Kakhtiranova came to the U.S. in 2003 from central Russia. Despite being married and having children in this country, immigration protections were removed under the last president, forcing Kakhtiranova to seek sanctuary in order to remain with her family. The congregation became her second family, providing sanctuary for almost three years.

As Kakhtiranova considered work options she could do in her situation, a friend suggested she consider selling her pierogi. Elders in the congregation helped Kakhtiranova set up a system of making pierogi and getting them out into the community, initially at River Valley Co-op and Cornucopia Natural Wellness Market. The business was born, and P’Frogi was named by her son, whose malapropism became the family food business brand.

Irida Kakhtiranova, owner of P’Frogi, makes Pierogi’s that she sells in various stores and farmers market in the valley.

Kakhtiranova says, “I grew up with pierogi, which comes from Polish origin. Instead of making farmer’s cheese or sauerkraut filling, the Russian people filled them with fruit, like cherries, plums, or prunes. I grew up watching that. I never really made it on my own until I came to the states and had my own kids. Then I learned my mother’s techniques for making them by watching her on Skype.”

Raised Muslim, if Kakhtiranova had remained at home, arranged marriage was part of her family culture. She notes, “when you get married, one of the tests that you face by your mother-in-law is how thin you can roll out your dough and cut noodles.” Although Kakhtiranova avoided an arranged marriage by coming to the U.S., she brought the art of rolling out fine dough with her. It took a couple of years to perfect thin dough on a professional scale. Most commercially available pierogi has thicker dough than P’Frogi products. She adds, “My clientele love that my dough is very thin, so you can experience the flavor of the filling.”

P’Frogi, pierogi sold in various stores and farmers market in the valley.

Local, farm-fresh produce helps P’Frogi products stand apart. “For me, it has always been important to go to the farm to buy potatoes. In Russia, we went to farms to buy our vegetables. When I came to the States, grocery store food didn’t taste as good to me,” says Kakhtiranova.

She continues, “Once I moved to this area, I saw that there are many opportunities to get potatoes and cabbage. While I lived in the church, there were volunteers who came from Deerfield. They brought me potatoes and cabbage from Teddy Smiarowski Farm on their way home. As I found out what they had at the farms, I got more produce. I even had a farm share with Mountain View Farm at one time,” says Kakhtiranova.

The seasons inspire the flavors available throughout the year. One specialty flavor, farmer’s cheese and apple pie filling made with Clarkdale Fruit Farms apples, is available at Clarkdale Fruit Farm. While the co-op carries an array of flavors in their freezer case throughout the year, some additional flavors are available at farmers’ markets.

Popular flavors include carrot and onion, butternut squash, cabbage, farmer’s cheese, and potato and mushroom. She even makes spinach and feta or bacon and cheddar. “While some customers want traditional pierogi, I have clients that love what I do,” says Kakhtiranova.

Irida Kakhtiranova, owner of P’Frogi, fills the Pierogi she makes with a bacon and cheddar filling.

While the public has received the products well, “people have come up to me and said, ‘oh, you’re not Polish, why are you making pierogi?” Kakhtiranova continues, “You don’t have to be that nationality to enjoy the food and introduce it to other people. You just have to be a foodie person to know that bacon cheddar might not be Polish, but it’s going to taste so darn good in the pierogi. The dough turns brown, just because of how much bacon I put in them.”

Being a mother, Kakhtiranova learned that creative fillings are one way to get kids to enjoy vegetables. She notes, “If someone wants kids to eat their veggies, my pierogi are filled with veggies. When picky eaters enjoy my pierogi, I know I’m doing something right. Seeing people’s faces happy and bringing their kids to meet me makes me happy, but when that child comes back next week and wants more, it brings me joy.”

Kakhtiranova gets her ingredients from several local farms, including Teddy C. Smiarowski Farm, Red Fire Farm, Clarkdale Fruit Farms, and Randall’s Farm. Farmers have been a source of information and support as P’Frogi continues to grow. The local businesses and restaurants right in Florence and Northampton have been very helpful in sharing experiences and answering questions as they come up for Kakhtiranova.

P’Frogi is a family business. Bryan Johnson is Kakhtiranova’s husband who works alongside her in all aspects of the business, except rolling the dough. Their son who coined the business name is currently at Smith Vocational studying culinary, inspired by his mother.

The family goes to farmers’ markets, offering samples, talking to customers. They have repeat customers who follow P’Frogi on social media and find them. “I enjoy very much what I’m doing. It makes me very happy to learn why they’re enjoying my food,” says Kakhtiranova. “I find it important to connect with my customers. No one will describe my food with as much passion as I do. If someone has questions, I’m right there.”

There is more great food to P’Frogi than pierogi. Kakhtiranova makes golumpki (stuffed cabbage), hand pies and rice dishes. The family does events, and have their sights set on building up their wholesale sales.

Irida Kakhtiranova, owner of P’Frogi, cooks the cabbage used in Golabki’s she makes and sells in various stores and farmers market in the valley.

P’Frogi pierogi and golumpki are available at River Valley Co-op, Pekarski’s Sausage, Clarkdale Fruit Farms, and the winter farmers’ markets in Northampton, Easthampton, Belchertown, Forest Park Springfield, with more sites added frequently. Check the P’Frogi website and social media for holiday catering menus and pre-ordering.

