Greenmarket Dirt
August 2010
Farmer Interview: Dave Siegel of Muddy River Farm

Farmer Dave Siegel at the Abingdon Square Greenmarket.

Tell us about your farm.
For three years I've been growing vegetables and raising free-range chickens on three acres in Stone Ridge, New York, just west of New Paltz.
How long have you been farming?
Sixteen years.  I was really young when I started and didn't really have any background in farming at all, only a little home gardening experience when I was a kid. I started out working with (Greenmarket farmer) Morse Pitts at Windfall farms.
What growing practices do you use?
My farm is Certified Naturally Grown; a type of designation that distinguishes farmers that follow the USDA standards of the National Organic Program, but aren't participants. CNG uses a record keeping and inspection process that's tailored to accommodate the needs of small-scale mixed-agriculture farmers selling locally and directly to their customers.
What do you consider your strongest sellers?
Greens and herbs do really well, as do eggs. Last year was a bit rough--I lost all of my tomatoes due to late blight, but potatoes ended up doing really well, [as did] garlic.
I know you said you grow a little of everything, but if pressed would you say your farm has a specialty?
I try to be diverse and grow as much as possible. For example, this year I planted summer crisp, deer tongue, and red oak leaf lettuces, parsley, garlic, heirloom tomatoes, lemon cucumbers, and summer squash. I planted a lot of potatoes this year and I'm excited about that, I think those should do well.
What varieties of potatoes are you growing?
Red Norland, Chieftain, Adirondack Blue, Carola (which is like Yukon Gold), and Kennebec, just to name a few.

Find Dave and his mouth-watering array of vegetables at the Abingdon Square Greenmarket every Saturday.
Kickstart This Initiative
Farm Camp
Hosted by Flying Pigs Farm in Washington County, Farm Camp for Food Professionals provides educational training to those who are at the helm of shaping the direction of our future food systems. Greenmarket staff benefited from the two-day intensive training at a session this summer, and with your help, many others in the burgeoning sustainable food industry will as well.

Donate as little as $25 and receive great gifts from Flying Pigs Farm. 
All 51 Greenmarkets now open - 39 of them accepting EBT!

We are thrilled to announce the expansion of our EBT/Food Stamp program to 39 of our 51 markets throughout the city. With the generous support and dedication of City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who has made it her mission to increase access to healthy and fresh food for all New Yorkers, we have been able to install more wireless terminals at our market information tents, which means that shoppers can easily swipe their EBT cards to then make purchases throughout the market. 

View the complete Greenmarket 2010 schedule (red apples denote EBT markets).

As an added incentive, the NYC Health Department has issued the 2010 Health Bucks. At designated markets every $5 in EBT spent, shoppers receive a $2 Health Buck coupon to use freely throughout the market.

View the complete list of farmers markets in NYC that distribute Health Bucks.
Save These Dates!
3rd Annual Taste of Greenmarket
Wednesday, October 6th
The Altman Building - 135 W 18th St

Join us for an extraordinary evening as 25 of New York's most renowned chefs & mixologists present tastings of Greenmarket-inspired signature dishes and cocktails.  Participating chefs include Michael Anthony, Dan Barber, Mary Cleaver, Tom Colicchio, Patti Jackson, Bill Telepan and many more.
All proceeds benefit Greenmarket's Youth Education Project, which enables 5,000 of New York's children each year to experience the value of regional farming and eating fresh, local, seasonal foods.

Purchase tickets for the 3rd Annual Taste of Greenmarket


GrowNYC's New Green City
Wednesday, September 29th
Union Square Park, South Plaza

GrowNYC presents NEW GREEN CITY, welcoming more than 100,000 visitors to New York City's largest annual green event in Union Square Park. Following the success of Green Brooklyn...Green City in September of 2009, this year's event showcases government agencies, non-profits, entrepreneurs and community & corporate partners at the forefront of environmental stewardship, education and awareness.


Edible Eat Drink Local Week
Sunday, September 26th-Tuesday, October 5th

In partnership with Edible East End, Brooklyn, and Manhattan magazines, Greenmarket is celebrating the local food chain with Edible Eat Drink Local Week, a.k.a. our version of Restaurant Week. Look for locally sourced specials on participating restaurants' menus, and find their chefs in the Union Square Greenmarket demonstrating how they cook with the market's bounty. Support the businesses and restaurants that support our local growers!


The Art of Farming: An Auction of Edible Heirlooms
Thursday, September 23rd
1334 York Avenue at 72nd Street



For those of us whose hearts skip a beat when the first tomatoes come to market or wax poetic about the deep hue of eggplant the act of farming is easily regarded as high art. Coinciding with the fall harvest, Sotheby's will host an auction of edible heirlooms to benefit GrowNYC's New Farmer Development Project and the Sylvia Center. 
In its inaugural year, this tri-state fruits and vegetable auction will provide a platform for farmers, chefs, food professionals and high-profile New Yorkers who are connected by their reverence for these bespoke varieties of produce to celebrate the art that went into each item's creation. In addition to edible heirlooms, an array of food and drink experiences including field trips for school classes, celebrity chef dinners, farm-to-table dinners, New York wine country getaways and Brooklyn brewmaster tastings will be on the block.

Purchase tickets for The Art of Farming: An Auction of Edible Heirlooms
Greenmarket Happenings
Studio in a School
Saturdays: August 7, 14 & 21
Inwood Greenmarket
Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket

Studio in a School's high school summer apprentices will set up shop in the Inwood and Grand Army Plaza Greenmarkets over the next few Saturdays, drawing on the bounty of summer produce to inspire collage, printmaking, stamp and drawing activities. Learn about seasonal foods while tapping into your creativity with a different art project each week.

Drinking Locally: DEP Water Fountains at Greenmarkets til Labor Day
Bronx Borough Hall
Brooklyn Borough Hall (Tuesdays)
175th Street
Union Square (Fridays)
The tomatoes may be thirsting during this summer of record-breaking temps, but there's no reason for New Yorkers to go dry on those scorching days. DEP has partnered with city agencies to set up NYC Water-On-the-Go fountains at public plazas throughout the city (including four Greenmarkets), so while you're filling your shopping bags, get out your water bottles for a taste of  Gotham's own award-winning variety of H20.
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