photograph courtesy Rose Creek Farms
Ray Tyler's youngest farmhand delightsin freshly harvested radishes.
Editor's Note: The spring and summer of 2020 have presented days when many learned new-to-us skills, the kind that aren’t so new at all: growing vegetable gardens from seed, tending to sourdough starters, relying more on what we can create than on what we can procure. But long before the coronavirus pandemic, plenty of people in Memphis were growing and making both tangible and intangible goods. In this homebound season, we have chosen to present several local organizations who are bringing new meaning to what ‘homegrown’ signifies. — Anna Traverse Fogle
With summer upon us, Memphians who love to cook have, until recently, been missing an integral staple of the season: the farmers market. Far beyond the farm-fresh produce and artisanal crafts, the farmers market is an oasis of sociability. And that is exactly what we’ve had to avoid in these pandemic times. But the fruits and vegetables are still out there, as local farms soldier on; one just needs to hunt for them on the internet.
Long before social distancing, Rose Creek Farms of McNairy County was ready for the shift from in-person to online. Now they’re making the most of changes they began implementing years ago, to the benefit of local food enthusiasts.
“When Amazon bought Whole Foods, that told me that consumers were more comfortable buying items online,” says Rose Creek co-owner Ray Tyler. “Consumers are interested in buying food that way. I’m always looking at where people’s buying trends are going to be two to three years from now. It’s better to be prepared than to be in a reactionary mindset. So we set up this online store, thinking, ‘Let’s learn this, let’s get comfortable using it, let’s get people acclimated.’ This was two or three years ago. We started doubling down on it last fall, and we really saw those numbers increase.”
Ray and his wife, Ashley, haven’t given up on farmers markets completely, even in these shut-in times. “I’m already at the Franklin market. People there really want that market to stay open, because they feel it’s a safer way to shop than a grocery store that’s recirculating all of the bacteria and breath particles back into the air. So people are really doing their part to be safe.”
“It feels really good to get this food to families’ homes that really need it. They’re really excited and happy that they’re feeding their families and boosting their immune system. It’s been quite the past few weeks, I’ll just say that. It’s an exciting time to be a farmer.” — Ray Tyler
Due to their location near Selmer, just an hour east of Memphis, Rose Creek’s reach extends our way as well.
“When the pandemic really hit and people were encouraged to stay home, we wanted to do our part in making this time a little easier for our local communities,” says Ray Tyler. “So, on orders over $25, we started offering free delivery to everybody in Corinth, Selmer, Henderson, Jackson, Germantown, Collierville, and Memphis. Plus a few select people elsewhere who are older.”
The Tylers have constantly refined their approach to farming since starting Rose Creek over a decade ago. Early on, they pioneered growing in the off season with large, movable high tunnels and row covers. They’ve also hosted seminars with authors and consultants who specialize in growing large volumes in small spaces, partly to learn more themselves. Now, with all their cultivation done in the tunnels, they’re often far ahead of the curve in supplying crops early. Unlike many local farmers, they had ramped up production well before people were sheltering in place.
“We’re able to seed carrots in December and January,” says Ray. “And we have had a lot of production. On March 1st, things really started to heat up, and by April we were doing 200-300 bunches of carrots a week, 400 bunches of scallions, 200-300 pounds of spring mix, 100 pounds of spinach, 400 head of lettuce a week, plus herbs, radishes, arugula, and beets. It’s amazing how this all worked out. We invested in all these tunnels last fall and started planting, not knowing if we were going to sell it all. But we have been selling everything we can harvest. “We’re not excited to see what’s happening to everyone’s lives,” he continues, “but it’s been exciting to see what is possible this time of year in our climate, in terms of production. It feels really good to get this food to families’ homes that really need it. They’re really excited and happy that they’re feeding their families and boosting their immune system. It’s been quite the past few weeks, I’ll just say that. It’s an exciting time to be a farmer.”
Visit rosecreekfarmstore.com to order fresh produce and arrange socially distanced deliveries to your porch.
