Among the speakers will be food historian William Woys Weaver, speaking on “The Kitchen Garden: Its History and Bright Future.” Dr Weaver will survey the kitchen garden as it evolved in the Middle Ages through to the nineteenth century in America, and will then enumerate the reasons why we should continue this rich horticultural heritage due to its sustainability and potential benefits to personal health and well being. Scott Chaskey, poet, farmer, educator, and Director of Quail Hill Farm, will speak on “Resilience.” Starting with the ground we share the challenge now is to build resilience in people, plants, and soil, now that “food is back on the mainstream agenda.”

One way we can do this is by sowing diverse seeds, saving seeds, and sharing seeds. The job of a farmer or gardener is to promote diversity–for our health, the health of our soils, and to foster food security. And it begins with seeds, and the one who sows the seed. James Weaver will be talk about “Heirloom Tomatoes- The Names and Stories Behind Them.” Also speaking will be Lawrence Davis Hollander, on “Backyard conservation: the simplicity of seed saving,” and author Laura Mattews. Dr. Marie Mammone will speak on nutrition from the garden, and Lynnette Pate will talk about fueling the body and GMOs. Also, Analiese Paik will be speaking on a hand-holding consumer guide to GMO’s and the move to require labeling of GMO-containing food in Connecticut. Local farmer Brenda Sullivan will address SPIN farming, or the small plot intensive farming program.

The festival will feature great musicians, including Poor Old Shine, The Please and Thank You String Band, ShoreGrass, Cece Borjeson and Ruth George, Melodye Whately and the Silas Deane Middle School Chorale. Children may enjoy vegetable-themed stories by storyteller Jackson Gilman. Puppeteer Grian MacGregor will also be here to entertain the kids. The festival will feature old-time crafters and wood carvers, along with vendors, food, and films. Seedlings and plants from our own heirloom seeds will be available for purchase.

Bring your family and help us celebrate the heritage of Comstock Ferre and Old Wethersfield

The first thing you need to get started is a Grow Light. There are so many on the
market I would suggest Googling grow lights and you will encounter a
variety of different options. Only you can determine what will work best
for you. You can go simple or more complex. There are many, many
options to choose from.

Then you will need a good quality seed to start
your plants with, such as Comstock,Ferre or Baker Creek varieties. And
choosing a good quality professional growing mix is of utmost importance.
You will want a potting soil that comes from good organic matter with good
drainage.

Once you have planted your seeds and they start to sprout you
will want to get them under your lights. Proper light will
keep your plants from becoming to leggy. I find giving the plants 12 hours
of light a day is sufficient. Once they start to develop their second set of
leaves you can start picking individual leaves. So make sure you grow
enough so you have plenty to pick from.

Once a month you should give your plants a good organic fertilizer. I usually use a liquid fish emulsion
fertilizer, but this does cause a slight odor for 24 hours. Another option is
an organic granular type such as Espoma vegetable fertilizer. See what
works best for you. Once your plants are established it is amazing how
quick your plants develop. Investing in a timer to plug your lights into
will make your life a lot easier. The timer turns the lights on and off at
what times you set it to. I grow my greens in my basement where it is on
the cooler side. Lettuce’s and other greens prefer cooler temperature for
optimal growing.

It is so gratifying to be able to walk down to my basement
and harvest a variety of greens and come back upstairs and put together
a salad that is full of so many different tastes from sweet lettuces to bitter
kale, spicy arugula and tangy mesclun mixes. The nutrition is second to
none because it was grown in a totally organic environment and picked
and eaten at its peak. Most of all you don’t have to go to supermarket
chains and overpay for a product that was probably drenched in all kinds
of pesticides and chemicals and possibly not even grown in the USA. There
is absolutely, positively no comparison to growing your own greens. Yes,
even in the dead of winter. You can do it, try it and you will be amazed.
Happy Gardening(indoors).

Here at Comstock, we’ve been decking the halls! And we’ve got a fantastic line-up of gift items, entertainment and more!



Local musicians have graciously donated their time and expertise to set the holiday mood. At Comstock you’ll see and hear:

5:30-6:30 PM–Jeanne Freemen and Claudine Langille, instructors at the Connecticut Academy of Irish Music–read more about them here: http://www.jeannefreemanmusic.com/connecticutacademyofirishmusic.cfm



6:30-8:00 PM–Tony Gabriel, a superb professional guitarist, well known locally. Read about him here: http://tonygabriel.com/

We’re equally thrilled to be featuring local craftspeople, demonstrating their crafts, answering questions and just sharing good fellowship with the public.We’ll be serving cookies and hot cider. We’ll also be unveiling our expanded line of artisanal New England products. And last but not least, we’ll offer hundreds of heirloom, open-pollinated, strictly non-GMO seed varieties all ready to go for the 2013 gardening season, featuring both the Comstock, Ferre and Baker Creek product lines.



So make room on your calendar–come join us for some good company and wonderful holiday cheer!

On August 26, 2012, Comstock, Ferre and Company is hosting a seed saving workshop. A joint project presented by CT NOFA in conjunction with Comstock, Ferre and Co., the workshop will run from 1:00 P.M. through 4:00 P.M. featuring several sessions. The first session will cover the basics of seed saving-hybrid vs. open pollinated, what is an heirloom, annual vs. biennial, self fertile vs. needing to cross pollinate, different ways of pollination (insect, wind, other).  It will also cover easy seed to save, such as tomatoes, peppers, and legumes. The second session will focus on techniques for crops that need isolation, and the third on growing seed commercially. The cost for the workshop is $30 for members, $40 for non-members. There is a scholarship fund available for beginning farmers, or those with less than ten years experience. For scholarship information or to register, contact Kristiane at 203-888-5146 or http://ctnofa.org/events/OnFarmWorkshops/2012_seed_saving_workshop.html, or contact Comstock Ferre at 640-571-6590, or sales@comstockferre.com.

