Sweetwater Organic Farm

Order Your Weekly Harvest Share HERE!

Chris Kenrick — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 14:30:17 +0000

Your online farm is open for the season!

Sweetwater Organic Community Farm (square.site)

Pickup at the Sunday market from 12-3pm.

Spring 2020

bigsea — Wed, 05 Feb 2020 20:01:43 +0000

Volunteer Days

Tuesday, Friday and Sunday

9am-12pm

Come out and support Your Organic Community Farm.

*Community Service Hours

*Bright Futures Hours

*Farm Service

We need you!!

Thank you for your support

Every First Sunday Farm tour!

Chris Kenrick — Sat, 30 Nov 2019 21:04:43 +0000

Join us for a meet and greet for an informative (and free) tour of Sweetwater Farm. This walking tour will include information on what’s in season, how our small scale farm operates, and organic agriculture.

If you are someone that wants to grow, plant and design a food forest, an herb garden, a veggie plot, in your yard, patio, community or farm here in Central Florida, this is the tour for you. You will discover tips on regenerative soil building, a taste of seed saving and a bit about our regions 365 days of growing capacity and how you can capture that in your own space. Please bring something to drink and wear close-toed shoes. Please apply sunscreen and bug spray before you reach the farm. Supervised children and well-behaved, leashed dogs are welcome.

Email programs@sweetwater-organic.org if you have any questions! See you at the fire pit!

We Are So Thankful

Joy — Tue, 20 Nov 2018 18:21:26 +0000

At this time of year, as we reflect on the past year and the upcoming months, we are thankful for many wonderful things. As organic farmers, we are thankful for the earth, the sun, the rain and the goodness of growing greens naturally. As educators, we are thankful for the bright young minds that visit, the questions that keep us learning too and opportunities to share our knowledge. As a farmer’s market we are thankful for the community that supports us, the beautiful sounds from our local musicians and for our vendors that bring such talents and diversity to our farm. As a farm, we are thankful for the efforts and hard work of our small but dedicated staff, the trust of our board members, and the insight of our founder in creating such an inspiring place. Lastly and most importantly we are thankful for our members, our volunteers, our interns, and all those that support Sweetwater through their hard work, their willingness to share Sweetwater’s story and their belief in our efforts. Thank you all for making Sweetwater possible.

“What Do You DO in the Summer?”

Joy — Thu, 17 May 2018 15:24:00 +0000

As summer approaches, the harvesting season here at Sweetwater Organic Community Farm will soon come to an end. In preparation for this transition, a cover crop method is used to ensure that the soil is ready and healthy for the upcoming harvest while we wait for the hot summer temperatures to pass.

Why is a cover crop method used in the summer? Florida summers tend to be too hot and humid and not ideal for the growth of our plants, so we use this time to enrich the soil by planting a cover crop. A cover crop is planted during the off-season and left temporarily. This method not only helps to control erosion, it also improves the health of the soil by enhancing nutrient cycling such as nitrogen from the organic matter which increases the fertility of the soil.

Cover crops also suppress those unwanted weeds from growing. Another benefit to this practice is that with the increase in organic matter and nutrients, the soil will provide a home to microbes that indirectly protect the plant roots. So once summer comes to an end, the cover crops will be removed and the soil will be ready for the next harvesting season!

The two plants we use as cover crops are sesbania (left) and sunn hemp (right).

Written by Dayane Martins, Intern

Farmer Lexi Asks “Why Vegan?”

Joy — Thu, 12 Apr 2018 19:40:52 +0000

Note: This is just one farmer’s opinion – we here at Sweetwater support your right to have your own opinion!

Hey everyone, Lexi here! Just wanted to share with people interested in going vegan and people on the fence about going vegan why going vegan is awesome, easy, healthy, and yummy! Let me just list the basic reasons here first: super healthy, great for the environment, and animal cruelty-free!

