild, while cultivating a sense of community. Choose to volunteer or donate and be part of living out the motto “it’s not the destination it’s the journey”.
Go to 21rootsfarm.org for more information on programming and how you can help today.
Find a way to dig in to this local teaching farm and you’ll be happy as a Kid again 😉
The second annual BearPower Harvest Party will feature FREE small bites crafted by local chefs from local food. We’re pairing delicious food with family activities and eco-friendly information.
Our Local Chefs
This is your chance to celebrate community grown food! Join us 12-3pm on Sunday, September 22, 2019. The event will take place at the White Bear Area YMCA Community Gardens, at 2100 Orchard Lane behind the YMCA building. We’ll be serving food until we run out, so join the party early. We’ll be inside the YMCA if the weather is really bad, so this is a rain or shine event!
Follow the Harvest Party Facebook Event for Updates and Fun!
Last year’s event was a blast!
Local Food
Farmer Butch pulls a Rutabaga!
Much of the produce was grown in local community Gardens. Our own WBL School District (Central, Lakeaires, Matoska and Oneka) the WBL Health Partners Clinic Garden, Tamarack Nature Center Garden and the YMCA Community Gardens are all sharing produce for the event. Local organic farm, All Good Organics, will again be donating lots of organic grown goodness to round out our garden harvests.
Local Chefs
Chef Matt Ellison of Bonfire Restaurants + Chef Peggy of Margaux’s Table
Chefs Matt Ellison of Bonfire Restaurants and Peggy Doran of Margaux’s Table are donating their time and talents to turn the food into tasty meals. They’ere even inviting a few lucky kids to help them prep food before the party starts! Contact me directly if you are interested in helping the chefs too. Local fall veggies will delight your taste buds; think Fall soup + rustic salad… but the exact recipes will have to wait as the chefs see what produce rolls in the day before!
In addition to the
veggies, BearPower has brought more community goodness together. Pine
Tree Apple Orchard and the White
Bear Area Emergency Food Shelf are teaming up again to hand out apples and raise awareness of
local hunger issues and how you can help. Farmers Market favorite, Great
Harvest Bread Company, is donating bread to
use in the small bites that will be served. All Good Organics will be on site
to talk about organic farming and will likely have something delicious to give
away!
Activities
WBL Seed Library
The YMCA will be holding a few Kids’ Fitness classes in the garden. The White Bear Lake Seed Library will be giving seed saving demonstrations and information on their organization, housed in our downtown public library. BearPower is bringing family fun with giant yard games and ways to make healthy eating and activities a part of your routine. Everyone’s favorite carrot, Chomp, will be on site to get kids pumped about living healthy.
Kids with Chomp at last year’s Harvest Party
The WBL schools will have a table about their gardens, and teachers on site to talk about schoolyard gardens. Ramsey County Master Gardeners will be available for your gardening Q&A. Forks in the Dirt will have a table about the impact of eating local, getting kids in the garden and gardening tips. Our local WBL PD will be there as well with ideas for staying safe while out and about.
Event Grew from Love
Dr. Keeler at a previous BearPower event
This event grew from long-time Health Partners physician, Dr. Elsa Keeler, and her commitment to growing healthy families. Dr. Keeler is taking a leave of absence while working hard to fight cancer.
Let’s take some time to celebrate all we’ve grown this season! Hope to see you there… you don’t get to vote unless you sample 😉
Here are my top picks for local Organic Apple Orchards, plus some bonus ‘almost’ organic orchards.
The golden days of fall are that much better when you get to crunch into a crisp apple you just picked off a tree…
But not many of us grow enough apples to eat our fill- let alone make apple sauce, jelly, and baked goods we crave come fall. Enter the family trip to the apple orchard, one of many Minnesotans’ beloved traditions.
Organic orchard options are popping up around the metro as people are becoming more aware of how pesticides and herbicides often used in traditionally run orchards can come home on even those hand picked apples and harm our pollinators.
We’re not the only ones in the apple orchards!
Around the Twin Cities there are now a handful of organic options to fill an ever growing demand for organic produce. Growing organic on a small scale is one thing, but growing a large quantity of fruit trees (monoculture) organically takes a combination of skill, grit and fast action. The movie Biggest Little Farm is a great example of this!
Most of these kinds of farms have CSA (Community Supported
Agriculture) shares for sale plus on site farm stands with other products like
honey, broiler hens and lots of veggies to pick while you pick your apples.
Support the small family farm and pick your apples from an orchard free from any harmful pesticides!
