GRANBY – A local farm is working to provide the community with fresh produce, plants, eggs and meat.

Owner of Dave’s Natural Garden Dave Kaskeski has always had a history and interest in agriculture. Kaskeski said he’s been in the agriculture industry for about 18 years. Kaskeski, who grew up in Granby, said he previously worked as a dairy herdsman and went to the State University of New York at Cobleskill.

Kaskeski said since he purchased the farm at 35 Amherst St. he’s worked to improve the land, which was previously only used to grow one crop. “When I started this farm the only thing being produced here was hay, which takes a long time,” he said.

Meghan Hastings, who serves as the business manager for Dave’s, said they grow almost everything they sell from seed. Produce grown on the farm in their greenhouse and fields include kale, spinach, beans, peas, cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes, cilantro, peas, ginger, broccoli, cauliflower and strawberries. Hastings explained that they use “no pesticides in the greenhouse,” and use “organic pesticides in the fields.” In place of pesticides in the greenhouse, she said they use “beneficial insects” to keep unwanted pests away.

“We use no herbicide, no GMO seeds and certified organic pesticides and fungicides,” she said. Hastings emphasized that while they use organic pesticides, they “just do it at the bare minimum to produce a quality product.”

Kaskeski said, however, they were not a certified organic produce grower. This, he explained, was intentional as even though they grew produce and plants using organic pesticides, should they apply to be certified organic it would drive up the cost of their products. “It’s important to provide produce at a price customers can afford,” he said. “I’m okay with how we grow. I enjoy what we do, we want to grow not bigger but better.”

Hastings added that they were “conscious of how we grow.”

Kaskeski went on to say that he was “not interested in wholesale” and was “not interested in farmers markets.” He said his focus was simple: grow food for his customers. “I want to supply the store and share members. I just want to sustain and stay here,” he said.

Hastings said throughout the pandemic they saw demand increase substantially. “It got a little crazy. We went from paying to keep the lights on to when they couldn’t get food we couldn’t keep up,” she said.

Hastings said their Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shares sold out this year due to the increased demand. She said their model for CSA shares is also unique and not one regularly found and described it as the “easiest CSA.” Hastings said the farm offers three sizes of shares, but rather than being given a time slot to pick up a box of predetermined food, customers are able to visit the farm stand and “come in every week and buy whatever produce they want.”

However, this was limited to summer CSA shares as in the winter the farm produced a more limited number of crops and there was “traditionally not enough variety in the winter” to follow the same model. “People are realizing how important it is to support local food chains. They want local agriculture supplies to be here when you need them,” she said. Hastings went on to say that produce from grocery stores “is not going to taste as good or last as long.”

She explained in a typical year they have a limited number of employees. Due to the demand created by customers, she said they were fortunate enough to not have to layoff any employees and actually needed to hire employees earlier in the year than they usually do. “We had to hire employees earlier than expected, we never had to lay anyone off. We didn’t close for a day, we were essential,” she said.

Hastings added that like many businesses they were now struggling to find help in order to keep up with demand. “We have two full-time field employees, we should have four,” she said.

Another challenge faced by the farm, she explained, was the weather. “We’ve had four inches of rain; that’s a lot. The fields get really wet,” she said. Hastings said the weather had been getting gradually more difficult over the years, including the increase in temperatures and winds, which have brought new diseases to the plants that weren’t previously found in the region.

“Diseases that didn’t exist here before have now become prevalent, blight comes up in the winds,” Hastings said, explaining that it was largely due to an “increase in temperatures.” She said some crops, such as tomatoes, are especially susceptible to diseases such as blight. Hastings stated that over the years they have adapted their practices to adjust to such geographical and meteorological changes, such as using caterpillar tunnels to make sure plants don’t get too much moisture or sun. “That was hugely successful last year,” she said.

While the tents protect crops from environmental threats, Hastings said they, along with the increased temperatures, also allow for the farm to offer some crops earlier in the season and later in the season. “Strawberry season was super early this season because of the heatwaves, it ended a little early,” she said. Hastings added that next year they were hoping to offer pick your own strawberries for customers.

In addition to growing dozens of different crops, Hastings said they also help support local agriculture in Western Massachusetts by purchasing and growing some crops in partnerships with farms in neighboring communities. One crop this is done for is corn. While they are attempting to grow a small crop of corn on their land this year, she said, “It’s typically grown off-site on a friends’ farm. We don’t have the space and land.” Another crop they purchase from fellow farmers are a variety of different potatoes.

In addition to produce, the farm also hosts a variety of chickens for both eggs and some for meat. Hastings said they work with other local partners to stock their store with butter, cheese and pork and beef. In the winter time, she said they offer customers wreaths, Christmas trees and kissing balls.

Kaskeski said the process of building the farm has been slow and he still has some projects he’d like to accomplish, such as “enhancing the store, making it four-season friendly.” Additionally, he said they’re changing growing methods and introducing practices that are better both for the farm and the environment, such as a no till system.

More information about the store, their hours and their products can be found on the Dave’s Natural Garden Facebook page and davesnaturalgarden.com.