Lisa Goodrich is communications coordinator for Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture, (CISA). Learn where you can buy local food and gifts for the holidays in our online guide at buylocalfood.org.

Image Credits: Carol Lollis, Daily Hampshire Gazette

Gratitude, hard work and delicious food are themes that run deeply in the lives of Martin Amaya and Maritza Amaya-Branche. Together, the couple has run Alina’s Ristorante, now in Hadley, since 2010 with Maritza managing operations while Martin serves as the culinary maestro. Martin describes their cuisine as “Italian with a Mediterranean flair,” with a menu inspired by the bounty of local farms.

“In the spring, I cannot get enough asparagus,” Martin shares. “In summer, it’s fresh tomatoes and corn. I love stopping on my morning drive to buy produce from farm stands by the road.” During warmer months, Pipczynski Farm in Hadley delivers produce to Alina’s daily, and Martin says he can’t help but adapt his dishes to showcase these fresh, local ingredients.

Unfortunately, these sunny times feel far away amid a pandemic that hasn’t affected all restaurants equally. Some have done OK offering takeout, but the dining experience at a place like Alina’s doesn’t fit neatly into a to-go container. Presentation, ambiance, the joy of watching your food made in an open kitchen — these can’t be replicated.

Still, Alina’s has soldiered on, offering takeout and operating at 25% capacity for indoor dining. “The most important thing for us is to be safe,” Maritza says. “We follow CDC guidelines, sanitize everything, wear gloves and masks, and keep our six feet apart. Even though the state now allows 40% occupancy capacity we’re not going to change, because it’s working for us.”

It’s working in large part because after years of welcoming people with open arms, the community has their back. The immense gratitude they have for this solidarity is clear. “We are just so blessed to have such support and love from our customers,” Maritza says.

Some stories really stand out. “There was one woman who sent us a letter just a few days ago,” Maritza explains. “She and her husband used to come to Alina’s often, but can’t now because of their age. Still, they sent us a $100 check in gratitude for the service we provide and fond memories they have of eating here. We are grateful to have such wonderful customers, and for her to return that sentiment … I was deeply touched.”

Martin and Maritza seem determined to succeed in part because of what it took to get to where they are. It means a lot to them to be a symbol of success as first-generation Americans.

“We are two immigrants that came to this country with nothing,” Martin says. Maritza continues: “It was never easy, but eventually we were able to accomplish our dream of owning our own restaurant and providing jobs in our community. We want to set a good example.”

Martin’s road to becoming an accomplished chef started in the very building they own in Hadley. Back then it was Carmelina’s, owned by his mentor, Damien DiPaola.

“I started there in 1994 when I was 18 and first came to this county. I was working long hours as a dishwasher and was getting up early to be a baker at another restaurant too. When I got the chance to cook, I fell in love with it.”

In 2010 Martin left his position, Maritza broke from her career in corporate banking, and the two poured their collective skills into launching the first iteration of Alina’s. They first opened in South Deerfield, but when the old Carmelina’s building came up for sale in 2013 they jumped on it and moved Alina’s there.

“Going back to Hadley,” Martin says, “that was like going back home.”

Another reason the couple holds on so tight is because this community is home, and these people, their customers, are family.

“Going back to 1994, I’ve cooked for the same people’s high school graduations, college graduations, rehearsal dinners when they got married, baby showers … man, I’m getting old,” Martin says with a chuckle. “But that’s the kind of connection we have with this community.”

“What I love most about Alina’s is that you get to meet so many people, and they become family,” Maritza says. “You celebrate with them and experience their sad moments, too. It really affects us.”

Restaurants need support right now. Many are in dire straits. But when our lives become intertwined with restaurants like Alina’s, turning to them can help us get through difficult times too.

“People are just happy to eat out these days,” Maritza says. “They can forget about what’s happening in the world for a short time. We’ve had customers come from as far away as Conway and Greenfield to get takeout and support us.”

To Maritza, it’s simple: “Restaurants make a difference in people’s lives, and customers are the reason we keep going.”

“We’re just trying to make it through this pandemic,” Martin adds, “and there’s no doubt in our minds that we’ll make it through, because that’s who we are. We won’t give up.”

Jacob Nelson is communications coordinator at CISA (Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture).

For some, the cold days of February are a winter wonderland. Others wish spring would hurry up. For the latter, let the words of Rebecca Sadlowski, the woman behind Rooted Flowers in Agawam, be a bridge to warmer days:

“We should be harvesting and selling our first flowers by March.”

Details? “We’ll start with anemones (delicate blooms of red, purple, and blue around a soft black center), and ranunculus (with a whorl of tightly packed petals in whites and warm colors), shouldn’t be too far behind,” Sadlowski says.

Rooted Flowers’ premise is simple: They sell what they grow, when it’s ready, connecting people with whatever beautiful blooms are in season.

“We’re truly a farm-to-table business,” Sadlowski explains. “Ninety-five percent of the flowers we sell are grown by us, and the rest come from nearby growers during peak times, like Mother’s Day or other holidays. Just like a vegetable farmer who harvests and sells their products the same day, we’re cutting flowers in our field and getting them right out to you, whether through delivery or at our stand.”

Farming is like breathing for Sadlowski, but growing flowers is a relatively new venture. “I started working on farms when I was 10,” she says. “That’s what you do growing up in Hadley.”