Now for a quick back story to me: I was not always vegan, I used to eat a pound of bacon every year on my birthday for breakfast and one of my favorite foods was macaroni and cheese. I became vegan 4 years ago after my dad showed our whole family the Forks Over Knives documentary. Then I began educating myself more, I watched Cowspiracy, Vegucated, The Engine 2 Diet, read The China Study book by Dr. T. Colin Campbell, and Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman, M.D. just to list a few. (I’ll give you my full list of recommendations at the bottom.) After some research and an open mind I decided to give it a try. Now everyone has their own reasons for going vegan, I did it for my health and because I didn’t want to be responsible for any animals getting killed, I thought that was just cruel! That was my “why” for going vegan and now I have expanded my “why” even more. I now understand the negative impacts that eating animal products has on the environment. Animal farts and burps, as silly as that may sound produce methane, and methane gas is responsible for 51% of greenhouse gases and greatly contributing to climate change!- https://nutritionfacts.org/video/diet-and-climate-change-cooking-up-a-storm/

Health:

Eating a whole food plant-based vegan diet can prevent, reverse or even cure some of our top killers. There is overwhelming evidence that heart disease can be prevented, reversed, and even cured by switching to a plant-based diet. Cancer can even be prevented, reversed or even cured depending on which stage the cancer is in. Type 2 diabetes can be prevented, reversed and cured with a plant-based diet. Type 1 diabetes is not curable, but eating a plant-based diet can help people with this disease get off of some of their medications and feel better. Lower respiratory disease, Alzheimers, and kidney disease to name a few more that can be prevented, or reversed with a plant-based diet. No more blaming your condition on your genes. Only 3-6% of diseases can be attributed to genes. That means you have the power to control your destiny.

Not only can eating a plant-based diet help prevent or cure diseases, it can also help with skin conditions like acne and eczema. It’s the ultimate guide to living a healthy life. Eating this way provides you with all of the essential nutrients your body needs: protein, beta-carotene, dietary fiber, vitamin C, folate, vitamin E, Iron, magnesium, calcium and more. So if you’re worried about not getting enough protein, now you know you will be getting more than enough because… all plant-based foods have over 6% calories from protein! People only need between 6-10% of calories from protein a day and if you eat meat you’re probably getting way too much, which can have negative side effects- I will get into that in a separate post. Plant-based proteins contain all 8 of the essential amino acids needed for health. Plants also mitigate free radicals, oxidative stress, slow down the aging process, and allow for a quick recovery after a workout because they are ant-inflammatory. If you’re an athlete eating the 4 major plant-based food groups: -Fruits, Veggies, Whole Grains, and Beans, you will be getting more protein than you need: 12-15% coming from plant friendly proteins.

Check out this video to learn more about the benefits of going vegan!

Because my blog is focused on the health and fitness benefits to going vegan I will share some educational videos with those of you that are interested in the environmental benefits as well as the animal cruelty-free aspects instead of getting into a long spiel about it.

Environment:

https://nutritionfacts.org/video/diet-and-climate-change-cooking-up-a-storm/

http://www.cowspiracy.com/facts/

http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.HTM

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-bad-of-a-greenhouse-gas-is-methane/

http://www.cowspiracy.com/facts/

Animals:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2y3vLwrF6s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrxbG6S5BX4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_vqIGTKuQE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzS8p727gvM

Here is a list of educational documentaries you can find on Netflix:

Forks Over Knives, Cowspiracy, What the Health, The Engine 2 Diet, Plant Pure Nation, and Vegucated

Here is a list of educational books:

Eat to Live, The China Study, Eating Animals, Engine 2 Diet, How Not to Die

Here are my recommended Vegan recipe books:

Plant Powered Families, Forks over Knives cookbook, Vegan Planet, Let Then Eat Vegan, Quick-Fix Vegan

Hope this was helpful in answering the question, “Why vegan?”

Peace & Love,

Lexi

Chickens at the Farm?

