Seasoned celebrates Earth Day with a farmer, cook and beekeeper

黑料吃瓜网

Seasoned

Seasoned celebrates Earth Day with a farmer, cook and beekeeper

By Robyn Doyon-Aitken ,

Meg Dalton, Tagan Engel, Stephanie Stender, Katrice Claudio

Published April 17, 2024 at 8:29 PM EDT

Ren茅e Giroux harvests borage, an herb that will be used as a garnish at Swyft Restaurant in Kent, 黑料吃瓜网, at her farm in Warren.

1 of 12 — April 11, 2024 - Earth鈥檚 Palate Farm

Ren茅e Giroux harvests borage, an herb that will be used as a garnish at Swyft Restaurant in Kent, Conn. Giroux co-owns Earth鈥檚 Palate Farm in Warren, 黑料吃瓜网, a small organic farm that supplies food for restaurants around the region, as well as the Northwest 黑料吃瓜网 Regional Food Hub, an organization Giroux runs that serves food security programs around the state. She started building the farm about six years ago and says sustainable farming is important because it respects the land and the soil. 鈥淚t鈥檚 one of those things, when you get that wake up call 鈥� it鈥檚 what you want to do with your life,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou learn so many beautiful things about yourself. Resiliency, adapting, problem solving,鈥� she said.

Ryan Caron King / 黑料吃瓜网

2 of 12 — April 11, 2024 - Earth鈥檚 Palate Farm

Ren茅e Giroux harvests borage at Earth鈥檚 Palate Farm in Warren, 黑料吃瓜网, a small organic farm she co-owns with her husband, Kevin MacPherson.

Ryan Caron King / 黑料吃瓜网

3 of 12 — April 11, 2024 - Earth鈥檚 Palate Farm

Ren茅e Giroux hands a bag of borage to Ryan Connelly, chef at Ore Hill and Swyft in Kent, 黑料吃瓜网 during his weekly pickup of produce at Earth鈥檚 Palate Farm in Warren, 黑料吃瓜网 on April 11, 2024. Connelly said it鈥檚 important to work with local farms because it creates a small economy. 鈥淏eing able to supply this kind of stuff 鈥� this is all for the locals,鈥� he said.

Ryan Caron King / 黑料吃瓜网

4 of 12 — April 11, 2024 - Earth鈥檚 Palate Farm

Farmer Ren茅e Giroux picks winter greens in one of her greenhouses at Earth鈥檚 Palate Farm in Warren, 黑料吃瓜网 on April 11, 2024. The food she grows at the farm goes to restaurants, farm-to-school programs and food pantries around the state. She also runs the Northwest CT Food Hub, which works with 35 farmers to supply food security programs.

Ryan Caron King / 黑料吃瓜网

Ren茅e Giroux weeds rows of winter greens and herbs in one of her greenhouses at Earth鈥檚 Palate Farm in Warren, 黑料吃瓜网 on April 11, 2024. The food she grows at the farm goes to restaurants, school systems, and food pantries around the state. She also runs the Northwest Food Hub, which works with 35 farmers in 黑料吃瓜网 to supply food security programs. (Ryan Caron King/黑料吃瓜网)

5 of 12 — April 11, 2024 - Earth鈥檚 Palate Farm

Ren茅e Giroux weeds rows of winter greens and herbs in one of her greenhouses at Earth鈥檚 Palate Farm in Warren, 黑料吃瓜网 on April 11, 2024. Aside from getting her hands in the dirt, Ren茅e practices forest bathing as a way to connect with the Earth and appreciate nature.

Ryan Caron King / 黑料吃瓜网

6 of 12 — April 11, 2024 - Earth鈥檚 Palate Farm

Rows of greens grow in a hydroponic greenhouse on Earth鈥檚 Palate Farm in Warren, 黑料吃瓜网 on April 11, 2024.