Alternative Roots Farm
Alternative Roots Farm is a certified organic farm and orchard growing over 40 varieties of apples. From Honeycrisp and Haralson, to Golden Russet and Ashmead’s Kernal, we grow new and heirloom favorites – preserving diversity and heritage in South-central Minnesota.
They sell picked apples out of their farm store and do amazing deals with apple shares (like a CSA) and make a LOT of apple sauce! They’ve got a sweet deep winter greenhouse to keep locals in their greens over winter to boot. Follow their Facebook Page for updates.
One of Alternative Roots Orchards – photo credit Brooke Knisley
Carpenter Nature Center
The Carpenter Nature Center cares for a unique orchard started in the 1940’s. As a nature center they work to be as sustainable an entity as possible, but are not certified Organic. I’ve been to the orchard during their wonderful, down home Apple Festival and it is such a great family time. This year’s event is set for Saturday & Sunday, October 12 + 13, from 10-5.
My boys picking apples during last year’s Apple Festival
Sweetland Orchard
Sweetland Orchard is on the West Side of the cities, in Webster and while not certified organic they manage the orchard through minimal intervention. This family operation grows over 30 varieties developed by the University of Minnesota, heirloom varieties, and cider varieties; and they have a passion for cider! They do frequent pop ups at lots of locations around town. Check their Facebook Page for updates.
Applecrest Orchards
Applecrest Orchards is not a certified organic farm but uses IPM, Integrated Pest Management, and common sense in growing great apples. They’ve got over 1,000 trees growing 20 varieties on the Northeast end of town in Hugo. Their IPM program consists of scouting, pest trapping and utilizing the the Cornell University NEWA offerings. This helps them specifically focus any spraying. “We make sure to mow any flowers prior to spraying so we do not contaminate bee forage. The pesticides we use are targeted to specifically mitigate any loss of beneficial insects”. I will say, walking through the orchards in September there is a myriad of insect life between the rows of fruit laden trees!
They sell at local farmers markets and usually have food trucks at the orchard on weekends during the season! They will also be at the WBL Winter Farmers Market again this year.
Applecrest in Autumn
If you’re ready for a day trip, check out Sap Suckers in Mora or Hoch Orchard and Gardens in Southeast Minnesota, two established organic orchards. For other orchard locations you can check out the MN Grown website.
Make the Most of your Apples
And in case you’re wondering what to do with all those amazing apples once you get back home, I’ve got a blog post, An Apple A Day, from last fall all enjoying your apple stash for months to come!
I love learning about new farms and orchards, feel free to pass along any other organic orchards you’ve enjoyed- the more the merrier!
Walking into the Hugo Feed Mill & Hardware reminds us all why we call the good old days good. This place really is that special, not that you’d ever hear it from them…
This is a place that withstands the test of time and triumphs with knowledge blended with caring. I mean, when was the last time a store’s sales person actually listened to you; and then actually knew what you needed, had it for a fair price and did what it was supposed to. Obviously, their customers love them.
Steve Marier runs the Mill and is a fourth generation Marier Mill Manager (say that three times fast). He could easily double as the town historian. He’s been a part of Hugo’s shift from agricultural land to housing developments and Hugo feed mill is still thriving because he and his family desire to adapt to best serve their neighbors.
Walk Down Memory Lane
Steve remembers shoveling and delivering coal to homes and farms on the rail line, along with the huge pile of corn cobs that would get dumped in the parking lot after combining time. The mill itself was built in 1917, it’s been in Steve’s family since 1925. For many years it was mainly a country grain business, grinding local grains for feed.
I remember being a young girl, 8 or 9, and going ‘up to the Mill’ to get mallard ducklings to raise on our family’s pond. Since then Hugo Feed Mill has held a special place in this Urban homesteader’s heart. More history on their website.
It’s their up-to-date practices, with the latest products and applications mixed perfectly with their ability to help you grow that keeps customers coming back.
Greenhouse
Their greenhouse is open for the season with herbs and bedding plants. They’ll be overflowing with their signature HUGE selection of peppers and tomatoes by May 18th; thank you cold and wet Minnesota Spring.
Steve helping me find the right plant last Summer
Steve, aka “Dr. Pepper” estimates around 425 peppers 175 tomatoes varieties to be available in the Greenhouse this Spring. They hold planting parties and tasting events on site. Steve also gives ‘Pepper Talks’ around town. Follow them on their Facebook Page, or sign up for their “timely tips’ email list to stay in the know on their events and specials.
The Mill is a great community partner as well. They give seed and starter plants to Giving Gardens each year. Giving Gardens is a non-profit helping neighbors grow food for themselves and food shelves.
They also tend a Kids Potting Bench where kids can pot up a free flower. Special flowers and pots available for some special kids over Mother’s Day weekend!
