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Welcome to Greentree NaturalsThis site has been created to introduce you to Greentree Naturals certified organic farm and offer some perspectives of ways we feel have helped us become more successful as a small acreage farming enterprise. We have added a few updates. Check out our Autumn 2008 Newsletter new CSA newsletters and the What's Happening on the Farm page for events. We are receiving frequent information requests that are asking us how to do what we do. While, on the one hand, we do not want to give away the hard earned knowledge that we have learned about being successful small acreage growers, we feel it is very important that more people are exploring the possibilities of becoming small acreage farmers. We believe that our experience has value. We are proud of what we do. We hold a passion for this land and the whole process of nurturing our gardens. This is the stewardship of the land that we hope to encourage others to accept. The large farms across the country are slowly being lost to over-production and high land taxes. It is the small acreage organic farm that will be the wave of the future. Populations all over the world rely on local farms for fresh produce. In this country, most of the food we eat comes from many miles away and the connection between the farmer and the consumer has been lost. We hope to educate our communities of the importance of supporting the local small acreage farmers and market gardeners and encourage others to do the same. Greentree Naturals Mission Statement:It is our mission at Greentree Naturals is to provide fresh, nutritious, high-quality certified organic produce to our local community. We provide a place for organic gardening workshops; hands-on learning through agricultural related activities, and on-farm research. We are committed to forging partnerships with other farmers and educators, working together to create a more sustainable future for our community. About Greentree NaturalsDiane Green and husband, Thom Sadoski, operate Greentree Naturals, a small certified organic farm nestled between the Cabinet and Selkirk mountain ranges in rural northern Idaho. Diane and Thom produce a wide assortment of specialty produce, herbs, fresh & dried flowers and berries. Expanding from a farmer's market to supplying upscale restaurants, Greentree Naturals has also become a center for summer farm tours, workshops, a grower's collective, a fresh flower subscription service as well as a small CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). They teach on-farm workshops related to all aspects of Organic production and Market Gardening and offer a consulting service of the same. (This page has a list of Seminars and Recent Projects.) They also have an active apprenticeship program for aspiring farmers, and are presently involved in designing a curriculum for University of Idaho and Washington State University to establish a credited curriculum for on-farm student-apprenticeship program.
Cooperation has been another key to making their business work. During the season, we often purchase berries, fruit and other produce items that we do not grow to make them available for our customer base. Rather than try to grow everything, we support other local organic farms this way and are able to provide more variety for our CSA members. From 1998 - 2006, Diane managed a local Growers' Collective, marketing several farmers' combined produce through the CSA, farmers' market and restaurants. "By ourselves, we couldn't meet the demands of the market, but by working together, we all are able to improve our sales," she says. "There's also safety in numbers. If one of the growers has a crop failure, we can count on one of the other farms to meet the order, so we don't lose a customer." Each farm in the Collective was at a different elevation, enabling them to extend the availability of crops through a longer growing season. The Collective worked together to provide the ability to fill larger orders. Though the growers market their products collectively, they don't do so anonymously. "We always let the buyers know that “these summer squash come from Wattcliff Farm, these onions come from Almost Eden Farm, and so on." Anytime we bring in produce from other farms, we make sure that our CSA members know where their food came from. This is an excellent model to work with and I am certain that we will do it again. For more details, visit the Growers Collective link. 
About Visiting the FarmSince we set up this website, we have had many people call us wanting to come out to the farm for a "visit." We also have had folks just drive up the driveway asking us "are you open?" I never really know quite what to say other than "no, we are not open." Our website is "open" for visitors that want to drop in whenever they feel like it. Our farm, however, is a working farm. What this means is, we are working! We can't get the work done if we are stopping to give farm tours and take on visitors looking for a way to spend their time while on vacation. James Taylor has a line in some old song that chimes "time can't buy us money, and money can't buy us time.." and this is true. We are willing to make appointments for folks to come out, but our time is challenged. If we are visiting with you wonderful people who want to come and visit this organic farm, we are not working, which is what we need to do to survive and make our mortgage payments. You are free to call or email and see if we can set a time and date that works around our schedule which is quite insane during the growing season. We really love sharing the beauty of our place; it's just that every time we stop to show it off, we are no longer making the income we need to make. If you want to put on your grubby clothes and come out and help us work, we might be willing to let you have that experience. We might even consider hosting a private party on the farm for a fee and are willing to work with our local chef to make this personal affair an event everyone will remember forever! Otherwise, you might have a better chance of seeing the farm by attending one of the events listed on the What's Happening on the Farm page.Contact Information Greentree Naturals |
Marketing is a large part of the Greentree business. "We believe that diversity in our farming practices is every bit as important as diversity in our approach to marketing our crops." Diane and Thom have carved out a valuable niche by growing a wide range of unusual and hard-to-find produce and herbs. They grow 37 different kinds of salad greens, 60 culinary herbs, 15 varieties of squash, 8 kinds of peppers, 7 varieties of eggplant, and much more. Greentree carrots come in four different colors: orange, yellow, red and purple! They get top dollar for these unique crops that chefs can't get through the normal produce suppliers. 2003 Rapid Lightning Road, Sandpoint, Idaho 83864 • 208-263-8957 • greentree@coldreams.com
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