For years she ran a farm stand in Hadley selling a mix of homegrown veggies, as well as eye-catching cut flowers.

When customers began asking for her flowers for private events, she realized the slim availability of locally grown flowers and considered how she could fill that niche. In 2016, Rooted Flowers was born, with Sadlowski growing on rented plots near Hadley.

Then in 2019, she and her supporting cast — husband Albert and their two young daughters — bought land in Agawam and started breathing life back into it, enriching the soil and erecting hoop houses to extend the growing season.

Comparing the food and flower industries helps explain why Rooted Flowers’ model is so different.

More and more, people are asking where their food comes from. But what about where their flowers come from? In the United States, 70% of all flowers sold are imported, according to the The U.S. Agency for International Development. Most imports clear customs at Miami International Airport, air travel being the quickest way to transport something so perishable and Miami being quite close to our biggest suppliers, Columbia and Ecuador.

From there, they are whisked to floral shops around the country.

This works well for retailers who want a steady supply of the same popular flowers. But just like globalized food chains, there are drawbacks when it comes to quality, reliability and sustainability.

If it’s a tomato, the difference between local and imported is something you taste. With local flowers, “It really comes down to the scent,” Sadlowski says. “Local flowers tend to be more fragrant.” Getting them cut fresh locally also lengthens their life in a vase.

Most of all, choosing local flowers opens a new world of unique and delicate varieties that don’t travel well, including zinnias, dahlias,and all kinds of wildflowers. “The ability to embrace diversity makes using local flowers more interesting,” Sadlowski says. “It’s fun to work with broader color palettes and styles.”

Buying a local bouquet also means fewer flowers are shipped by air from overseas, or carried by refrigerated truck from California or Florida, where most of the U.S. supply is grown. In contrast, Rebecca notes their heated greenhouse burns less fuel in a year than a jet does in one hour.

Just as non-local food supply chains were scrambled by COVID last spring, the same happened for flowers. “Many big wholesalers were shut down or couldn’t get anything from overseas,” she explains. “It forced people to look locally.” It also turned her business on its head.

“Previously, 85% of our business was growing flowers for events,” Sadlowski says. “With COVID, the events market crashed. I went almost completely to retail, opened an online shop, and started offering delivery to get our flowers out the door.”

The change shook up her business. “Almost nothing is the same, growing for events versus retail, which kept us on our toes all season long,” Sadlowski says. Planting plans were thrown out the window as they went from growing batch harvests to picking a steady stream of flowers for individual customers. They also had to plant different species, since flowers for an event need to be beautiful for a day but an arrangement for a dining table should last a week or more.

Scheduled events remain sparse for the coming year, so starting in March, Rooted Flowers will continue selling via their roadside stand in Agawam and online shop at rootedflowers.com. Customers can wait and see what’s available, or purchase monthlong subscriptions now in advance, guaranteeing them delivery of a fresh local bouquet each week.

“If you buy a bouquet weekly while grocery shopping, this is a great alternative,” Sadlowski says.

For her, joy comes from connecting people to something beautiful that sprang from local soil. “I love when people say with amazement, ‘This was grown here?!’

“I like being able to grow something and share it with the community. That’s what it comes down to.”

To check out other local retail flower growers, visit the Massachusetts Flower Growers Association at massflowergrowers.com/.

Jacob Nelson is communications coordinator for CISA (Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture).

Picture local food and fresh produce: eggs or meat may come to mind first. But we also eat a lot of “value-added products”— where someone took ingredients and created something out of them, such as jams or dressings. When made locally, especially with local ingredients, they also contribute to a strong and transparent local food economy. Appalachian Naturals in Goshen, owned by Kristin Barry and her wife, Shelly Risinger, has been making value-added products including dressings, salsas, sauces and more since 2005 with a commitment to quality ingredients and local sourcing.

The recipe for their famed ginger miso dressing was born in the early 2000s as the housemade offering at the couple’s restaurant in southern California. When patrons kept asking them to bottle it so they could enjoy it at home, they knew they had something special. But Barry saw a need for their company years earlier.

“When I was 20, I ate a hamburger with barbecue sauce that sent me into anaphylactic shock. I had reacted to trace chemicals in that food,” Barry said. “For years I could only eat dressings and sauces I made from scratch.”

Appalachian Naturals’ appeal — besides deliciousness — is a commitment to pure, healthy ingredients, testing and transparent labeling, earning them customers who also deal with food sensitivities.

“If I caved on my principles, I couldn’t eat my own products,” Barry said. “Why would I do that?”

For seven years they operated out of shared facilities across the Valley, notably the Western Mass. Food Processing Center, a shared commercial kitchen in Greenfield managed by the Franklin County Community Development Corp. By 2012 they could afford their own facility, built in a barn on the couple’s property.

“That was a game-changer,” Barry said. “Now we can fill 1,000 bottles of dressing a day with just two people.”

Greater efficiency led to increased production at an opportune time, right when brand recognition reached a tipping point and more grocers began accepting their dressings and salsas into their stores.

“Suddenly we could compete with the big brands, and sales jumped quickly — I’d say 60 percent in 2012 and 10 to 20 percent a year since then,” she said. “By 2014, we could afford to hire a few employees, which we desperately needed because we were wrecking our bodies doing everything ourselves. Then I was able to spend more time reaching out to distributors to get our products sold all over New England and then nationally.”

