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Sweet Earth
Organic Farm
PO Box 323
Wauzeka, WI 53826
Renee Randall first certified her 120-acre ridge top farm in southwestern
Wisconsin in 1974 and has been farming it organically ever since. Because
she studied nutrition and ate organically before she bought the farm, producing
wholesome, life-giving food was a goal just waiting to happen. Simone,
Eli and Sarah, her children, worked alongside her as they grew up, and
now the produce crew includes her grandchildren. When they visit, they
keep busy. They dig fingerlings, ride the transplanter and keep up with
the cherry tomato production by eating them as fast as they grow.
To honor the history of food and to contribute in a positive way
to the future of food, the farm’s growing practices now include
an emphasis on heirlooms and seed saving. Heirloom varieties like
the Black from Tula tomato, Rouge d’Hiver lettuce, and Eden’s
gem melons, offer colors and exquisite flavors as unique as their
names.
The farm's emphasis is on freshness, optimum nutrition, and the vine
ripening of tomatoes, peppers, and melons so they can express their
full potential. “We have an appealing menu of veggies, herbs
and fruits to meet the CSA harvest schedule and a good helping of
love for what we do to keep us going,” says Renee.
Growing organically was a natural extension of studying nutrition, shaped
also by the concern for the environment that I was part of in the late
60s and 70s. The mindset needed for organic farming and the closeness to
nature that’s inevitable with organic practices shapes a bigger picture
of service to the planet... encouraging happy soil microbes, giving wildlife
a welcoming refuge, and bringing delicious, nutritious vine- ripened tomatoes
to the tables of delighted eaters to be enjoyed is life-asserting for the
earth and soul-satisfying for this grower.
Another unexpected benefit of my farming experience that has unfolded over
time is a deeper appreciation for the complexity of farm and its dependence
on the nature. When you’re farming organically, observation and attention
to the natural world comes as a job requirement. The bonus is that you
are ultimately drawn closer to nature and the natural world than you might
otherwise have been. The realizations that have developed through
this work have become great life teachers for myself and for my family.
Health....both for people and for the planet...Buying organic promotes
methods of farming that sustain life for the planet. Eating organic promotes
life giving, wholesome, and healthy food. Unchecked, agribusiness has already
produced factory farming, GMO
foods, irradiation and the “suicide seed.” The average child
has four times more exposure to at least eight widely used pesticides in
food. The everyday decisions in how food dollars are spent have far reaching
effects.
The consumer has the power to change these disturbing trends by investing
in sustainable and wholesome agriculture we can all be proud to pass on
to our children.
Healthy plants translate into healthy eaters. We feed the produce that
feeds you ...with nutrients from the sea misted onto plant leaves. We treat
our plants to helpings of “earth juices”—molasses, and
plant and compost teas. We vine ripen everything that should be vine ripened
so that our tomatoes and melons can show off their maximum flavor and optimum
nutrition. We grow heirlooms and save seeds as a tribute to those who came
before us and who will come after us. And, both this farm and this farmer
have been dedicated to organic growing for over thirty years.
We offer a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program that delivers
to the Chicagoland area. We are also part of Chicago’s Green
City Market on Wednesdays and the Dane
County Farmers’ Market in Madison, WI on Saturdays.
For more information on Sweet Earth Organic Farm, visit their website at www.sweetearthorganicfarm.com,
send Renee an email or call (608)
875-6026. |
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