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Pulling Into the Finish Line - A Letter From Josh Rosenstein

December 24, 2020 Grace Fellner

With the first snow of the season keeping us from completing our last two jobs of 2020… it is a good time to reflect, take stock and give thanks.

What a wild year we have had! From the pandemic to the politics, the social unrest to the climate change, it is easy to feel like we are living through the end times and to wonder why bother getting out of bed in the morning.

And yet, here I sit, at the helm of a small business that is genuinely the manifestation of my greatest dreams. A business that aspires to make the world a more fruitful, nourishing and diverse place with every garden we plant. A business that has grown every year, and now at the end of our sixth season is beginning to assume the lines of a real business: with full time employees, clearly defined products and services and an ever evolving portfolio of beautiful, ecological and productive foodscapes to showcase.

2020 was notable for Edible Eden as for the first time we have grown enough to offer full time positions to talented, creative, passionate people who are taking our work to the next level. Their inspired design and thinking is yielding exciting new products: like cold frames to extend the growing season, salad tables to bring production up to waist height and our new custom cattle panel deer fence keeping the pests out while looking great! Check these out below (click the images for a larger view) and stay posted for our version of the Strawberry Tower next year!

Durable cedar cold frames, custom-built to fit your raised beds, extend your season to grow fresh greens through the winter.

Custom cattle panel deer fencing. A beautiful way to keep Bambi and Fido out of your veggies.

Salad Table raised planter, built of naturally food-safe, rot-resistant cedar. Perfect for patios and an ergonomically friendly harvest.

We closed out the end of our season with a team hike through the snowy forest and an outdoor lunch at the Filling Station (we love the Filling Station - check them out!).

Along with monthly each-one-teach-one team workshops, winter conferences and other professional development opportunities- here at Edible Eden we are working hard to add value to our compensation packages and cultivate a sense of camaraderie and teamwork in all that we do.

The hike was a way for us to enjoy nature (without any digging or hard labor) and say goodbye before we go dormant for the winter along with the plants in our gardens.

Upon return from our short winter break, the next major step in the evolution of Edible Eden is to secure a site so that we can expand our edible plant nursery, access indoor shop space and material storage, and take the plunge from a home-based business to a brick and mortar establishment.

In my visions of the new Edible Eden site, our office is a tiny house on wheels complete with solar power, green roof and Cedar shakes; our nursery features hundreds of fruit trees and berry plants as well as space for a partnering native plant nursery; and our demo gardens are expanded to provide enough food for our employees, friends, and donations, as well as offering outdoor workshop space for gardening and permaculture classes.

In service of this dream, we are looking at purchasing a house with a large lot and outbuildings, or a vacant lot that could be developed towards our goals, or even collaborating with an existing business that is in alignment with what we do.

I will say, it has not been easy to find something that feels viable, affordable and zoned appropriately as well as being located in a relevant area.

Do you live in the Baltimore area? Do you know any sites we might consider, or aligned businesses or landowners that might want to partner with a business like Edible Eden?

If so- drop us a line.

With so many suffering and hungry at this time, I am deeply aware of the great privilege we have in Edible Eden’s continuing operations and growth.

My greatest aspiration is that our work support abundant, nourishing gardens and diverse and ecologically beneficial perennial plantings, while nurturing our employees, our customers and indeed every square foot of earth we have under our care.

Blessings for good health, a cozy winter, for growing compassion, and always for an abundant harvest,