Appalachian Naturals’ story — a local company successfully scaling up and lowering prices without compromising their product — is rare. “A lot of small food businesses in New England start with great ideas but no financial clout,” Barry explained. Smaller businesses pay top dollar for supplies and have less negotiating power with distributors and retailers, and renting facilities can be costly and inefficient. The result: a high price on the shelf. “No matter how great it is, most general retail consumers won’t buy $7 dressing,” Barry said. “You’ll be out of business — quickly.”

Appalachian Naturals didn’t really avoid this fate — they just struggled through it before earning stability. To cut costs, they could have removed high quality ingredients or stopped getting them locally. Instead, they put in years of sweat equity to earn the money and brand recognition needed to support increasing production, eventually reaching an economy of scale where they could offer their products at reasonable prices. There’s no silver bullet, but perseverance and grit are required, she said, “It’s an endurance race.”

Few companies that sell products like theirs at their scale commit to such high-quality ingredients while investing in their community by sourcing them locally. Appalachian Naturals has proven it’s possible, and hopes the industry follows suit.

In terms of using better ingredients, Barry thinks that’s already happening. “I’ve watched competitors change what they’re doing because of us, and I like that,” she said.

“A big chunk of our population is on a mission to eat healthy — great,” Barry said. “While we’re making healthy products, we can do it with conscious attention to supporting the local economy.”

In all, 89 percent of Appalachian Naturals’ materials are locally grown or locally sourced, meaning if they’re grown elsewhere, they work with a local company to procure them. “The more I can go pick up my maple syrup, honey, cranberries, milk and other things myself, the better I feel,” she said.

For a company their size, this is no small impact. Last year they processed 36,000 pounds of fresh local tomatoes into salsa — more than the weight of a large school bus. They also bottled plain tomatoes for some of their supplier farms to market themselves. These kinds of synergistic relationships simply make good business sense.

What makes it all worth it?

On a pure enjoyment level, it’s “when you open up a jar of salsa in February and it tastes just like that specific batch of summer tomatoes,” Barry said. Yet a deeper satisfaction comes from running things according to their principles, conventions be damned.

“Do I think it’s the most successful and profitable way to run a business? It depends on how you define profit and success,” Barry said. “For me they involve bringing value to other people’s lives, not just mine. I’ve often been told that’s not a good business model, but I’m stickin’ to it.”

Jacob Nelson is communications coordinator for CISA (Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture).

The market, which she owns with her husband, Joe, is one arm of the Boisvert family business that also includes maple sugaring (the North Hadley Sugar Shack) and other farming and retail endeavors.

What began as a seasonal farm stand seven years ago has grown into a full-service, year-round fixture, akin to the general stores that long anchored small town squares in New England. Here people can find almost anything they truly need, all in one place.

“Without coming into the store, you don’t realize,” Shelly says. “But when people visit for the first time, they say ‘Wow, I never knew you guys had all this stuff!’”

Like many local grocers, the market is an important central sales point for nearby food producers. For shoppers, it’s a great place to choose from a large selection of the region’s best.

This starts with fresh fruits and veggies that rotate seasonally, but also includes milk from nearby Mapleline Farm, as well as beef, chicken and pork from animals the Boisverts raise themselves just up the road. Then there are the locally made snacks and condiments. “We’re talking jams, dressings, popcorn, honey, coffee … the list goes on,” Shelly says.

It’s like a farmers’ market every day.

In recent years, and especially since COVID-19 started, the market has also offered prepared foods. Their in-house bakery whips up pies, muffins, fresh cider donuts and more. Their deli offers cold cuts, sandwiches, salads and soup. Don’t feel like cooking? They also have homemade grab-and-go meals to heat up and feed a family.

Their cooler offers local drinks, “and we also stock local beer, wine, and cider,” Shelly says. There’s also the ‘convenience shelf’ with baking needs, canned goods and “anything else you forgot at the grocery store.” Need a quick gift? They carry toys and cards. And don’t forget the maple goodies they’re famous for, which are “a big reason the store is here,” she says.

In Shelly’s eyes, what’s helped the North Hadley Market thrive is their willingness to change to meet community needs. After COVID-19 shutdowns in March, they ran curbside pickup only. Still, because they source so locally, they offered items larger grocers didn’t have. After figuring out how to reopen safely, “we’ve had new customers become regulars because they feel more comfortable in a small store with few staff,” she says. “We do everything we can to keep the store clean and safe.”

COVID-19 adaptation aside, they’ve always tried to keep things fresh to engage new customers and excite regulars, Shelly explains. “We keep products people like while looking for something different. Whether it’s a new beer or a new to-go meal, we always want people thinking ‘Geez, I wonder what’s new this week?’”

Each holiday brings new surprises. “We did Thanksgiving and Christmas takeout meals this year, which went great,” Shelly says. Soon they’ll offer an ‘everything but the meal’ pre-order Valentine’s Day special, including a tote bag with two bottles of wine and plenty of homemade and chocolate-coated maple candy.

The North Hadley Market is open 8-5 every day, and their Facebook page is updated regularly with new products and specials. Rather not come into the store? Email or call ahead and they’ll set aside a curbside pickup. Not sure they have what you need? Just ask.

