From little seeds grow mighty dreams

By Vicki Botta
CHESTER — For five years, while looking for their dream farm, Simon Ziegler and Madeleine Banulski saved money and bought tools at yard sales. They acquired a used tractor and stashed it. They purchased more than 600 crates for a song.
All they needed was a farm.
Ziegler and Banulski looked upstate but the only farms available were hilly, with poor soil, and far from good roads. The best lands were passed down through the generations, or to community members waiting for them the instant they became available.
Then they saw the black dirt. Right away, they knew it was perfect. They had never seen such rich soil. They looked at a property off Meadow Road with greenhouses, access to good roads, a cemented area big enough for trucks, and a freezer barn the size of a small house.
Ziegler and Banulski are now leasing the land, which was purchased two years later by the Chester Agricultural Center for an organic farm. It's one of several other projects managed by Northeast Farm Access (NEFA).
“It was pretty much a turnkey, walk-in situation,” said Ziegler, a tall, blond, tanned 30-year-old whose face lights up as he talks about his farm, called Sun Sprout. “And what sets our farm apart from the black dirt farms in Pine Island is that pretty much all of the farms there are conventionally run. Ours is in the second year of a three-year process towards becoming organic. This is our first year of planting and starting to see a return on our investment. By next year we will be certified organic.”

Love blooms on a Pennsylvania farm

The married couple first met in 2006 as volunteers at Camphill Village Kimberton Hills in Kimberton, Pa., a community for people with developmental disabilities. Upon graduating high school, Ziegler, who grew up in Germany, had to perform mandatory service, either in the military or as a social volunteer. He chose the latter and ended up on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania.
At first Ziegler wanted to become a dairy farmer himself, but his experience in Pennsylvania taught him it was difficult to make money while waiting for cows to come of age. Seeds, on the other hand, germinate quickly and produce in a few weeks. He read every book about organic farming he could get his hands on.
After two years Ziegler returned to Germany, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in organic agriculture science. Banulski attended college here in the United States to become a nurse. They carried on a long-distance relationship, visiting each other twice a year as Ziegler finished school.
Returning to this country, Ziegler became a U.S. citizen and began working at the organic Riverbank Farm in Roxbury, Connecticut. The search for their own farm began.

Weeds and watermelon

Sun Sprout Farm employs two full-timers: Rachel Billings, originally from Colorado, has a degree in forest biology. Michelle Piriczky, from Chicago, majored in English and psychology, and became fascinated with sustainable agriculture after a farming stint with AmeriCorps. The women, who met Ziegler at Riverbank, help with every aspect of the farm, from taking care of the greenhouse seedlings to planting, transplanting, harvesting, and rinsing. They divide shares for members of the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program, and take produce to CSA locations and farmers' markets in the metro area.
Ziegler researches the markets for prices that will not undercut other farmers. Banulski helps when she's not working as a nurse — employment that provides a steady income and benefits while the farm gets established.
Only a handful of CSA members are located in Chester, but Ziegler and Banulski hope their numbers will grow as more people become aware of the program. Sun Sprout grows peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, lettuce, onions, corn, bok choy, beans, garlic, swiss chard, kale, watermelon, winter squash, okra, sweet potatoes, radishes, kohlrabi, fennel, and broccoli. Fruits like raspberries, blueberries and strawberries are planned for the future.
Ziegler is working on a non-chemical method of weed control that involves using a modified blow torch to avoid spreading weed seeds. He became adept at welding and metalwork in order to create the implements he needs. He's working on a machine that will not only make furrows and plant seeds, but also disperse fertilizer as it plants. By the end of this growing season, 15 of Sun Sprout's 24 acres will be planted. Not bad for a first year.
"What better way to make a living than to grow food for people, and, even better, organic, healthy food," Ziegler said.
For more information, call Ziegler at 845-500-8130 or email him at info@sunsproutfarm@gmail.com. The farm's webpage is sunsproutfarm.com.