FARMERS MARKET OPENS SATURDAY

by Michele Boy | June 15, 2023

On the northeast side of Highway 50 lies a peaceful two acres that Joe and Malissa Gould have poured their hearts and souls into. They spend most of their days here. 
The land boasts organic orchards, greenhouses, gardens, and more. 
This Saturday at the Farmers Market at The Garden Shed on Highway 50, they are selling fresh, local produce to all.
Malissa said, “We are selling chives, lettuce, beets, asparagus, bell peppers, farm fresh eggs, yellow squash, canned jelly, salsa, and pickle relish, and possibly potatoes.” 
It isn’t just fresh produce. There will be other vendors on site selling arts and crafts, bierocks, pies, cinnamon rolls, tamales, homemade tortillas, sourdough bread, and frozen rhubarb. The Modern Menagerie is selling pork products as well.
Dana Gould will be selling fresh hot homemade biscuits and gravy for opening day. Malissa is offering free coffee!
Every Saturday through the summer at the Garden Shed on Highway 50 from 8 to 11 AM, you will find new and delicious offerings. 
I toured the grounds seeing where the Syracuse Christian Academy Agriculture class planted onions, potatoes, and carrots. 
It was the 1988 SCA school board who voted  to plant the first 100 apple trees. Wayne Westblade, Jay Hale, Josh Vyn, and Bob Wedel were a few of the board members of the Syracuse Christian Academy who saw the need for locally grown food. 
Malissa explained, “This is an organic project but the learning curve is huge.  Commercial orchards use a huge amount of pesticides spraying apples every 10 to 14 days.  Cool season cover crops and warm season cover crops are growing in the orchard rows between trees.”
Jason Ochs planted the cover crops in rows in between the apple, sandhill plum, pear, and peach trees to help with the coddling moth problem. 
Molasses traps are placed so the moths fly in and can’t get out. 
While not everything is ready, they are growing broccoli and brussels sprouts, tomatoes, cucumbers, swiss chard, green beans, cantaloupe, sweet potatoes, and winter squash.
This is the first year the Goulds have used the underground greenhouse. 
Last winter they grew tomatoes and cucumbers 
They are growing lemons, limes, oranges, and a fig tree that will grow 11 feet to ceiling. 
In the outside garden, cucumbers are grown on the trellis. Green beans, Swiss chard, and beets were grown this winter. 
Chickens, ducks, and turkeys roam about freely.
With two greenhouses above ground and below, and an outside garden as well, they can’t stress enough how important a local source of food is.
Joe said, “We want to create a balanced ecosystem.
With the help of the Western KS Community Foundation grant in 2022, as well as Wheatland Electric and American Implement, the underground greenhouse is a success. 
Joe said, “ The low winter sun filters in and the opposite wall reflects it. One mile of four inch perforated pipe is buried eight feet deep keeping a constant temperature of 52 degrees. The pipe  is air conditioning for the greenhouse in the summer, and was the heat in the winter.”
They have beehives, milkweed for Monarch butterflies, choke cherry, golden currant, italian sage planted, and more. 
Malissa said call us anytime. We want to get more people to realize local food is here and available. Her number is 620-499-5181.
Or better yet, come see her at the Farmers Market on Saturday.