“I think people are starting to appreciate the availability of local products more, honestly,” Shelly says. “What I hope people remember is that we’re here for you now, and in the future. Don’t forget all these farm stands up and down the Valley.”

You can find other year-round local markets and seasonal farm stands using CISA’s searchable online guide at buylocalfood.org/find-it-locally/. If you like what you find, be sure to tell your friends and neighbors. Places like these rely heavily on word-of-mouth referrals.

Says Shelly, ” We’re here for the community. We’ve been here, we are here, we don’t plan on going anywhere, and even after COVID we’ll still have the same great products.”

Jacob Nelson is communications coordinator for CISA (Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture).

Click here for more on North Hadley Market.

Headwater Cider’s hand-crafted cider checks all those boxes. The heart of this business is a 25-acre orchard with more than 2,000 apple trees perched on a hillside in Hawley. Owner Peter Mitchell has been making and selling hard cider there since 2005, but his journey began a few years before.

“In the late ’90s, I went to the Franklin County CiderDays festival, and I tasted some cider made by Terry Maloney of West County Cider in Colrain. It was absolutely delicious,” Mitchell says. “After learning more and visiting other orchards around western Mass., I decided I really wanted to do this.’”

After some homebrew experimentation, he connected with researchers from UMass to learn more about the trade. “Then this orchard in Hawley came up for sale,” Mitchell recalls. “I went up there in late February, and I kid you not, it was nine below zero and the wind was screaming … and the place just looked gorgeous. I thought, if you don’t do this, you’ll kick yourself forever thinking ‘what if?’”

Before Mitchell took over, the orchard grew only Cortland, Macintosh and Empire apples for wholesale. After new planting and grafting projects, they now have dozens of varieties. The real changing point, Mitchell says: “I put up a cider mill, my wife, who’s a carpenter, built a barn, and it’s been a wild ride ever since.”

Headwater makes “estate” cider, meaning it’s pressed, fermented and bottled on the same farm that grew the apples. Other cider makers might truck in apples from elsewhere or purchase juice futures from a wholesale orchard before the growing season. Meanwhile, estate cider makers enjoy the freedom — and shoulder the risks — of crafting the best cider from whatever apples their trees yield.

Cider apples can be split into four types: sweets, sharps, bittersweets and bittersharps. Sweets provide the most sugar for fermentation, sharps are acidic, and bitters introduce tannins that add complexity and a drier finish.

“Anyone can make alcohol,” Mitchell says. “All you need is yeast and some sugar. But if you want it to be delicious and really taste like the orchard it came from, you want to get as much flavor from the apples as possible.” To that end, most estate ciders are blends where every apple has a role.

“It’s all about balance,” he shares. “You want little things from each variety.”

The farm still grows mostly Cortland, Macintosh and Empire varieties, which makes a good base juice, Mitchell explains. On top of that, he embellishes: “Golden russets (sweets) have a lot of sugar, they’ll increase your alcohol content. Medaille d’Or (bittersweets) are little brown golf balls, and oh man they taste horrible on their own. But they have so much tannin that’s useful in a blend.”

After pressing the fall harvest, they ferment using a mix of commercial yeasts tailored to complement each juice blend. Before bottling, the cider is clarified to remove yeast and particles that might continue fermenting and cause the flavor to drift. “The more pure the cider is, the longer the shelf life,” Mitchell notes. “Ours lasts four or five years.”

Every vintage is a bit different, and Mitchell is always experimenting. Their one flavored cider (he is a bit of a purist) is “Cassidy,” a dry-hopped cider. “We don’t heat the hops, so they don’t taste bitter. All you get are the floral notes,” he explains. They also used a Harold Grinspoon Foundation grant to buy a bright tank, and recently brewed their first bubbly cider, “Hey 19.” Both are on shelves now.

Headwater’s cider, usually in 750ml bottles, can be found at stores throughout the Valley as noted on their website (headwatercider.com/buy). They also sell kegs for cider on tap at local restaurants.

“There’s a really tight community here, especially among those who grow their own apples,” Mitchell explains, adding: “Spread the love to my friends who grow and make true estate cider.”

Jacob Nelson is communications coordinator at Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture) To learn where you can find local food and support local businesses this holiday season, visit CISA’s searchable online guide at buylocalfood.org/find-it-locally/.

Winter Moon Roots, on 20 acres in Hadley, is known for some of the tastiest roots out there. I caught up with farmer and owner Michael Docter to talk about what makes their farm unique, the legacy of farm ownership in the region, and how some turnips are sweet enough to snack on raw.

The farm focuses entirely on growing tasty tubers for a winter harvest, supplying a bounty of local food during a season when fresh local crops can be scarce. This year they grew a rainbow of carrots, turnips, rutabaga, beets, and radishes of all shapes, sizes, and colors.

As Michael explains, “We started the farm 12 years ago is because there really wasn’t a lot of produce available that was local in the winter, and we wanted to try and provide food that wasn’t trucked in from afar and didn’t cost a fortune in carbon pollution to get it here.”

For Michael and his team, the work for this winter harvest begins with planting in the bright days of late spring and early summer, when Michael and his team plant dozens of varieties of root veggies. Once cold weather sets in, they begin uprooting crops and transferring them to the farm’s simple but ingenious storage barn.