Ryan Caron King / 黑料吃瓜网

7 of 12 — April 11, 2024 - Earth鈥檚 Palate Farm

Rows of lettuce grow in a hydroponic greenhouse on Earth鈥檚 Palate Farm in Warren, 黑料吃瓜网 on April 11, 2024.

Ryan Caron King / 黑料吃瓜网

8 of 12 — April 11, 2024 - Earth鈥檚 Palate Farm

Ren茅e Giroux harvests lettuce in a hydroponic greenhouse on Earth鈥檚 Palate Farm in Warren, 黑料吃瓜网 on April 11, 2024. She said she prefers dirt growing over hydroponics because it鈥檚 more forgiving. 鈥淲e do 600 heads a week out of here,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f this whole crop goes down, that鈥檚 3 months worth of sales down the tubes. So you constantly have to be on top of it.鈥� (Ryan Caron King/黑料吃瓜网)

Ryan Caron King / 黑料吃瓜网

9 of 12 — April 11, 2024 - Earth鈥檚 Palate Farm

A crop of claytonia, also called miner's lettuce, grows in one of the greenhouses at Earth鈥檚 Palate Farm in Warren, 黑料吃瓜网. It's a tender green, and rich in vitamins.

Ryan Caron King / 黑料吃瓜网

10 of 12 — April 11, 2024 - Earth鈥檚 Palate Farm

Ren茅e Giroux feeds her chickens freshly pulled weeds at Earth鈥檚 Palate Farm in Warren, 黑料吃瓜网 on April 11, 2024.

Ryan Caron King / 黑料吃瓜网

11 of 12 — April 11, 2024 - Earth鈥檚 Palate Farm

Ren茅e Giroux stands in a greenhouse row as she weeds in one of her greenhouses at Earth鈥檚 Palate Farm in Warren, 黑料吃瓜网 on April 11, 2024. "I've killed a million plants," she told Seasoned producer, Tagan Engel, as encouragement for people who are interested in growing their own food. As a horticulturist just out of school, Ren茅e worked with local farmer Sal Gilbertie before becoming chef David Bouley's farmer in 2013.

Ryan Caron King / 黑料吃瓜网

12 of 12 — April 11, 2024 - Earth鈥檚 Palate Farm

Ren茅e Giroux stands for a portrait at Earth鈥檚 Palate Farm in Warren, 黑料吃瓜网 on April 11, 2024. She鈥檚 been building the farm for over six years, located on 40 acres of land in rural Northwestern, 黑料吃瓜网. 鈥淲hen you find what really drives you, your passion in life, you can鈥檛 step away from it, even when you try,鈥� she said.

Ryan Caron King / 黑料吃瓜网

Organic horticulturist and farmer, , of in Warren talks about her approach to organic farming, Korean natural farming and Shumei farming, and shares her experiences as a young farmer working with and the late in New York. Ren茅e also explains the role small family farms play in offsetting climate change, and she talks about the ways the connects farmers with customers like schools, chefs and food pantries.

And, cook and recipe developer Susan Spungen (above) will get you excited about spring cooking. Fun fact: Susan was the culinary consultant on the films Julie & Julia, It's Complicated and Eat, Pray, Love. She鈥檚 the author of the cookbook, Veg Forward.

Plus, (below), the founder of , a virtual platform for building a community for Black Beekeepers in the U.S., talks about her beekeeping experience and what motivated her to start the platform. Karyn also describes the mental health benefits of engaging with nature and beekeeping.

GUESTS:

: Organic horticulturist and farmer, co-owner of in Warren, Conn. () ()
: Author of . ()
: founder of . ()

FEATURED RECIPES:

This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Meg Dalton, Tagan Engel, Katrice Claudio, Stephanie Stender, and Meg Fitzgerald. Sabrina Herrera, Francesca Fontanez, Martha Castillo, Katherine Jimenez and Janae Spinato are our Social team.

Join the conversation on , , , and email: seasoned@ctpublic.org.

Seasoned is available as a podcast on , , , , , or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.