And so it is that we are rooted here. Our 120 acres sit on Peach Lake,
in Putnam County, NY, on the northern boarder of Westchester County and next to Danbury, CT. We are 2 miles south of the crossroads
of I-84 and I-684, 60 miles north of NYC, with easy metro access. We face the realities of suburban sprawl
while maintaining the comforts of country living.
Certified Organic Growing of a full variety of
vegetables, herbs and flowers for direct sales has been the thrust of the farm operation since the late 1970’s. What
began as a thriving farm stand at NYC Greenmarket has spread out to continue at Union Square, and serve the local Brewster
Farmers Market, maintain a local wholesale delivery, grow an on farm CSA and a roadside stand. We grow for market on 5+ acres,
hay on 8 acres, and look forward to pasturing on 60 fenced acres. We maintain a forest management program on the remaining
50 acres.
In general, the winter season finds little time for R&R as we must
keep up with accounting for the purposes of taxes, seed orders and preparation of applications for Organic Certification and
Markets as well as receive applications from CSA members and potential farm interns. Early growing season begins February,
March and April with seeding and plant propagation in our “Grow box” and 20’x50’ heated greenhouse.
Fuad, our grower and field manager accomplishes this. Fuad, from Bangladesh, schooled at UCA, Santa Cruz in what was then
the only Organic program available nationwide. He has been on Ryder Farm for over 15 years since. While seeding continues
throughout the season, in April we are tilling the ground. Preparation began the previous fall with cover crop planting following
the application of rotted manure. And so goes the mowing with a brush hog then rototilling. The direct
seeding of early crops and the transplanting of frost hardy crops commences in the field as the trans-potting of young hot
crops…tomatoes, peppers, eggplants et al is done in the 20’X100’ hoop house. With May 26 being our last
frost date, June commences the all out planting of everything from the greenhouse as the market season opens with early greens
and perennial herbs and flowers. From here we try to keep up with successive planting and cultivating…that is weeding
with hands and hand tools, irrigation and feeding, with direct nutrient application to the soil at the plant as well as foliar
backpack spraying, as we keep up with harvest and marketing. We have a staging area for cleaning and packaging and 2 walk
in coolers for holding produce. We have a 12’ box truck for marketing. At the farmers markets we set up a table to the
backside of the truck. For the past 12 years Kenny has been the tried and true Union Sq. market partner. Other jobs on the
farm vary and include maintenance of our 15’ perimeter deer fence (electric on the bottom, woven on the top), tractor
maintenance, wood chores and the like. My husband, John of all trades, underpins this growing operation with mechanical and
construction ability as well as work on the greater farm and farmhouse. We enjoy all of the accruements including a crawler
dozer, and 4 Tractors: 55 hp 4wd, 30 hp Ford 300, 42 hp Ford 340 and a 1955 Ford 9n, lots of implements and carts including
a manure spreader, a fine compost pad and a sawmill. We have a well-stocked library of growing reference. The workweek finds
Tuesday and Friday harvest days as long and necessary. This leads to a flexible and potential 4-day workweek.
We
continue to grow our apprentice program. We offer the full experience of seasonal small scale market farming. We expect a
40-50 hr workweek. We prefer live-in help, providing minimum wage minus an allowance for room and board leaving
~$150 minus tax deductions. You will be covered by Workers Compensation. There are several living accommodations, on
an as available basis. They include a room in the house, bungalows, a camp trailer or a tent if you are so inclined. There
is Wi-Fi. I do bulk shopping and prefer family style dining with preparation by those who are inclined, but well understand
individuality.
Among our phrases we say, “Flower children love to work
in the rain” and “If it’s not fun, it’s not worth doing”. While we are a fun loving community
and enjoy making music in the likes of John’s studio, we are serious about our intent. Please do not apply if your lifestyle
includes late nights and alcohol use. Commitment from mid-May to mid-October is preferred but we often appreciate even short-term
help.
There you have an encapsulation of our little slice of heaven. If this sounds like a match
for you please do reply, see application link. On site visits are always encouraged, I understand that
they are not always feasible.