“Our storage system is designed to use the cold nighttime temperature, instead of energy-intensive refrigeration. We use a computer and a fan and a door to cool our crops. Basically, the computer tells the door and the fan what to do,” Michael says.

A desire to “keep things simple and straightforward” is how Michael refers to their penchant for low-tech solutions and the decision to specialize in one family of crops. That doesn’t make the work easy — last weekend he and his team brought in over 25,000 pounds of beets one day, and a similar amount of carrots the next day. The race to bring things in before the ground freezes is relentless.

With the bulk of their harvest safely chilled, Michael and his team sell through the end of March, when their spring-dug parsnips are the last crop to come out of the ground. They sell to grocery stores around the region, and most years to several college dining halls.

With few institutional customers buying this year, they’ve adapted to offer produce through the Sunderland Farm Collaborative and Mass Food Delivery, whose online platforms allows anyone to shop for farm products from dozens of local businesses across the region, with orders available for pickup or delivery in a single package.

Winter Moon Roots also offers winter CSA shares distributed through Clover Food Lab, a small chain of locally minded restaurants in the greater Boston area that connect farms to a wider customer base by facilitating CSA pickups at their locations.

Shifting gears from the nuts and bolts of the farm, Michael steers the conversation toward the contribution of newcomers to the Pioneer Valley farming community. This is personal for him, as he gets ready to transfer full ownership of Winter Moon Roots over to a close colleague, Rosendo Santizo, who is currently a farm manager. Originally from Guatemala, Rosendo has worked with Michael for over a decade, starting as a farmhand and eventually becoming a farm manager.

“The farm is gonna be his baby pretty soon. He’s already running the show,” Michael says.

Michael sees his and Rosendo’s story as part of a longer, and sometimes fraught, history of immigration and farm ownership in the region.

With minimal access to land and affordable financing, most beginning farmers face a steep climb toward owning their own farms. First-generation immigrants have an even tougher row to hoe as they navigate added cultural and political hurdles. Yet over time, yesterday’s newcomers become today’s old-timers.

“We’re just doing what’s been done in Hadley and the rest of the valley for over a hundred years now,” Michael reflects. “Every generation of this country has been built on the hard work of people that have come here from far away and bring with them a powerful work ethic. They know how to work the land, they’re not afraid of hard work … It makes sense that they should eventually own their own farms.”

You can find Winter Moon Roots’ fine produce this winter at River Valley Co-op in Northampton, Green Fields Market in Greenfield and Whole Foods in Hadley. Starting in December, you can also order online through the Mass Food Delivery or Sunderland Farm Collaborative for pickup or delivery in Franklin and Hampshire counties.

If you live closer to Boston, winter farm shares are still available through Clover Food Labs for pickup or delivery (visit these organization’s websites for more details).

So, what kind of turnip is so sweet you can munch on it straight out of the ground? Answer: the famed Macomber turnip, Michael’s favorite of what he grows. They’re delicious prepared many ways, but as he confesses, “I just chop them up and eat them raw. That sounds crazy unless you’ve tried it, but they’re not like anything you’ve ever had.”

Jacob Nelson is communications coordinator for Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture.

For help finding more local food for holiday celebrations and beyond, check out buylocalfood.org/farmguide.

“Our biggest hayfield, about 20 acres, actually doesn’t get cut until mid-July, which is pretty late in the season for most farms. After the first cutting of hay, we use it to pasture our cattle,” explains Brian Donahue, a co-owner of the historic spread.

The reason for the late cutting? To protect the bobolink population that has been nesting on the land for the past decade. Bobolinks are a ground-nesting bird that were once common in hayfields throughout the Northeast, but have been in decline since the 1900s, partially due to an intensification in farming practices making it harder for them to find places to nest.

Bascom Hollow Farm is on Agricultural Preservation Restriction land, meaning the property cannot be developed in ways that may negatively impact its future agricultural viability. Since buying the farm in 2007, two couples, Donahue and his wife, Faith, along with Tom and Joan Chalmers, have been trying to return it to more agriculturally active land.

Bascom Hollow Farm was started by the Bascom Family during the late 18th century, right around the time the town of Gill was founded. The Bascoms owned the farm until the late 19th century, when it passed to the Peters family. The Peterses ran a dairy farm until the 1960s, when they went out of business in one of the many waves of dairy consolidation that we have seen across New England over the last century. It was then held by a variety of owners who did not farm the land very intensely, until the Donahues and the Chalmerses bought it.

Currently, Bascom Hollow raises nine Devon cows per year, a beef breed originating from southwestern England known for their reddish color.

Bascom Hollow Farm uses rotational grazing methods during the summer. This means moving the animals to new pasture or a new paddock area as needed, allowing previously grazed land to recover. There are many benefits to rotational grazing, including increased grass and forage production, increased soil fertility, and increased drought resistance.

Donahue explains that they typically try to keep the cattle on pasture into the first week of November. This year, the drought meant that they were only able to make it into October and are now starting to feed the cows the hay that they grew this summer.

In addition to beef, Bascom Hollow also raises pork. They used to have a sow but have recently gone back to buying about 10 pigs per year to raise. The pigs are raised outside on pasture, on a diet primarily of grain, supplemented by pumpkins and squash that they grow on-farm.

