Henderson family loves to get their hands dirty at innovative farm

HENDERSON, Ky. – In rural Henderson County at Mandy and Danny Glaser’s Rain R’ Shine Farm, science is hard at work.

The Glasers operate a small market garden in the Green River bottoms near Spottsville using the practice of regenerative farming, which is a conservation and rehabilitation approach to producing food and other crops.

In summer, they produce several varieties of lettuce and other leafy vegetables, root crops (including carrots, radishes and beets) and many common garden vegetables, such as tomatoes, squash and peppers. They raise chickens and produce eggs for sale, as well as grow flowers that are offered both fresh and in dried arrangements.

Their methods focus on topsoil regeneration, increasing biodiversity, working within the ecosystem and strengthening the health and vitality of soil, among other things.

They don’t use sprays or chemicals. They are no-till for minimal soil disruption, leaving roots in the ground for aeration. They build up the rows each year with additions of compost from local suppliers. They keep their soil covered in winter for warmth and to reduce depletion.

“It’s a lot of work to garden this way, but I like the idea of working with the environment,” said Mandy. “Soil health comes first since we are improving rather than depleting the soil. It’s more self-sustaining. Over time it’s going to make your life easier.”

'When your soil is healthy and living'

Their philosophy benefits their crops in another way.

“When your soil is healthy and living,” she said, “plants can fights insects themselves.”

They use other innovative techniques, including training tomatoes to grow on a string system for space efficiency and companion planting to capture both biodiversity and shade for plants that are more sensitive to heat. They grow their plants from seed.

“It’s all neat and organized,” Mandy said, noting that the tomato-growing method yields fruit through October. Their planting techniques can also make lettuce (a cool-season crop) produce “almost all summer.”

The Glasers moved to Henderson County about five years ago from Danny’s home state, Texas, when he was hired by the Henderson Fire Department. Mandy is an Eastern Kentucky native and artist who has been gardening her entire life. They met in graduate school at the Savannah School of Art and Design.

After their first child was born, Mandy wanted to move back to her home state, and told her husband she’d move anywhere in Kentucky when he was searching for a firefighter position. The Henderson position popped up first.

Together they’ve been gardening about a decade, and this is their seventh year operating a market garden as a team. Both are skilled growers and Danny also brings building skills for such projects as a seed-starting structure, hoop house construction, installing drip irrigation and more.

“We want to make sure things thrive,” Mandy said. She’s continually studying and reading about regenerative farming and its best practices. “There are lots of small farms popping up where we can learn new ideas.”

'The kids learn how food is grown'

Mandy’s value-added skills are as a photographer, artist and author. She’s written and illustrated children’s books, produces greeting cards that are sold at the market and does family photo shoots and special events.

There’s a lot of benefit in the lifestyle, the couple said, particularly in the raising of their two children, 8-year-old Rosie and 4-year-old Harlan.

“The kids learn how food is grown and where it comes from,” Danny said.

Each of them has a farm product line named for them: Flowers are sold as “Rosie’s Posies” and eggs from the free-ranging chickens are “Harlan’s Darlins’.”

Mandy added that their outdoor lessons are centered on science, math and reading, and they learn about money and business through their time at the farm market.

“The Farmers Market is great for the kids,” she said.

They said their family lives outside from dawn to dusk. As a work-at-home mom, Mandy spends long hours tending the farm, so they’ve created a children’s play paradise in the yard between their home and garden with a sand pit, water table, archery target, a climbing obstacle course, playhouse, swings and even a stock tank swimming pool.

There’s time for summer softball leagues, T-ball, track and other activities, but little time for electronic devices or television.

And the daily laundry certainly reflects their activities, which can include playing in muddy farm fields or puddles following a rainstorm and roaming the garden rows looking for frogs and unusual insects. There are also dogs, cats and chickens to cuddle.

“We can sometimes change clothes four times a day,” Mandy said with a smile and not in the least bothered by that. “It’s a way of life.”

'We're a work in progress'

In previous years, they harvested, cleaned and hauled produce, eggs and flowers to the Henderson Farmers Market three times a week. That schedule of growing, picking, washing, packing, unpacking and repeat was time-consuming, so this year Mandy is focused on a Saturday market day plus an additional day for pre-order farm pick-up.

The Glasers said they’ve reached capacity on their small farm in terms of space and manpower unless they hire additional help, but they’re happy with their approach and their results so far.

“I like the idea of improving in place. Gardening has been done this way for centuries,” Mandy said, noting that it’s about balance ecosystems, planning and organizing. “We’re a work in progress and we’re always working on improving.”

The Henderson Farmers Market Association operates their market three days a week at Henderson County Fairgrounds on Sam Ball Way located at the intersection of Airline Road and Garden Mile Road. The market opens at 8 a.m. on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays and most producers are typically in place by 9 a.m.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Henderson family loves to get their hands dirty at innovative farm