Organic Gardening Information & Tips

Welcome! Who are we as people, as a family?

An introduction to Organic Gardening Information and Tips – We are Lester and Ruth Martin, and we live in heart of the Fingerlakes Region in Upstate NY, which is one of the most beautiful areas in the state of NY! It is called Wine Country, due to the bountiful vineyards grown along the many lakes. Because of it's beauty, it is a tourist hotspot, especially in the summer, when folks come to stay in their summer cottages along the lakes. Organic gardening is a pleasure here, since the soil is rich. But it does need good care to keep it that way. 

Now, a bit of our background – Lester and I both grew up on dairy farms, where our parents grew huge family gardens, and our mothers canned and froze our winters' supply of vegetables and fruits. Organic gardening is in our blood, from the beginning! You could say, in our heritage, really, since we come from a Mennonite background. Our parents are actually what they call 'Old Order Mennonites', and still drive a horse and buggy! Lester's family moved from their dairy farm to a produce farm, (which they call Benton Valley Orchard), when he was about 10 yrs. old. After that he got a lot of experience with growing things!

Funny thing was, he did not enjoy working with produce as a child. (What child enjoys hard work?!) After we got married, he began taking an interest in optimizing the soil, and started growing his own large garden, organically. Lester's parents, however, do not grow their produce organically. The way Lester got into organic, he worked at an organic feed mill, Lakeview Organic Grain, for 8 years, from the time he was 17, until a short while ago. He eventually decided to move on, and is now a full-time carpenter. He spends his evenings and Saturdays in his organic vegetable garden, it is a great way for him to relax. He doesn't grow his things for money, he loves giving his extra garden goodies to our friends who don't grow their own.

Lester enjoys the vegetable gardening, and I enjoy the flower gardening.    I enjoy growing things too, but I guess vegetables are not my top priority. I do can and freeze vegetables from the garden for our winter's supply, like my mother and sister do. Otherwise, Lester takes care of the organic vegetable garden, keeping the soil in good condition, fertilized, planted, and weeded. At times I feel almost guilty, letting him do all that work, but he enjoys it, what can I say?!

We have two children, Joshua, age 3, and Karissa, age 5, who love spending time in the garden with their daddy, helping him pick and eat fresh veggies. They LOVE eating fresh organic green beans, peas, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and strawberries. Even potatoes and carrots, right out of the garden! I do admit, they can get quite dirty in the garden, but at least they are learning some great values, and are creating memories that will be with them forever! Organic gardening is a great activity the whole family can enjoy.

We hope you enjoy our Organic Gardening Information and Tips Blog! This is going to be a family project, mostly done by myself, since my husband is busy with his carpentry. I am a stay-at-home mom, as you might have guessed So, what I do in MY spare time, I work at my computer. I have a few different websites, targeting multiple topics I have an interest in. I am bringing in a nice supplement to my husband's income by doing it. I can continue being a stay-at-home mom, and soon, home-school my children as well! To see more about me and my online projects, go to: http://about.me/r.r.martin

The Martin Family – Lester and Ruth,

and our two children, Karissa, & Joshua

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