Online store is open and farm updates...

Hello y'all!

It's been a minute since we've posted and we have a bunch of news! The online store for Ben's Produce is now open for business! Check us out at www.vendio.com/stores/bensproduce . We have been planting lots of stuff on the farm but now more about our store.



First of all, we wish y'all a big welcome to our online store! Now that Music On the Porch is over for the year, we have a way to connect with y'all. We understand that an online store is no match for a real farm stand in terms of visceral experience when choosing your food. That said, please contact us if you have any questions about the produce and you also have the right to refuse any produce you order for any reason.

Ben's Produce is cash only. What does this mean for you? When placing your order, please complete the whole Check Out process. We need your name, phone number and email address but not your home address to fill your order. If you do not wish to include your address, please fill in the required fields with xxx. A few minutes after placing your order, you will receive an automated order confirmation email. If you do not receive this email, it will mean your order has not been placed. You should not experience any difficulties with this process. However, if you do, please contact us for help. Ben's phone # is 919-800-8898.

You can pick-up your produce at our house, located at 604 Sasser St. Raleigh, on the Wednesday following your order, between 4pm and 7pm.

We look forward to seeing y'all next Wednesday, November 18th!

Here I am, planting strawberries! I planted 600 strawberry plants for next spring for Ben's Produce customers! I also planted 4500 other plants, with farmhand Angel, for Double-T Farm! Behind me you can see the plants surrounded by black plastic. We use the plastic as a means of weed control. We are experimenting with a cornstarch based biodegradable plastic that can be turned into the soil when its lifespan is over. Since petroleum based plastic has large negative environmental and socio-economic impacts, we are excited to see the results of the corn based plastic.








Here is the hoop house I was preparing for winter lettuce with the broadfork I used to loosen the soil on Wednesday. Also called a grelinette, the broadfork is a centuries old tool used to loosen soil for growing food without turning the soil over. I step on the cross bar attached to the curves tines and rock it back to raise and loosen the soil. Loosening soil without turning it over has many beneficial effects; not bringing up weed seeds, allowing bacteria and other microorganisms to remain at their preferred soil stratus and maintenance of soil tilth (structure or crumb). It was nice to work outside during the deluge of a nor'easter without getting wet, not to mention the exercise and patter of the rain.


Thank you all for stopping by! See you next Wednesday!