Your produce is only as nutritious as the soil that it was grown in!
The color and vibrancy of our produce indicates the vitamin and mineral content. We gravitate towards richly colored vegetables instead of the lighter, paler ones because on a deep down level, our body knows what it needs.
Most of us would rather spend our time on the exciting parts of gardening, like planting and growing, rather than thinking about the soil. But what I have learned is that poor soil care leads to poor nutrition and less appealing vegetables.
Here at the farm, we take soil testing seriously. We send our soil samples off to the lab for testing to find out what minerals need to be added to make happy healthy plants.
Though most soil tests only check for three numbers, we chose a lab based on testing that goes well beyond the standard three tests. Our soil is tested for the major and the minor minerals.
While some of these additions are not particularly overwhelmingly large, we make the adjustments anyway. We plug this information into a computer model and it calculates based on the square footage of a row, how much of each mineral we needed to add.
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- Measuring out minerals/fertilizer for each row.
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- I create custom fertilizer ready to add to the field.
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- Adding the nutrients to nourish the soil.
Caring for the soil in this way, along with no pesticides or herbicides, is the reason for the “Nourishing Produce” in our name. I am eager to grow this produce for our farm members! If you have not yet joined us, we welcome you to join us in the quest for nourishing produce by becoming a CSA Farm Member! -Lora Epps
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About Lora and The Farm:
Lora Epps is the owner of Lora’s Nourishing Produce. The farm is located near Brighton, Colorado. Lora is a native of Colorado and grew up in a health conscious family. Growing up, Lora learned how the quality of food we eat helps fuel our bodies and our lives.
When Lora became interested in organic farming, she started by taking an 18-month internship at Berry Patch Farms in Brighton. Soon after, she became the manager at Berry Patch.
At Berry Patch, Lora worked with school groups and tours, and was responsible for the farm’s store that provided fresh quality farm produce. As she gained experience, it became clear Lora was ready to start her own farm.
Lora started Lora’s Nourishing Produce in 2009. Her dream was to raise her own vegetables without the use of any pesticides or herbicides and provide a service that delivered nutritious, farm fresh, high quality, fruits and vegetables to her farm members in the Denver Metro area.
From harvest to table, Lora’s Nourishing Produce delivers a variety of fruits and vegetables directly to the consumer. Lora further works with other local Colorado Organic Farmers to guarantee a variety to her CSA members.
At Grace Farms, we are also excited to have Marla Epps working with us in researching growing methods that maximize producing nutrient-dense, health-building produce. Marla has a Master’s degree in Horticulture from Colorado State University.
Marla’s focus is on soil. Through knowledge and education, Marla studies the soil and makes recommendations on how to further improve the growing environment for our fruit and vegetable crops.
Lora’s Nourishing Produce brings the grower and consumer together, to deliver the produce straight from harvest to your table. Lora believes in communicating directly with her farm members and that relationship helps the farm grow in the direction that best serves its members. This is one reason she strongly believes in personally handling the deliveries on delivery day. “I get to visit with members and receive feedback on what they all are enjoying and doing with the produce. Their ideas and feedback are very important to me as the farm grows.” -Lora
