Rondout Valley Growers Hook up with the Bruderhof

 

I had a wonderful Saturday afternoon this weekend visiting the Bruderhof community in Rosendale, Woodcrest. They threw an outdoor BQ, a meet the neighbors sort of event. The tenants of the Hutterian Brethren are basic, nonviolence and compassion.

When I was in high school because of their form of dress they went through some tribulations, small cities can breed some small thinking sometimes. It was wonderful to meet some mighty nice people in such a beautiful place. I even got to make my own apple pie, all the work of prep was done and the pie ready to assemble.

I read today in the Blue Stone paper that the community and local farmers are putting 4,000 pounds of local sweet corn into use for food pantries and soup kitchens in Ulster County. On Sept 22 the Rondout Valley Growers Assoc. is looking for volunteers to help at the Bruderhof. I just might shuck with the best of them!

Rondout Valley Growers, Sweet Corn, Sweet Life

It is sweet corn season here in the Rondout Valley, said by many to be some of the best in the world. The tradition of growing in the local bottomlands goes back 2000 years here and the soil is perfect thought the growing season is short. The floodplain of the Rondout stretches from Ellenville to the city of Kingston, the soil is replenished yearly. I have had visitors from other areas where farming corn is also a tradition and they all leave with a bushel of the local kernels. It isn’t just corn that thrives in the Valley, vegetables and flowers also blossom in the short summer season. There is a group of farmers that have started an organization that supports local growth and many of its members go back generations such as the Davenports and Gill. With the Catskill Mts. as a back drop the fertile fields still yield bountiful crops. Check out Rondout Valley Growers for more info.