A Day at the Farmer's MarketFor the Brunssens of Randolph, gardening is a way of life. Story by Curt Arens,
Photography by Chris Amundson and Jack Nordeen |
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Click the above image for a slide show of images by Chris Amundson and Jack Nordeen. |
When you ask Debbie Brunssen of rural
Randolph how big her garden is, she doesn’t have a good answer for you.
“The whole farm is our garden,” she says. And she’s not kidding.
Eight years ago, Debbie, her husband
Warren and their six children bought the farmstead just east of Randolph where
Warren’s grandmother was born. They wanted not just to farm the ground,
but also to plant gardens and orchards, raise livestock, and market their produce
directly to neighbors.
Since then, the family has planted
almost every nook and cranny of the well-kept farmstead to vegetables, fruit
trees and shrubs and herbs. Through their efforts, they’ve had the bonus
of making new friends from customers who buy their produce at farmers markets
in Randolph and Norfolk. “It takes a lot of long hours and time commitment,”
Debbie said. “But we have a lot of people who depend on us.”
It was still light-jacket weather
on a Saturday morning in late May when we drove to the Brunssen place. We wanted
to follow the family and Debbie’s mother, Ann Marie Thies, as they prepared
for and participated in their weekly trip to the Norfolk Farmers Market, a half-hour’s
drive away.
Warren was finishing up his morning
chores, feeding sheep and milking goats, when I arrived. Debbie appeared from
the farmhouse with plant scissors and zip lock bags in hand, ready to cut fresh
basil, rosemary and oregano for the morning market. “Fresh herbs sell
big this time of year,” she said.
(The complete story appears in the July/August 2006 issue of Nebraska Life Magazine.)
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