**Mention this blog or that you saw it on their Facebook page to get the special Mother’s Day plants!**
Happy Mothers Day from Hugo Feed Mill
Garden Supplies
A peek into their store
A full line of soil amendments, fertilizers and seeds is waiting inside the store. From sprinklers to live traps they have everything the home gardener could need- and if its not in their store they can likely order it for you. I learn something new each time I shop there.
Chick Orders
Two of our chicks from earlier this Spring
Their chick orders, minimum order of 5 per breed, run now through the end of May. They have over 20 breeds of chickens, and mallards. This is the first place I bought chicks, a dozen years ago. If you stop in when they have the chicks waiting to be picked up you might even catch a glimpse, and they sometimes have extras (another good reason to follow them on Facebook). More about raising urban chickens HERE.
My favorite place to get straw & feed
I also get all my straw from them for my backyard flock’s coop bedding. These bales also make a great base for straw bale gardens!
And their organic chicken feed, Nature’s Grown Organic, is my girls’ absolute favorite.
… & Hardware
Find farm supplies like fencing and stock tanks. Horse supplies like bedding and barn lime, bird feeders and seed and pet foods, even plumbing and electrical items (which I admit I didn’t really know!).
The Old Mill
Attached to the old mill is the storage and granary part of the business. Backing up to the loading dock always makes me feel like a little more of a farm girl than I really am 😉
There is always something new to find at Hugo Feed Mill, whether feed, seed or knowledge you’ll have to go find out for yourself.
I feel lucky to have had Hugo feed mill in my neighborhood for all of my years here, and close to 100 years in their family.
Let me know if you stop into Hugo Feed Mill- and be sure to tell me what you learned when you were there. They’re great at helping you get your fork in the dirt too!
More Americans are growing their own food – the numbers have been rising and were bumped up with the pandemic last spring, and the trend is here to stay!
Let’s take a tour of the places and faces of our local gardening scene!
Minnesota Garden Organizations
We’re so lucky our state values agriculture in all it’s forms!
The Minnesota State Horticultural Society has a long history of being at the forefront of helping northern gardeners thrive! Their resources include classes, Magazine The Northern Gardener, blogs, Seed collecting and distribution and bringing ‘Garden in a Box’ kits to communities across the state.
Part of the University of Minnesota extension services, the Master Gardener program educates volunteers. These volunteers educate residents in proven, eco-friendly gardening techniques to improve our environment. The Master Gardeners also accept questions via email via the “Ask a Master Gardener” link on the site. This site goes from soil sampling and seed sowing, to preserving the harvest.
The U of MN BEE LAB is another amazing resource for gardeners looking to work with nature and her ultimate pollinating machines. Resources on plant options, City Beekeeping rules and native pollinator trends abound.
Wild Ones is all about Native Plants + Natural Landscapes. They teach people about the importance of native plants, for the health of the environment and everything living in it. Our goal is to get more native plants in the ground in all landscapes — homes, businesses, schools, and more. They have a few different MN chapters so be sure to find the best fit for your area!
Local Plant Sales for 2023
These plant sales will start your garden off right! Good for your garden, the pollinators, your harvests and the community. Plants grown for these sales are never treated with Neonicotinoid pesticides, are non-GMO, locally raised by experts- and the sales directly benefit some great gardening programs.
With 1,000’s of plant varieties this may be the largest single plant sale in the U.S. It is a fundraising event for the Friends School of Minnesota, a small Quaker K-8 school in St. Paul. Plants are grown as naturally as possible, 80% from local growers.
Church of the Holy Childhood 1435 Midway Pkwy, St Paul
Over 300 varieties of plants grown by local master gardeners. The proceeds from this sale benefit the University of Minnesota Extension Master Gardener programs in Ramsey County.
Garden Clubs
Garden Clubs are a great way to get involved with your group of local gardeners. Most hold monthly meetings with speakers during the off season (Sept-April) with plant sales, community garden and other causes they support. Many towns and counties have their own clubs, here are a few I know and love.
The YMCA Community Gardens have raised beds for rent!
Our town boasts some fabulous community gardens. I’ve got an article about community gardens and why they matter. These are places where all levels of gardeners grow together. Some of these have classes, and ‘in service’ times when a more experienced gardener will be on site.
Seed Libraries
A seed library is just what it sounds like, a place where you can “check out” a packet of seeds to grow, enjoy the fruits or flowers of your labor. Then, bring back enough seeds to replenish and hopefully increase the seed stock for the next season, for FREE! More info in the article Seed Saving Starts Now !
