• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Real Pickles

Northeast Grown, 100% organic, fermented & raw pickles, sauerkraut, kimchi, kvass, and hot sauce

  • About
    • Our Mission
    • Our Farmers
    • Our Co-operative
    • Our Story
    • Our Facility
  • Products
    • Products & Webstore
    • Store Finder
    • FAQ
    • Recipes
  • Fermentation
    • Fermentation Process
    • Health Benefits
  • What’s New?
    • Ferment Blog
      Voices from Real Pickles
    • News
    • Press
Home / Feature 2 / Meeting ‘The Beast’: Field Trip to Martin’s Farm Composting

Posted December 6, 2018 by Lucy Kahn

Meeting ‘The Beast’: Field Trip to Martin’s Farm Composting

Real Pickles staff field trip to Martin's Farm Composting

When we arrived at Martin’s Farm in Greenfield, MA on a Monday in mid-September, Adam Martin was in the driveway, repairing a yellow machine the size of a fire truck with “The Beast” written on its side. Adam welcomed us with a wide smile and grease-streaked cheeks. We had traveled up the road to Martin’s Farm for our annual staff field trip, an opportunity to meet our partners in building a strong regional food system. To begin our tour, Adam introduced us to The Beast, which can grind 1 ton of food scraps per minute. Adam, who studied diesel mechanics before he went to business school, wears many hats on this farm, from owner to tour guide to repairer of The Beast.

MaReal Pickles staff field trip to Martin's Farm Compostingrtin’s Farm is one of a handful of family-run compost farms in Massachusetts. Bob Martin, Adam’s Father, started the farm in 1981, and in 1987 he got one of the first state permits for on-farm composting. They now accept up to 22 tons of compostables per day and sell multiple blends of high quality compost. Real Pickles has been sending our vegetable waste to Martin’s farm for over a decade. In the early years, we brought our compostables to Martin’s in a pick-up truck. Now, we send Martin’s over 60,000 lbs of compostables each year – that’s 97% of our facility’s entire waste stream. By composting our scraps into soil nutrients that farmers can return to their fields, Martin’s Farm is one of the crucial links that closes the loop between farms, fermentation, and people’s forks.

We followed Adam out of the driveway, over the truck scale where loads of compostables are weighed, and down the road to the composting yard. The air smelled like fresh mulch – a rich, woody, slightly sharp scent. Here, amidst the windrows of compost from this summer, Adam walked us through the whole composting process. When food scraps arrive, staff sort through the load by hand to remove anything not compostable. The sorted loads are digested by The Beast, and then mixed in the right ratios of nitrogen materials (food scraps) to carbon materials (wood chips, leaves, etc.). This recipe of nitrogen and carbon is the key to composting: the microbes that break down the compostables need the right habitat to thrive. While the microbes get to work, Adam monitors temperature and moisture in the compost piles to keep them happy. In 3-4 months, the microbes have digested the food waste into rich organic matter and raw nutrients. Just like any other farmer, Adam’s composting season has been affected by all the rainy weather this summer; the extra moisture made the compost heavier, and backed up his schedule because he had to wait for the the sun to dry out the piles.

Real Pickles staff field trip to Martin's Farm CompostingBack in the driveway at the end of the tour, Adam is quick to point out that he couldn’t make a difference in the food system without the schools, businesses, and neighbors who send him food scraps. And together, there is more we can do to reduce food waste. According to the MA Food System Collaborative, in 2017, approximately 900,000 tons of food were thrown away in Massachusetts – that’s enough food waste to keep The Beast running for a year and 8 months, with no breaks! With municipal landfills at capacity, regulators have created incentives to compost food waste instead of trashing it. Massachusetts enacted a ban on commercial food waste in 2014, and the ban has increased the demand for compost collection and transportation. So far, two worker cooperative businesses have started up to meet this need: CERO Co-op based in Dorchester and serving Boston, and The Compost Cooperative based Greenfield and delivering to Martin’s Farm.

Adam sent us on our way with tractor air fresheners as souvenirs, and a fresh commitment to take stickers off our fruit peels when we compost them. We’re grateful to share a place in the food system with dedicated, food-humored people like Adam and the Martin’s Farm crew!

