new growth

Hannah
Mar 21, 2018
3 min read

In my last post, I talked about the changes happening with the pig percentage of Black Bottom Farm. But with all of our emphasis on land stewardship and sustainability, what about the Black Bottom Farm land?

Enter Matt Shultz and Trouw Bidden Farm. Originally from Cecil county, Matt comes to vegetable farming after a career in ornamental horticulture. Like his mother and grandfather, Matt's green thumb is impressive to say the least. His vast knowledge, paired with his passion for growing nutritious food, and interest in permaculture and foraged edibles made him a perfect match for the farm and the Collective.

Kim, Brian, and Matt all mention fate or divine intervention when talking about meeting each other. Not only did the right aspiring pig farmer come into Kim's life as she was looking for someone to take her herd, but the right soon-to-be vegetable farmer found her as she was beginning to contemplate the next steps for her farmland. Matt and his wife Sara had recently begun to look for farmland closer to home- they felt called to teach their two sons, Solomon and Jeremiah, about the importance of good food, taking good care of the land, and cultivating community.

Although Matt's 10 years in ornamental horticulture had led him to valuable mentors, unique learning experiences, and first hand knowledge of the growing industry, he knew he wanted his next professional steps to be grounded in a deeper purpose that brought nourishment to other people and to the earth. After a work related accident, he and Sara decided it was time to take that leap of faith and he began planting crops where they were living in Dorchester county.

The past few weeks have been really exciting for us in the Collective, because we've been able to enjoy those first fruits of Matt's labor. If you've ordered a box from us, I'm sure you've seen his gorgeous Belle Island Cress, tender turnip greens, buttery turnips, and beautiful Pac Choi. It's also been exciting because Matt has begun breaking ground on the Black Bottom Farm land!

Although the whole family will eventually be moving to the land, the seedlings were the first to make the move. Matt's been hard at work, with two of the best helpers you've ever seen (although I think they were exiled to the calf pen in this picture). The boys have even been picking special bags of greens that don't make the cut for our customers to feed to Gigi, their favorite pig (who is currently on a diet and loving their green treats!). This is all part of how we envision working together as a Collective to make the Black Bottom community and brand even stronger. As we grow from Kim's original farm business, we each bring our own history, talents, and passion, as well as a commitment to support each other and to deliver on our mission of bringing good, clean, honest food to our customers.

Just yesterday, Matt planted 750 plants before the weather hit! Matt's growing plan focuses on nutrient dense, unique and heirloom vegetables. He's planning some incredibly interesting and exciting varieties of melons, greens, tomatoes, and even some blue corn! As the season progresses, I'll be posting regular "Seed Spotlights" to highlight some of these fun plants, their uses, benefits, and history, as well as recipes to showcase them. If there are ever any varieties you see that you have a question about, please don't hesitate to ask! Matt is a font of plant knowledge, plus Kim and I are both huge seed nerds as well!

In parting, here are some of Matt's happy seedlings to give you some warm spring thoughts!