This monthly column highlights the rich agricultural heritage of our region by featuring a local farmer or food producer, along with a submission of one of their favorite seasonal recipes.
Photo provided by Julia Reich
Young, free-range, pastured turkeys roam the farm's property.
Young, free-range, pastured turkeys roam the farm's property.
A.J. Greenleaf has a green thumb indeed - he's been gardening for 35 years. He cultivates two plots of land in Cayuga County, one in Cayuga and the other just north of Union Springs.
For the past four years he's been devoted to market gardening, producing a large and interesting variety of vegetables, herbs and fruit, along with fresh chickens and turkeys, all of which are available upon request from April through Thanksgiving, depending on availability, simply by calling.
Greenleaf is growing things you might not readily find elsewhere: medicinal herbs such as pennyroyal, lemon balm and wormwood and culinary herbs including sage, oregano, rosemary, thyme, fennel and basil.
His bountiful vegetable crop encompasses six kinds of green and yellow beans, peas, potatoes, beets, okra, kohlrabi, garlic, leeks and shallots, as well as ornamental corn and gourds, tart cherries, blueberries and raspberries.
Available right now and later on in the fall will be peppers - ancho, bell, anaheim, thai dragon and jalapeno - kale, collard greens, winter and summer squash, heirloom and many other kinds of tomatoes, broccoli, beets, carrots, spinach and up to 12 types of lettuce.
And, of course, his hormone-free pastured poultry.
The farmer has roots is the local area. Although he was raised in Washington, D.C., his great-grandparents owned a farm in Ledyard, and a house in Cayuga has been in the family since the early 19th century. Greenleaf fondly recalls summers spent at the house near the lake to escape the stifling heat of D.C.
He has a degree in agriculture and has an abiding interest in “wholesome good food.” His operation is a solo affair, aided only with a seeder, rototiller and scythe - no machinery or “big iron” is utilized.
Although the farm is not officially certified organic, Greenleaf chooses to avoid pesticides and artificial fertilizer in favor of cover-cropping, natural fertilizer and heavy composting to build up the organic matter in the soil. The methods he employs are more labor-intensive, but his standards are high. What ends up in your basket is the result of careful harvesting.
“I admire the efforts of the local big supermarket chain, but honestly, when I look at their green beans, those are something I'd cull out,” he says, “and my poultry don't do drugs.”
His choices are based on raising food that is fresh and nourishing, as opposed to ease of shipping, extended shelf life and other commercial concerns.
Greenleaf is experimenting with various market models for the food he grows and raises; currently he employs a “pay-as-you-go” system.
In the future, he may try community-supported agriculture (CSA), whereby consumers pledge in advance to cover the anticipated costs of a farm operation. In return, they receive shares in the farm's bounty throughout the growing season. Some farms specifically allot a certain amount of vegetables to each consumer based on what's in season, while others allow families to come to the farm and take whatever they prefer based on the current harvest.
In addition to individual sales, Greenleaf also sells his produce and chickens directly to local restaurants such as Pumpkin Hill in Aurora and Elderberry Pond in Auburn.
The farmer's biggest challenge includes finding arable land with access to water, electricity and sheds for storage. He would like to find a bigger plot to support increasing his vegetable yield and possibly for raising pigs. The poultry flock also needs space. They are moved around in a “chicken tractor,” a bottomless, portable chicken cage/coop. This system makes for happy hens that are allowed to peck away at fresh grass and insects while creating healthy soil and fertilizer with their droppings.
Greenleaf finds inspiration in the writings of New York state farmer and writer Shannon Hayes of Sap Bush Hollow Farm. Her cookbook, “Grassfed Gourmet Cookbook: Healthy Cooking and Good Living with Pasture-Raised Foods,” outlines a philosophy of farming and cooking based on sustainable and local nourishment, paying farmers a fair wage for their efforts and taking time to “celebrate life together by sharing meals around the family table.”
When asked about his own philosophy on the farming life, Greenleaf responds, “be kind to your neighbors, be kind to your soil and thank God every day.”
Julia Reich, of Scipio Center is owner of Julia Reich Design, a graphic design studio, and self-proclaimed “foodie,” with interests in cooking (and eating)
How to purchase
Call A.J. Greenleaf directly at 253-7512
A quarter-bushel basket of mixed produce is about $10 per week
Thanksgiving turkey orders will be taken in mid-October, and orders are now being taken for the next batch of chickens to be available in October
What is a localvore?
Localvores are people committed to eating foods grown close to home.