Spring has Sprung at Comstock, and due to unseasonably warm weather this winter, the warmest on record, young tender blooms are popping up all around! The daffodils, crocus, and blue iris are adding much-needed color to the end of a dull season.



We at Comstock are busy tending to the over-the-winter crops, all growing quickly, including Bloody Dock, chard, onions,and herbs. There are newly sprouted turnips and spinach as well as the indoor sowing of tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and more herbs–we will have thousands of plants at our store, just in time for planting from late April onward.



Check out our new seed additions for 2012, including: Bountiful beans, Papa de Rola beans, Golden Acre cabbage, Succession or` All Seasons cabbage, Vates collards, Clay Cowpeas, Hero of Lockinge melon, Small Sugar Pumpkin squash, and Cherry Belle Radish.

As fast as we can fill orders, we are shipping out seeds to all parts of the country with many, many repeat customers and even more new customers due to a wonderfully set up website and an amazing seed guide.

They also made nice decorative additions to the mixed vegetable pickles that locals in my region call chow-chow, well, the culinary uses are as endless as your imagination.



Red Wethersfield onions are flat, about four or five inches in diameter, so they are wonderful when braided up with the White Portugal (also called Silver Skin) heirloom onion that was a great favorite in Pennsylvania where I live – they do well because we are on the same latitude as Lisbon. White Portugal is also flat so the combination of the Red Wethersfield and the White Portugal onions in a three-foot braid is really eye-catching. Too bad we don’t see this more often in farmers’ markets; it’s a great way to attract customers and both varieties have similar keeping qualities. Happily Red Wethersfield was one of the stock onions that have made Comstock, Ferre & Company famous since 1811, and the firm continues to promote this onion classic to this day. In fact, it has become something of a company mascot, and no harm in that because this is one mascot that is also good to eat!

Wethersfield Red Onion is available form Comstock Ferre Co. at http://comstockferre.com/onion/wethersfield-large-red.html

William Woys Weaver is a culinary historian living in Devon, Pennsylvania, were he maintains the Roughwood Seed Collection consisting of some 4000 varieties of food plants.

The Farmers Almanac is giving away our seeds!

Click here to enter

A sweeping bill to require labeling of GMO ingredients in processed foods was discussed before the Connecticut General Assembly’s Environment Committee on February 22, in the states capital, Hartford. Testimony was taken from opponents and proponents of the bill, designated HB5117, and entitled AN ACT CONCERNING GENETICALLY-ENGINEERED FOODS. (Read the full text of the bill here.)

The bill calls for labeling of foods that contain, or may contain, GMO ingredients. Agricultural products would have to be labeled with labeling containing the words “Genetically Engineered,” either on the label or upon signage prominently displayed at the point of sale, or, in the case of processed foods, the package would be required to carry the words “Partially Produced with Genetic Engineering” or “May be Partially Produced with Genetic Engineering.”  There would be exemptions for meat and alcohol.

Moreover, the bill would require the Connecticut Department of Agriculture to create regulations around “best practices,” for Connecticut farmers “who cultivate commercially any genetically-engineered crop. Such regulations shall require the implementation of practices by such farmers to:

(1) Eliminate or minimize the degree to which such genetically-engineered crop affects neighboring lands, and

(2) minimize the amount of herbicides used by such farmers to eradicate herbicide-resistant weeds.”

The bill also contains consumer protection language, would require the state to publish and update a list of agricultural commodities known to contain GMO’s, and would set up procurement guidelines whereby the state would give preference to non-GMO products.

Representatives of the food and grocery industries, as well as mainstream farmers’ trade organizations, gave testimony opposing HB5117. Their arguments generally took the position that such regulations are unnecessary, since there already exists national-level labeling laws, such as USDA Organic/NOP certification and labeling, by which consumers can already tell when products are GMO-free. Other concerns included the fear that compliance will raise costs in an already uncertain economy, and that regulating the issue on the state level would be unfair to Connecticut producers and retailers, since Connecticut is a very small state.

Many opponents went further, claiming that GMO products are exempt from current labeling requirements, such as those that mandate listing preservatives, chemical, and allergens in foods, because the USDA has already established that GMO foods are perfectly safe and in no way different from conventional food products.

Proponents of the bill disagreed, claiming that there has been little actual testing by USDA, and even that negative information about the safety of GMO products has actually been suppressed. A host of organic farmers, green-and sustainability advocates,  organic trade groups, and individuals offered testimony as well, citing their belief that the public is definitely afraid of GMO content in foods, and of GMO crops in the environment. Several of the proponents indicated their belief that, while several other states are considering similar proposals or ballot initiatives, the fact that none has yet been passed presents Connecticut an opportunity to provide leadership to the states, since labeling requirements clearly are not going to be created anytime soon at the federal level.

(Read the full testimony here)

The bill, which is a “raised bill” meaning that it originated within the Environment Committee, will now be further considered by the committee leadership, which may decide to eventually submit it to the General Assembly for possible passage.

Randel Agrella is a Comstock Ferre Employee, an avid anti-GMO activist, and owner of Abundant Acres Heirloom Nursery.