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FrontRangeLiving.com -> Garden -> Frank Hodge
 WHEN THE FARMERS MARKET MOVES INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD
By Niki Hayden
Farmers markets are bringing regional organically grown foods to cities
everywhere. Not only will you find the freshest beans and ripest tomatoes,
farmers markets are a social experience, too, where foodies gather to discuss
recipes or favorite greens of the season. Perhaps it’s only a matter of time
before the farmers move into neighborhoods, establishing tiny markets not unlike
the produce stands of a hundred years ago.
 There’s a twist, of course. Not many housing developments are set up for an
old-time market. But one gardener has decided that the front lawn is a reliable
destination for his neighbors to gather and buy the grandest vegetables they’ll
ever eat—picked that morning. Out of corn? Rows of sweet corn line up just a few steps
away. "Help yourself," Frank Hodge says to a customer who wants a
repeat of that sweet corn from last week and heads into the backyard.
As for neighborhood favorites, "Salad greens, chard, lettuces,
spinach," he says. "And string beans, corn. A lot more people are
becoming familiar with beets--golden and red and their greens. Of course,
tomatoes. There’s always zucchini, yellow squash and cucumbers. Most people
don’t ask for the melons but those who try like the taste. So that’s an
addition I didn’t have last year," Frank adds.
 Frank is a semi-retired gardener in Lafayette, Colorado, who carries the
genes of farming in his blood, but didn’t inherit the farm. As one of eight
children growing up in Massachusetts, his father worked a regular job and farmed
rented land to feed his family and sell extra produce. "He didn’t
encourage us to grow up to do what he called back-breaking work," Frank
says. "He wanted us to get an education." So Frank set off for
college. But he never remembered those days of harvesting to be back breaking.
It was a chance to run and play, to be outside in the sun and wind
before returning to a city of pavement and asphalt. Wherever he has lived, Frank
has grown something, and taught himself to grow tomatoes in a hydroponics
system, where the plant grows in a plastic bag connected to a drip system of
water and fertilizer. It’s a setup he uses today for tomatoes, cucumbers and
peppers in a backyard greenhouse.
 As retirement loomed, Frank searched in vain for a small farm, between five
and 25 acres. Prices were too high. Land was located too far away from any
population center. To grow vegetables and sell them would require closer
proximity to a city. A small suburban house on 2.4 acres turned up. The
land had been used as a horse corral and the house was reasonably priced. Best of all, it was located between three
major suburban towns: Lafayette, Louisville and Boulder. "I just decided to
try it," Frank says. That first year was trial and error.
"The first year I planted a small garden and had a soil test done. It’s
mostly compacted clay. So I added compost and horse and sheep manure just trying
to get it to work. We had an abundance of vegetables that we gave away. The
following year I expanded and decided to see what I could sell. Fortunately, I
had a list of people we knew who wanted fresh, organic vegetables. That’s
where I started. This is the third year of production and the soil is getting
better. I can tell this by the ease at which I can pull the weeds. In another
two years I think it will be just right to grow about anything," he says.
 Frank keeps in touch with his customers through e-mail. Each week he sends
out of list of the produce available as well as the day and times his small table and canopy will be set
up. He knows his customers by name and what they like to
cook. Two professional chefs show up, interested in beets and corn. They are
bakers, so the produce is for themselves and not their own customers. But the
bounty and taste of vegetables is as alluring to them as a fresh baguette.
Every year brings a new trend. This year, the demand for cucumbers soared.
Were customers making pickles for the first time? If so, more will be
planted next year. Frank has also learned that
some major crops don’t fit into his neighborhood-style market. Asparagus was
the first disappointment.
"I do have asparagus and it’s very prolific. But it comes right at the
beginning of spring when I have nothing else to sell. I think most people want to
wait until they can buy more before they’ll drive five miles just for
asparagus. So it’s a timing thing of having crops coming together so I have
more to offer," he says. "Each year I look at what grows best and cut
back others. For instance, zucchini. This year I planted a whole row, next year
I’ll plant less. The extra I give to the food banks so it doesn’t go to
waste. I don’t make anything off it and that’s okay. You can’t always
predict the outcome of what the customer wants. We know the basics; tomatoes are
number one."
 Knowing the basics of gardening is important, too. Frank has learned to
continually amend his soil with aged compost. He regularly gathers manure from
friends close by who own sheep and horses. He waters with drip irrigation to
conserve water. His most precious crops of tomatoes and peppers are greenhouse
grown. In the West, where dry winds can wither a crop within a few days, he
believes a greenhouse provides more protection from the elements. A healthy crop
of tomatoes will ripen far earlier in the greenhouse than in the fields.
Staying organic is risky, too, because pests will take advantage of any
change in temperature or rainfall to settle into stressed plants. But growing
organic is the only approach that Frank would consider. It’s cheaper to garden
without expensive pesticides and chemical fertilizers. And growing food
organically is part of a healthy lifestyle that he wants to promote.
As with any business, there are trade-offs. Growing food is labor intensive
and Frank doesn’t offer strawberries or raspberries because he doesn’t have
the time to gather berries. Neighbors are welcomed to help weed and plant, or
operate the weekend sales. They’re paid in produce. To expand beyond friends
and neighbors at first is appealing, but on second thought, he says, brings
problems of its own.
 Other market farmers have developed a variety of ways to expand their
customer base and Frank has considered a few. "I try to take each year a
step at a time. I’d like this place to be a little more self-sufficient. I’ve
thought about being a CSA (Community Sponsored Agriculture) although that takes
more time and organization than I have now," he says. A CSA requires
customers to purchase a share in a farm and receive whatever produce is
harvested for that week. "I think that may shut out people who don’t want
to be in a CSA or can’t afford to be in a CSA. Some of my neighbors may only
want corn and tomatoes. Why restrict them? I just want it to be an open market.
Come and get it or I’ll deliver," he says.
Gardening first is a joy, and, secondly, a business. He’s not
convinced that produce is all people want. His customers clamor for
information, want to tour his small farm and visit the greenhouse. "Maybe a
lifelong learning class," he says, is the next step, perhaps in two years.
"So many people don’t have their own gardens. I’ve thought I could open
my place up for people to come and de-stress. Maybe that would keep them out of
the doctor’s office." A kind of hands-on grow-your-own food operation.
"I would encourage anyone who has a small or large sunny space that is
just growing grass or weeds, to make the good earth work for you and change that
space into a living productive vegetable garden. Even if you only grow two
or four different veggies for yourself or friends, we all benefit...and so does
our good earth," he adds.
It’s an idea that may be ahead of its time, but like the farmers markets
mushrooming across the nation, having a market in your own neighborhood may be
the next step in healthy eating. You’ll know exactly where your food is coming
from.
Photos from top to bottom: a Saturday morning selling to neighbors and
friends, Frank Hodge preparing sweet corn for sale, Frank's land backs up to a
railroad track but the train chugs slowly through this residential neighborhood,
sunflowers and corn dominate much of the large garden, Frank built a greenhouse
where he grows hydroponics, tomatoes ripening on the vine in the greenhouse,
sweet corn is a top seller in this neighborhood.
To contact Frank: hodjelodje@comcast.net
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