Foods We Do Not Currently Produce

During the early years of our homesteading experiment we took on some very labor and space intensive projects. Since we were only producing for ourselves, crops like dry beans, corn for freezing and even small grains and crops for the livestock were manageable. Fast forward to today when we are attempting to have a significant impact on not only our diet but also that of 10 or so other families, we have had to go back to the basics and forego some of those earlier experiments.
Shelving these projects does not necessarily mean abandoning them all together. On the contrary, we would love to supply dry beans to all of you. On our part, this involves increased cultivated production. For your part it would mean being willing to commit to some extensive post-harvest handling and processing. Since in the marketplace these products can be secured for the time being at an unreasonably low price, many will find it to not be worth their while. On the other hand, from personal experience, and regardless of the low market place price, cleaning beans while watching a movie or visiting with friends is well worth it. You cannot place a price on the time honored practice of shared hand work.
We will be growing a variety of dry beans this year for the veggie shares. We will work closely with these individuals to share what we have learned about processing etc..
Perhaps next year these same individuals will be able to share their experience with the whole group.
As much as we are proud to list all of the things that we do grow, we think it equally important to list those items that we still secure from other local sources. We are blessed where we live to have folks that specialize in various agricultural products such as dairy, fruit, honey, maple products, bedding plants, and copious acres of corn.
Bulk items like grains, flour and other legumes can be sourced regionally by special order through buying clubs, the Co-op or Natures. When buying in bulk you can request that these items come from regional sources such as Champlain Valley Milling etc..

As always, we welcome your thoughts and comments.

bob and valerie