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

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Home / Farmers / Old Friends Farm

Old Friends Farm

Location: Amherst, MA
Farmers: Casey Steinberg and Missy Bahret
Supplies Real Pickles with fresh garlic, ginger, leeks, turmeric

Old Friends Farm. Jim Gipe photo / Pivot Media

Casey (2nd from left, standing) and Missy (right, sitting) put their agricultural talents to work at Old Friends Farm, a beautiful organic farm up on a hill just one mile outside the center of Amherst, MA. In business since 2003, they are best-known for their top-quality salad greens and flowers. But they also produce a variety of other delicious foods, including garlic, ginger, turmeric, sweet potatoes, husk cherries, and onions. They have started a new line of specialty products too, including ginger syrup and dried turmeric and ginger powders and spice blends. Old Friends Farm’s certified organic offerings are sold to restaurants and natural foods stores in the area and can also be found at farmer’s markets in both western Massachusetts and the Boston area. At farmer’s market, their breathtaking flower arrangements make the Old Friends Farm booth easy to pick out!

A particularly unique aspect of Old Friends Farm’s operation is their cultivation of fresh ginger and turmeric, crops traditionally grown only in much hotter regions of the world. Casey and Missy are innovators in the production of these tropical crops in the Northeast. With the help of USDA sustainable agriculture research grant funds, they developed methods for growing organic ginger in a temperate climate without reliance on fossil fuels for heated greenhouses, and then applied those methods to growing turmeric as well! Using unheated hoop houses during the hot summer season, they are able to produce delicious, high quality ginger and turmeric for the Northeast without the significant carbon footprint that comes with importing these ingredients from the tropics.

We are now buying all of our ginger and turmeric from Old Friends Farm to include in our Organic Ginger Carrots, Organic Kimchi, and Organic Turmeric Kraut. We are incredibly excited for this opportunity to use Northeast-grown ginger and turmeric in our Real Pickles products!

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We are so excited to see the delicious photographs We are so excited to see the delicious photographs that @newenglandfoodandfarm made while visiting Nick and his crew at @smetanafoodtruck earlier this month! You can almost taste the flavors of these "Modern Eastern European Fare" dishes that include Real Pickles Sauerkraut and Beet Kvass! If you aren't able to visit Smetana Food Truck (their schedule and location is on their insta page) - we hope you are inspired to create your own dish this holiday weekend! 

#RealPickles #kraut #organic #kvass
We are happy to report that the skilled farmers at We are happy to report that the skilled farmers at Mountain View Farm (and Dave Hayes the Weather Nut!) kept our baby cukes safe and warm during the recent freeze! Cucumber pickles will be back in early July!  #RealPickles #organic #NortheastGrown 

Posted @withregram • @mtviewfarm Here's a sunrise photo from this morning at 5:30 AM when we were out checking things. Temps got down to 25° but everything made it through OK. Thanks to our wonderful crew and all the people we consulted with including farm member and meteorologist Dave Hayes and Ben's mentor @michaeldocter50--what would we do without you?!?! 💛
We are SO excited to introduce our newest member-o We are SO excited to introduce our newest member-owner of our co-op, Craig Lavarreda! As the Real Pickles production manager, Craig keeps systems running smoothly and well-coordinated. He says, "I am excited to be part of a group with the same commitment, working towards the same goal and being part of the collective decision making.”. As a worker co-operative, Real Pickles is preserving our strong social mission, empowering our staff to direct the future of our business, and creating good local jobs with shared profits. We are proud to be part of a movement to build and strengthen democratic economies in our community and beyond. 

#RealPickles #WorkerOwner #Coop
This Thursday, join a workshop with Franklin Commu This Thursday, join a workshop with Franklin Community Co-ops, "Farm to Fermentation" with Real Pickles' very own Katie Korby and Kate Hunter! Learn about the importance of local organic farms and soil health and their connection to fermentation and a healthy gut microbiome. Katie will demonstrate a quick, spring time ferment in this informative and fun workshop! Thursday May 18th 6-7:30 170 Main St. Greenfield and online! Check bio for Zoom link on Thursday. 
#RealPickles #Fermentation #soilhealth #organic #northeastgrown #localfood
The pickle folks are so happy to be eating lunch i The pickle folks are so happy to be eating lunch in the sun! Enjoy the weather this weekend everyone! 😎
We think of Mother's Day as a time to celebrate an We think of Mother's Day as a time to celebrate and reflect on the role models in our lives.  If you are celebrating with a meal, consider this recipe where you can pile on your favorite Real Pickles ferments! This Garden Pilaf recipe is beautiful as a side or a main dish, plus it's loaded with flavor and packed with nutrients. Recipe link in bio.

#MothersDay #recipe #RealPickles #ferments #salad #organic

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

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