Family Outing ~ Roxbury Farms ~ Albany Child Photographer

Monday after camp, Trey and I headed out to Roxbury Farms in Kinderhook N.Y., to see where the vegetables in our CSA are grown.It was super hot (car registered at 103) but Trey and I still enjoyed walking around the fields, and down the dirt lane. Of course we fully embraced kicking stones!

“Roxbury Farm owns and farms part of what was orginally the estate of Martin Van Buren, the eighth president of the United States.  The National Historic site for Martin Van Buren, operated by the National Park Service, is located right between the two farms that make up Roxbury Farm.”

Each week we receive a newsletter, that has completely drawn me in to learning more about the farm and it’s biodynamic practices. The more I learn about the farm the more fascinated I become.

“All our produce is grown without the input of any synthetic or artificial fertilizers or pesticides. Almost all of the vegetables are started from seed on the farm either in the field or in one of our greenhouses. The land is fertilized with aged compost and green manure crops. A very carefully planned rotation allows fields to be taken out of production to build soil fertility. This means we cultivate twice as many acres as needed for vegetable crop production. The result is that we have very low incidences of pests and diseases. We believe that soil health is the basis for sound farming.

We have chosen not to pursue organic certification by the USDA.  We comply with all of the standards but we feel that 3rd party verification is not necessary on our farm.  The CSA members can come to the farm and certify for themselves that we use organic and sustainable practices.  We chose to sign the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York’s “Farmer’s Pledge” in place of becoming certified organic.  We feel the “Farmer’s Pledge” is a reflection of why many farmers chose to become organic in the first place; to treat the people who grow the food, the customers who eat the food, and the land and animals that produce the food with dignity and respect.”