Localvores prefer to:
• Eat healthy, delicious food grown and farmed near where they live
• Establish relationships with like-minded food producers and consumers
• Ensure that farm animals are treated well while alive and humanely when processed for food
• Reduce their impact on the environment
For the past four years he's been devoted to market gardening, producing a large and interesting variety of vegetables, herbs and fruit, along with fresh chickens and turkeys, all of which are available upon request from April through Thanksgiving, depending on availability, simply by calling.
Greenleaf is growing things you might not readily find elsewhere: medicinal herbs such as pennyroyal, lemon balm and wormwood and culinary herbs including sage, oregano, rosemary, thyme, fennel and basil.
His bountiful vegetable crop encompasses six kinds of green and yellow beans, peas, potatoes, beets, okra, kohlrabi, garlic, leeks and shallots, as well as ornamental corn and gourds, tart cherries, blueberries and raspberries.
Available right now and later on in the fall will be peppers - ancho, bell, anaheim, thai dragon and jalapeno - kale, collard greens, winter and summer squash, heirloom and many other kinds of tomatoes, broccoli, beets, carrots, spinach and up to 12 types of lettuce.
And, of course, his hormone-free pastured poultry.
The farmer has roots is the local area. Although he was raised in Washington, D.C., his great-grandparents owned a farm in Ledyard, and a house in Cayuga has been in the family since the early 19th century. Greenleaf fondly recalls summers spent at the house near the lake to escape the stifling heat of D.C.
He has a degree in agriculture and has an abiding interest in “wholesome good food.” His operation is a solo affair, aided only with a seeder, rototiller and scythe - no machinery or “big iron” is utilized.
Although the farm is not officially certified organic, Greenleaf chooses to avoid pesticides and artificial fertilizer in favor of cover-cropping, natural fertilizer and heavy composting to build up the organic matter in the soil. The methods he employs are more labor-intensive, but his standards are high. What ends up in your basket is the result of careful harvesting.
“I admire the efforts of the local big supermarket chain, but honestly, when I look at their green beans, those are something I'd cull out,” he says, “and my poultry don't do drugs.”
His choices are based on raising food that is fresh and nourishing, as opposed to ease of shipping, extended shelf life and other commercial concerns.
Greenleaf is experimenting with various market models for the food he grows and raises; currently he employs a “pay-as-you-go” system.
In the future, he may try community-supported agriculture (CSA), whereby consumers pledge in advance to cover the anticipated costs of a farm operation. In return, they receive shares in the farm's bounty throughout the growing season. Some farms specifically allot a certain amount of vegetables to each consumer based on what's in season, while others allow families to come to the farm and take whatever they prefer based on the current harvest.
In addition to individual sales, Greenleaf also sells his produce and chickens directly to local restaurants such as Pumpkin Hill in Aurora and Elderberry Pond in Auburn.
The farmer's biggest challenge includes finding arable land with access to water, electricity and sheds for storage. He would like to find a bigger plot to support increasing his vegetable yield and possibly for raising pigs. The poultry flock also needs space. They are moved around in a “chicken tractor,” a bottomless, portable chicken cage/coop. This system makes for happy hens that are allowed to peck away at fresh grass and insects while creating healthy soil and fertilizer with their droppings.
Greenleaf finds inspiration in the writings of New York state farmer and writer Shannon Hayes of Sap Bush Hollow Farm. Her cookbook, “Grassfed Gourmet Cookbook: Healthy Cooking and Good Living with Pasture-Raised Foods,” outlines a philosophy of farming and cooking based on sustainable and local nourishment, paying farmers a fair wage for their efforts and taking time to “celebrate life together by sharing meals around the family table.”
When asked about his own philosophy on the farming life, Greenleaf responds, “be kind to your neighbors, be kind to your soil and thank God every day.”
Julia Reich, of Scipio Center is owner of Julia Reich Design, a graphic design studio, and self-proclaimed “foodie,” with interests in cooking (and eating)
How to purchase
Call A.J. Greenleaf directly at 253-7512
A quarter-bushel basket of mixed produce is about $10 per week
Thanksgiving turkey orders will be taken in mid-October, and orders are now being taken for the next batch of chickens to be available in October
What is a localvore?
Localvores are people committed to eating foods grown close to home.
Localvores prefer to:
• Eat healthy, delicious food grown and farmed near where they live
• Establish relationships with like-minded food producers and consumers
• Ensure that farm animals are treated well while alive and humanely when processed for food
• Reduce their impact on the environment
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