Joy — Fri, 16 Mar 2018 13:00:32 +0000

They are always a topic of conversation with visitors at the farm, particularly because they are very attentive hosts: they welcome everyone who visits with a curious gaze and a walk around. But aside from the benefit of having fresh eggs, having chickens at the farm has its rewards. Chickens are pest control machines: they help reduce the population of a variety of species that can affect the crops. They also have a special ability to shred compost: they love to dig, scratch, search and eat, so a pile of compost can be turned and broken down in record time. But more than anything, they make great pets and companions.

Now you know, the next time you come to the farm, don’t forget to say hello to Sweet Potato and the rest of the flock! They too are working to give you the best produce available with passion and dedication.

Don’t Miss Out On Medicinal Mondays!

Joy — Fri, 02 Mar 2018 15:48:37 +0000

Are you following us on Instagram and Facebook? If not, you might have missed our series called Medicinal Plants Monday! Each Monday, we feature a different edible and/or medicinal plant that you can incorporate into your life. It’s like a virtual farm tour!

For example, one of our favorites is beautyberry (also known as callicarpa)! The leaves, branches and roots can be made into a decoction and used in sweat baths to treat anything from rheumatism to malarial fevers. Beautyberry roots can also be used in a decoction to treat dizziness and stomach aches, while the bark from the stems and roots is great for treating itchy skin. (http://www.naturalmedicinalherbs.net/herbs/c/callicarpa-americana=american-beautyberry.php)

Most importantly for us out here on the farm, the leaves contain a strong mosquito repellent! They can be harvested and boiled down like a tea and used as a spray, or made into a tincture. It really works! (https://www.motherearthnews.com/nature-and-environment/beautyberry-natural-insect-repellent-zmaz09amzraw)

Remember to check with your physician if you plan on adding medicinal plants to your routine.

The Step Between Harvest and Your Table? Wash and Preparation!

Joy — Fri, 23 Feb 2018 19:30:40 +0000

The whole process takes only a couple hours: we go to the fields, harvest and take the produce back to the farm for you to pick up. But in between, there is one critical step we can’t miss: wash and prep! It’s simple, the more delicate vegetables take a nice quick bath with nothing but water in our tubs. The more sturdy root vegetables get sprayed on to get the dirt out of them. We let them air dry for 10 minutes and they are ready.

It’s not just for presentation! This is the final step on our quality control, where we can look one last time for insects, parasite or any other damage and keep only those that are ready for distribution.

They are still “electric” and full of nutrients by the time they make it to your table, just cleaner.. and prettier.

It’s a SNAP!

Joy — Fri, 16 Feb 2018 17:50:11 +0000

You probably already know that we accept SNAP EBT payments at our market, and maybe you know that SNAP users can double their money when they buy Florida-grown produce through a program called Fresh Access Bucks (FAB). But do you know who’s using those SNAP benefits?

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, 76% of SNAP households enrolled in SNAP include a child, a senior, or someone who is disabled. 44% of SNAP recipients are 18 or younger. In 2005, SNAP boosted 2.4 million children out of severe poverty! Additionally, “each $1 billion of retail generated by SNAP creates $340 million in farm production, $110 million in farm value-added, and 3,300 farm jobs.” That’s pretty important to us farmers!

One of our goals here at Sweetwater is to make fresh, healthy food accessible to everyone! That’s why we not only offer SNAP and FAB benefits at our market, but every month, we host a free cooking demo using Sweetwater-grown produce as part of a nationwide nutrition program called SNAP-Ed. We hope that by giving attendees some quick, inexpensive meal ideas, SNAP recipients (or anyone!) will be able to go home and cook these nutritious meals for their families. Join us on the last Sunday of each month at 1pm!

Most of the statistics here came from snaptohealth.org. If you have questions about the program, call 1-800-221-5689 or visit www.fns.usda.gov/snap.