The pandemic this year has caused both new benefits and challenges to farming, Donahue explains.

“On one hand, the work is the same, and when the world is in such disarray, it’s nice to be able to go out and just do what you know how to do. The demand for local products has been sky-high and we’ve actually been able to sell all of our meat quicker than ever before,” he says.

Donahue explains that the main challenge they’ve faced is being able to get appointments to have their animals slaughtered. “We’re scrambling a bit to try to figure out what to do after getting bumped from appointments we set up before the pandemic even really hit,” he says.

You can find Bascom Hollow Products, as they are available, at Green Fields Market and the Gill Tavern. To find more local purchasing options near you, visit buylocalfood.org/farmguide.

Emma Gwyther is the development associate at Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture.

Sapowsky Farm was founded in 1947 on about 40 acres of land. Current owners Tammy and Stephen took over operations from Stephen’s parents in 1984 and have kept growing a lot of the farm’s original specialties, including potatoes, sweet corn, and strawberries, along with new crops, including four acres of pumpkins.

The pumpkins are planted by seed in June. As they begin to grow, Sapowsky will cultivate the plants, meaning he will push soil up against the base of the plant, which helps suppress weed growth by burying smaller weeds growing at the base of the pumpkins. Additionally, the pumpkin plants form a canopy of leaves that help kill off weeds by blocking sunlight. “Weeds are the biggest threat to getting a good yield for us, because they steal nutrients from the soil and can really keep the pumpkin plants from thriving,” explains Sapowsky.

As with all field crops, the weather also plays a big role in the success of the pumpkins. To avoid having to irrigate, the Sapowskys plant their pumpkins on “heavy” land, land that is naturally more wet, and better able to retain water. The risk here is that in extremely wet years, too much water can drown the seedlings or lead to disease. With hardly any rain this year, the gamble paid off, and the Sapowskys were glad to have their pumpkins on heavy land.

As with most vine crops, the biggest pest facing the pumpkins are deer. Deer will eat the leaves off the pumpkin plants through the summer, as well as the fruit in the fall. “We’ll certainly scare the deer off if we see them, but my general rule has always been to just plant extra so there is enough to go around,” Sapowsky says with a laugh.

Harvesting begins in early September. The pumpkin stems are cut from the vine, and the pumpkins are placed in rows. From there, they are picked up in large bins and brought back to the farm on a forklift, or low bed trailer.

All of Sapowsky Farm’s products are sold at their farm stand, located at 436 East State Street, Route 202 in Granby. They will be closing for the season on November 1st.

To find other local farms open near you, please visit buylocalfood.org/farmguide.

Emma Gwyther is the development associate at Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture

For many years, the Meluleni’s made cider with a hand crank press. Upgrading to an electric grinder has simplified the process, allowing Meluleni to toss apples in and grind them with far less elbow grease. Once the apples are ground, they go into the cylinder of a prohibition era cider press. A piston exerts pressure, and the juice is forced to separate from the solids, creating unpasteurized apple cider ready to be packaged into half gallon containers and sold.

In addition to apples and pears, Coyote Hill Farm grows a wide variety of fruits and vegetables including sweet potatoes, winter squash, carrots, tomatoes, raspberries, beets, turnips, and more.

“This was a horrible year for our brassicas. Broccoli, cabbage, turnips… it was all desiccated by flea beetles,” explains Meluleni.

Pbyllotreta Cruciferae, more commonly known as flea beetles, are black, shiny beetles measuring only about 2mm long. Adults can survive the winter in wooded areas surrounding farms and move into the fields come May to feed and reproduce. Spring crops are eaten by overwintered adults, while fall crops can be desiccated by the larvae and summer adults.

Protective netting can keep the beetles from getting to the crops. “We’ve considered using netting, but the year that we did it ended up burning the plants,” explains Meluleni.“You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.”

Coyote Hill Farm uses organic methods including paying a premium for biochar compost to grow their wide variety of vegetables. Biochar is a charcoal-like material produced through a pyrolysis process, meaning decomposition brought on by high temperatures. A lack of oxygen prevents combustion, and instead produces a mixture of solids (biochar), liquid (bio-oil), and gas (syngas). Biochar has been found to increase the carbon to nitrogen ratio of compost, keep compost moist and aerated, improve humus content, and lead to better plant growth.

Coyote Hill Farm is entirely powered by solar energy, including a solar greenhouse built by Meluleni that allows them to have tomatoes ready in early June before most other farms. The greenhouse has 92 black fifty-five gallon drums on the north wall. As the sun comes up, it heats up the drums, which then radiate heat throughout the house for the day.

If you are interested in purchasing from Coyote Hill, you can find them at the Bernardston and Northfield farmers’ markets.

To find more local farms near you, please visit buylocalfood.org/farmguide

Emma Gwyther is the development associate at Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture.

“This year was rough for us, both because of the weather and the changes brought on by COVID,” explains Kingsley. The drought decreased yields for their leeks and required extra staff time spent irrigating. Severe winds knocked down most of the ornamental corn, causing them to lose 60% of their yield. Lastly, early frosts killed the last of their peppers and eggplants.