Real Pickles staff field trip to Martin's Farm Composting

Primary Sidebar

  • Ferment Blog
    Voices from Real Pickles
  • News
  • Press

Tags

cabbage CISA CLIMATE CHANGE CO-OPERATIVES COMMUNITY corporate food system cucumbers decentralization diversity EQUITABLE farmers Ferment fermentation fermented pickles food as a right Good Food Awards health health benefits investing LOCAL mud NEW ECONOMY Occupy Wall Street Old Friends Farm organic PEOPLE-CENTERED PEOPLE POWER pickle posse pickles Real Pickles recipes REGIONAL RESILIENCY sauerkraut SLOW MONEY small business SOCIAL CHANGE SOCIAL MISSION SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY stocking up sustainable tasting turmeric turmeric kraut WORKER CO-OPERATIVES
Fermented foods make delicious, nutrient-rich snac Fermented foods make delicious, nutrient-rich snacks and bring a little vibrant color to these cold January days! Make a quick and easy treat by adding a healthy serving of your favorite Real Pickles ferment to avocado and your favorite toasted bread.
Garnish with sprouts, radish and sesame seeds like these beauties, or finish as you wish! #realpickles #packedwithamission #lactofermentation #avocadotoast #superbowlsnacks #organic #raw #pickles #kraut #recipeideas 

Photo by @clarebarboza
Bread by @riseabove_413
On the shortest and darkest day of the year, may y On the shortest and darkest day of the year, may you be cozy and warm with ferments aplenty, and may the light of the Winter Solstice shine on you! 

#wintersolstice #RealPickles #ferments #organic #kraut #sauerkraut #northeastgrown #fermentedandraw
Still looking for that perfect gift? How about som Still looking for that perfect gift?
How about something that supports regional organic farms, creates meaningful jobs in our community, and is super delicious?! Consider a few jars of Real Pickles ferments or a super cozy organic cotton tee! Check out the store locator on our website to find the Northeast store closest to you, or order a 4 jar sampler, some colorful merch, or a Real Pickles gift certificate on our webstore!
Link in profile. 

#RealPickles #PackedWithAMission
#FermentedAndRaw #organic #giftgiving #shoplocal #supportregionalfarms
It’s carrot day at Real Pickles and we’re havi It’s carrot day at Real Pickles and we’re having lots of fun processing these gorgeous, vibrant carrots from Brookford Farm! Such beauties! 
#organic #northeastgrown #carrots #ferments  @brookfordfarm
Looking for a new way to enjoy your favorite Real Looking for a new way to enjoy your favorite Real Pickles ferments? Check out this colorful, mouth watering post by @hawthorncleansebuds - 
and tag us with your recipe ideas! 

Posted @withrepost • 
Let the RAINBOW ROLLING begin 🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈💫😋👏

Check the goodness at last nights RR station: 

arugula, baked tofu, rice noodles with lemon and hemp seeds, sautéed lions mane/ cremini and caramelized onions, turmeric japanese sweet potatoes, cilantro, sesame seeds, avos, calendula flowers, lemon and chocolate mint. 

Fermented loves ginger carrots, red kraut and kimchi @realpickles 

Tahini lemon maple dressing 
Peanut soy honey allium dipping

#RealPickles #organic #fermentedandraw
Real Pickles is seeking a well-qualified individua Real Pickles is seeking a well-qualified individual to join our team as a Sales Representative. We are looking for someone with a strong interest in organic food, Real Pickles’ mission and a desire to explore worker-ownership in our co-op. See details on how to apply and full job description at realpickles.com/jobs - link in bio! 

#RealPickles #coopjobs #organic #sales #werehiring

Footer

Contact

311 Wells St
Greenfield, MA 01301
(413) 774-2600
info@realpickles.com

Connect

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Join Our Email List!

Co-operative Enterprise Logo
USDA Certified Organic
Good Food Awards Winner
NOFA Mass member badge

Site Design by Ajitate · Photography by Valley Lightworks, Clare Barboza and others · Artwork by Emi Lynn Holler
Real Pickles® © 2023