091224_BCShopper NEW

http://www.thebattlecreekshopper.com BATTLE CREEK SHOPPER NEWS Thursday, September 12, 2024 27

See SMALL FARMS on 28

HARVEY'S

FARM

2651 15-Mile Road • Tekonsha

517-767-3408

I-69 south to exit 25, west on M-60,

1/2 mile to 15 Mile Rd. turn north

FALL RED

RASPBERRIES

READY NOW!

Call for picking daily for times

or check our FB page for

updated information.

FOR ALREADY PICKED

Pre Ordered

RASPBERRIES - $5 pint

$9.40 per quart

Please call to place order

$

5

50

Per Quart

U-Pick

14810 Roof Dr.

Climax, MI 49034

2 miles north of Climax on 44th St.

I-94

Michigan

W. Columbia

MN Ave.

44th St.

Orchard

X

Climax

CANAAN CANAAN

ORCHARDORCHARD

YOU PICK

VARIETY

AVAILABLE

Gala

U-Pick

only

OPEN OPEN DAILY DAILY

1pm - 6pm1pm - 6pm

14810 Roof Dr.

Climax, MI 49034

2 miles north of Climax on 44th St.

I-94

Michigan

W. Columbia

MN Ave.

44th St.

Orchard

X

Climax

CANAAN CANAAN

ORCHARDORCHARD

VARIETIES

AVAILABLE

Honey Crisp

Cortland

Empire

Jonathon

Jonagold

Melrose

Mutsu

Fuji

Golden-

Delicious

OPEN OPEN DAILY DAILY

1pm - 6pm1pm - 6pm

YOU PICK

See SMALL FARMS on 23

SHELLY KEHRLE-SULSER
Executive Editor

Jim Kreitner of J&S Farms in
Scotts works full time growing sweet
corn, tomatoes and other produce on
the 30-acre tract he’s owned for 20
years.
“We’ve got 30 acres but obviously,
we’re not doing it all at one time,”
said Jim between customers at the
Battle Creek Farmers Market. “We
go from asparagus in the spring to
sweet corn and tomatoes and I’m out
in the field every day doing some-
thing.”
His primary income is derived from
vending not only in Battle Creek but
also in Kalamazoo and Portage.
“I grew up on a family farm and
then I ventured off on my own,” he
said. “It’s a lot of hours. The hourly
rate isn’t as high as it could be.”
The weekly Battle Creek Farmers
Market opened at Festival Market
Square Wednesday, May 9 and
is managed by Maeve Feindt of

Small farms contribute to local agriculture industry via farm markets

Railway Farms of Pennfield Township, owned by Debbie Greger and her

children, Samantha Eberhard and Nick Greger, uses regenerative and

sustainable practices to keep the soil rich in nutrients and to minimize the

threat of pests. (Shopper News photo by Shelly Kehrle-Sulser)

Kellogg Arena.

“We have between and 28 and 36

(vendors), depending on the day,”

said Maeve about the number of ven-

dors participating.

Jim’s fare lately has also included

home grown apples, green peppers,

hot peppers, watermelon and squash.

At Railway Farms of Pennfield

Township, Debbie Greger is spend-

ing her fourth annual season at the

Battle Creek Farmers Market with

her “sustainable, regenerative” farm.

“It’s a family farm, my daughter

(Samantha Eberhard) helps work it,”

said Greger, “and my son, (Nick)

we all pitch in together and we just

started doing vegetables.”

It was 10 years ago when Debbie

retired and started the farm first with

chickens.

“I needed something more so we

turned it into more of a farm than

a garden and we’ve grown it since

then,” she said. “We have 24 acres

between the two of us and we only

farm about an acre-and-a-half right

now.”

In all, they grow about 25 different

kinds of produce including carrots,

lettuce, eggplants, onions, radishes,

celery, potatoes, leeks and more.

“This year we started doing our

own herbs so we have a large herb

garden so we pick and dehydrate our

herbs,” she said. “It’s a fun option

and also something to do during win-

ter when we’re not growing things

outside, we can be cleaning and bot-

tling herbs.”

Debbie also sells on Saturday

mornings at the Marshall Farmers

Market, 8-1 p.m. through the end of

October.

By “sustainable and regenerative,”

she said, “we focus on soil health

so it’s all about putting nutrients

back into the soil after you’ve grown

something so it stays healthy and

ready for the next crop so a lot of

times we’ll put what’s called a cover

crop in, and it’s a crop we specifi-

cally match to what we want the soil

health to be. We grow it, we let it die

back into the soil and then it reener-

gizes the soil.”

The process helps the yield, helps

them rotate crops and helps eliminate

pests.

“We do not use any pesticides,

insecticides, anything,” Debbie

noted. “And, there are times when

we lose a crop. Like, this year, I had

zuccini and basically got nothing that

was sellable because the bugs marred

all the outside. And, my cilantro

completely was lost this year but we

try to plant things that complement

each other and will not draw the