This year, COVID presented a new challenge for marketing their products. As a wholesale farm, a lot of Twin Oaks customers act as middlemen – the terminal markets in Boston, for example, which then sell to institutions and schools. When schools and other institutions shut down due to COVID, the companies that had been supplying food to those institutions had to reinvent themselves, and in doing so, the market became more competitive. “You still have the same number of people who need to eat, it’s just that the way we are distributing food has changed,” remarks Kingsley.

To manage pests, Twin Oaks Farm uses Integrated Pest Management methods, particularly for their ornamental corn and bell peppers. By purchasing trichogramma wasps, and releasing them into their fields throughout the season, the wasps attack the larvae of European Corn Borers, a moth that can desiccate corn, peppers, and other crops early in the growing season.

Twin Oaks Farm is most well known for their leeks, growing three acres per season. The leeks start off in the greenhouse in March and stay there until they’ve had the chance to size up. Moving outside in June, a mechanical transplanter is used to space them about five inches apart in the ground. Once the leeks are in the ground, they need to be hand-weeded frequently to prevent weeds from crowding the leeks out or bringing in unwanted pests. Additionally, a tractor is used to hill up the soil, so that more of the leek is covered. This helps ensure that the white, edible shank of the leek is as long as possible.

The leeks are harvested to order, by hand. Employees use a knife to help loosen the dirt and cut the complex root system. Once harvested, the roots and tops are trimmed to be uniform. While the tops are not eaten, they remain attached for presentation.

Next, depending on the size, three to five leeks will be bundled together with a rubber band, washed and packed, stored in the cooler, then sent off to the market.

Kingsley explains that her family’s favorite way to eat leeks is in potato leek soup. To make enough for her family (4-6 servings), she recommends using three leeks. Slice the white and very light green parts of the leek into ¼ inch slices, and sauté over medium to low heat in two tablespoons of butter, until leeks are softened (about 10 minutes). Add four cups of water (or vegetable or chicken broth), 2lbs (about 6 medium-sized) peeled and diced potatoes, and a pinch of salt. Simmer for about 20 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked through. Add a bit of cornstarch if you want to thicken the soup. Kingsley recommends adding some milk or light cream to the soup at the end as well. If you would like, you can blend the soup, or leave chunky. Add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy.

You can find leeks and other Twin Oaks Farm products at Big Y in Hadley, Atkins, and Marty’s Local.

To find more local farms near you, please visit buylocalfood.org/farmguide

Emma Gwyther is the development associate at Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture.

Brennan purchased Amethyst Farm in 2011. The farm sits on 150 acres of Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR) land. Through APR, farms sell the development rights on their land to the state, which ensures that the land will never be developed or used for anything other than agriculture. Today, Amethyst Farm houses everything from a three season CSA to agritourism activities and a full equine facility for the farm’s team of draft horses.

A commitment to sustainable and regenerative practices guides all work at Amethyst Farm. The CSA housed at the farm, which is called Many Hands Farm Corps and is run by Ryan Karb,  offers over 60 different vegetables including tomatoes, eggplants, zucchinis, peppers, sweet potatoes, spinach, and more. In order to offer a three season CSA, low and high tunnel hoop houses are used to grow crops that are selected for being hardy. “Even if we could afford to, we are not willing to build a hot house that relies on fossil fuels so that we can grow whatever we may want in the dead of winter,” explains Brennan. A perfect example of this is spinach. The sugars in spinach act as anti-freeze, and while growth slows down over winter, the plant can stay alive. Growing a surplus of spinach in the fall allows it to be harvested all winter. Come spring, the plant already has deep roots, and is quick to restart growth.

Additionally, they use low-till methods and rotational planting to support the long-term health of their soils.

Prior to Brennan’s ownership, Amethyst Farm had been used to raise and grow dairy cows, tobacco, and most recently as an equine facility. With the infrastructure already in place, Brennan bought a pair of draft horses to replace much of the work that he would otherwise do with a tractor. “They are my solar powered partners,” Brennan says with a laugh, “I am able to rely less on outside inputs and instead cycle nutrients on the farm by growing hay, feeding it to the horses, then using the manure to fertilize fields.”

The horses are used to haul manure, spread seeds, drag (level the sand) of riding arenas, ted hay (a process of turning freshly cut grass over to expose new surface area to wind and sun, allowing for it to dry before baling), and for limited logging.

Unlike a tractor, the horses require daily attention, and similar to athletes, they need to train in the off-season to be prepared for the growing season. To keep the horses fit, and to bring in additional revenue to the farm, Brennan uses the draft horses for hayrides in the fall and sleigh rides in the winter.

Brennan also partners with Laura Etzel of Infinity Equestrian to offer riding lessons at Amethyst Farm and the farm has stalls available to board.

This is the first year that Brennan has been able to harvest hazelnuts since converting a four-acre hayfield into a hazelnut and chestnut orchard nearly five years ago. With 17 different varieties of hazelnut and chestnut trees, Brennan hopes that it will one day become a yearly you-pick operation once the trees are fully mature.

If you are interested in buying produce from Many Hands Farm Corps/Amethyst Farm, you can stop by their CSA located at 132 Pelham Rd in Amherst. You may have also seen their produce at the Mobile Market, a program funded by Healthy Hampshire, with pickup at Fort River Elementary School in Amherst.

To find more farms near you, please visit buylocalfood.org/farmguide

Emma Gwyther is the development associate at Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture