October 2020 | Page 118

discount. The family has also begun to accept SNAP for their products. “We are nervous, and we all hope our communities will stick with us after this is over,” Ester says. “They took care of us and we will surely take care of them. We are increasing production in the hope that we can supply the demand.” Pick up pre-ordered products at Gnarly Vines Farm on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon or order home delivery anywhere in Rhode Island and areas in Massachusetts directly through the farm or through Farm Fresh RI’s Market Mobile (Providence, Pawtucket and East Bay). Gnarly Vines products are also available at the Tiverton Farmers Market at Sandywoods at 43 Muse Way in Tiverton on Tuesdays from 2 to 6 p.m. 241 Cornell Rd. (off King Road), Tiverton, 401-816-5021, gnarlyvinesfarm.com ALBY BRANDON Brandon Family Farm, West Kingston After graduating from high school, Alby Brandon didn’t know what to do with his life, but he knew he wanted a garden. “My story is one of luck and serendipity, and some hard work along the way,” Brandon says with a grin. His interest in farming began while learning about composting in environmental science class in high school, followed by trying it out for himself. Then he realized he needed a garden in which to put that compost. So he went on Amazon and got two books on gardening: one on permaculture, and one called The New Organic Gardener by Eliot Coleman. Weighing the two options, he opted for the easy way out with permaculture and let nature take its course. “I started this garden and bought some squash plants and shoveled a hole. The soil in my parents’ yard was gray, and didn’t look fertile, but I thought nature would take care of it,” he says. “These plants grew six inches tall and flowered, but I don’t remember seeing any fruit. It was a pretty disappointing garden, but it was fun enough that I stuck with it.” At that point, he knew he was in deep love with the dirt and traveled to Florida to work and volunteer on farms to learn how they really operate. “I didn’t know what to do with my life, so I thought I could be a farmer,” Brandon says. “But farms didn’t seem like they were actually making any income from what they were doing, so it was very disillusioning.” After gaining some true farming experience, Brandon returned to Rhode Island in 2014 and decided to read The New Organic Gardener again. “It started to make sense now. You actually have to work hard,” he says with a laugh. He went about trying to find land to start his own market garden. “I decided I wasn’t going to make minimum wage working on a farm, I would just start my own,” he says, “which I wouldn’t recommend.” Brandon contacted the South Kingstown Land Trust and they had a few parcels of land for lease that didn’t appeal to him. But they also had a list of names of people with accessible farmland. The first names on the list were Charlie and Judy Samson, who had an eighty-acre farm in West Kingston. They sold their development rights to the land trust, meaning it must remain as preserved farmland. Brandon contacted them and they said to come right over and check out the land, and they ended up giving him access to their garden. It was barren after previously serving as a resource for the University of Rhode Island Master Gardeners. Alby Brandon at Brandon Family Farm in West Kingston. 116 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l OCTOBER 2020