Our very own White Bear Lake Public Library houses the volunteer run WBL Seed Library. Join their email list at the website above to stay in the know about packing and class events
The Minnesota Horticultural Society runs the MN SEED project and the pop up Como Community Seed Library are also great resources for local seed.
Many Paths to Eating Local
If you love fresh and local food but not gardening, you can support our local farmers by signing up for a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and I have a blog post all about some great local CSA options in the CSA’s So Many Ways Blog Post. Or if you’re like me and grow a lot, but not everything your family eats, try shopping our very own White Bear Lake Farmers Markets, starting up the last Friday in June. I have some Farmers Market Shopping Tips for you too. If you’d like to check out more on some specific farmers, dig into my Farmers page, which links to interviews with local small farms.
For more “How To” info, you can always check out the Forks in the Dirt Blog, or Instagram feed where I sift through lots of local food info and have full blog posts on CSA’s, gardening tips, upcoming garden events and recipes for using your harvest.
Whichever way you choose to eat locally, I hope you Dig Your Food! Michelle
This Harvest Party grew from the BearPower organization. White Bear Lake is lucky to have the efforts and talents of this group of dedicated people. They’re working to bring healthy living to our community in so many different ways.
I’ve been digging into coordinating this BearPower Harvest Party with the BearPower team and loving finding the best of the best to help celebrate community grown food. We’ve brought together the cream of the crop local chefs to prepare all that lovingly grown food. Add to that a great mix of activities to take over our White Bear Area YMCA gardens for the day and you’ve got a can’t miss event! We’ve got FREE food, games, information, samples and activities to get you growing your love of good food! Continue reading
I’m already a pretty big fan of supporting your local farmer, and YOU all are my wonderful community- so “Community Supported Agriculture” is an obvious sweet spot.
**Updated 2/21/2023 with current links**
Turnip Rock Farm’s very own Farmer Josh
CSA’s (Community Supported Agriculture) have been around for in some form or another since the mid 1980’s- which first struck me as a much shorter history than I’d imagined. But, then I realized that the CSA idea came about jointly from both Farmers and consumers looking for new ways to grow good food- and eat good food.
This was one way to make a concrete change in how those consumers ate, and who grew their food. The basic idea of a CSA is that farmers get the purchase price up front to help cover costs of the upcoming farming season. With farmers knowing that they have that money, they are able to move forward with confidence, and maybe without a bank breathing down their necks…
Half Share from 2017, Photo Credit: Big River Farms
The rewards for a member of a CSA are manyfold; fresh in-season produce boxed up and ready to go weekly at a pick up location of your choice, often with a newsletter or recipe ideas included. As I see it, the biggest reward is building a relationship with a farmer.
My husband and I purchased our first CSA back about nine years ago to get fresh, locally grown produce while I was still working full time. It is kind of funny that I can’t remember the name of the farm, but I do remember I picked up my weekly boxes from one of the quaint little shops (The Nest) in downtown White Bear Lake. I never met the farmer, and there was never an invite from the farmer to do so.
CSAs give you a few of everything each week, instead of everything all at once! Photo Credit, Costa Farm
Things have changed, on both the farmer and the consumer sides. Farmers are being more proactive in forging relationships, and consumers are looking for more than good food grown cheap- more and more, the people buying CSAs are doing it for a chance to connect to a farm, a farmer, a piece of land…and to benefit from the GOOD food these farmers provide.
Now that the CSA idea has had time to take root- it has also branched out in a few different directions. For this article, I’ve chosen a few local farms that represent the wide variety of options available to those of us lucky enough to live around the Twin Cities. Each of the following farms has a unique twist to them, showing again there’s so many ways to grow good food!
I would absolutely recommend any of the farms covered- but I’d also urge you to do your own research too, there are more and more (yay!) CSAs popping up every year. Currently, according the powerful MNGrown CSA search engine there are 86 CSAs in Minnesota. Use these ‘case studies’ as a launch pad to get yourself thinking what you want out of a CSA… Continue reading
The first White Bear Lake Winter Farmers market is tomorrow, Saturday December 9th from 10am-2pm, at Tamarack Nature Center. Link to map and directions HERE.
This is a one day only event and a great way to fill your holiday tables and check off gifts with sustainable items from your neighbors.
HERE is a previous post all about the market, from vendors and community tables to the donated apple cider.
The Facebook Page, HERE will continue to have updates, like this basket of goodies I’ll be raffling off at the market!
Thanks for following along on this journey to find good, simple, local food- I truly appreciate it.
Can’t wait to Dig Into the food this Saturday!
**Looking forward to sharing recipes made with all the local food I bring home from this market!**
I’ve been digging into coordinating this BearPower Harvest Party with the 
