Deeply Rooted Farms, LLC: A Collinsville Farmers Market Profile

Jonathan Sederquist began planting Christmas trees in Harwinton, as a hobby, in 1973. Over time, the hobby of this (former) financial services professional, grew into a business; one that fit Sederquist and his wife Patti’s dream of a lifestyle that would be more, “grounded.”  In 2006, they incorporated Deeply Rooted Farms, LLC.

Over the years, the Sederquist’s have grown tomatoes, squash, cantaloupes and watermelons. In June, visitors to the Collinsville Farmers Market can expect to find a cache of Deeply Rooted Farms strawberries. “The berries take a break in July,” says Jonathan, “then come back again in late July until the end of the farmers market season in October, before the hard freeze.” In the fall, the DRF will offer pumpkins, gourds and winter squash.

About Town spoke to Jonathan Sederquist about the farm and farmers markets. 

AT: What trends are you seeing in farmers markets?

People have figured out that if you buy local, it’s fresher and higher quality food. In the supermarket everything tastes the same - whether it’s strawberries, cucumbers or a head of lettuce! There is more interest in buying local than ever; even before the season begins. 

AT: What’s your philosophy/practice re: protecting your crops from destructive pests?

We believe in sustainable agricultural practices.  For strawberries this means producing a high quality, tasty berry from a healthy plant.  Our first priority is to select varieties that taste great.  We grow over ten types of strawberries selected from the oldest heirlooms to the most modern crosses.  If it does not have great flavor, we don’t grow it. 

We do not select varieties for shelf life, like our supermarket competitors.  While we are not an organic farm, we do not spray when there is fruit on the plants.  This leads to some degree of crop loss. It is a trade-off we believe in.  Strawberries have soft skin that unfortunately absorbs pesticides readily. 

AT: What’s new at Deeply Rooted Farms?

This season, we’re offering a 'pick your own' option at the Farm. We’ve also talked about having a strawberry CSA. If there is interest, we would consider offering one.

AT: What is the one 'must taste' item that you offer?

Early Glow strawberries are an heirloom variety that’s not readily available. We offer them and they are a must try. People make delicious jam out of mixing the Glow strawberry and the early Jewel strawberry.

Of the 12 varieties of strawberries, besides the Glow and Jewel, the Aluion is another highlight. It’s a late season variety that you can refrigerate and it stays delicious. That’s unusual. There is nothing better than cold Aluion strawberries on a hot summer night in August.

AT: What’s the future look like at Deeply Rooted Farms?

We want to continue getting better at what we’re doing. And someday, we would like to offer more small fruit crops and more obscure fruits that you don’t see around or may never have heard of like: currents, gooseberries, alpine strawberries or musk berries (a wild berry from Europe).

AT: How about a recipe?

Fresh fruit pies are my all-time favorite.  You can use a variety of fruits, but the basic concept and recipe remain the same. The key to the best pie is fresh, vine ripened fruit.

Fresh Strawberry Pie

Crust 

• 3 cups of graham cracker crumbs
• 1 stick of butter or margarine, melted
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Pour graham cracker crumbs into a large mixing bowl.  Pour melted butter or margarine into the bowl with the crumbs. Add lemon juice.  Mix all ingredients, then pour into the bottom of a deep dish pie pan.*

Press the mixture, by hand or with a spoon, into your pie dish to form a crust.  Then bake the pie crust at 375 degrees-F for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.  Once done, remove from oven and let cool.

* If using a very large pie dish, use more ingredients in that proportion. 

Sauce

• 3-4 cups of strawberries
• 1 cup of cold water
• 1 cup of sugar
• 2 tablespoons of cornstarch
• lemon juice

While your crust is cooling, prepare the sauce. Place strawberries into a large sauce pan.  Add 1/2 cup of water.  Bring to a boil.  Stir in sugar as you mash the fruit in the pan.

In a separate bowl, mix cornstarch with ½ cup of cold water until it dissolves. Add just enough of the cornstarch mixture to the sauce to thicken it. The idea is to get a sauce that is not too thick, yet not too runny. 

Once the sauce has thickened, continue to mash the fruit until it is mostly broken down and the sauce is smooth.  Once the sauce is done, remove it from the heat and let it cool. Once it’s cooled down, check the sauce for sweetness. Then adjust to taste: either sweeten or add a little lemon juice, if it’s too sweet. 

Filling

• Fresh picked, vine ripened strawberries; enough to fill the pie pan
• Whipped cream

Cut the strawberries into bite-sized pieces. Fill the pie crust with 1/3 of the cut strawberries, then mix in some of the sauce. Repeat this layering of berries and sauce until the pie pan is filled; heaping is best!  When the pie is completely filled, add the rest of the sauce over the top and mix in gently. Be careful not to crush the fruit in this process!

Refrigerate the pie at least 3 to 5 hours to set it. Serve cold with some whipped cream if you like. Enjoy!

Here’s the Deal:

Collinsville Farmers Market, Main St. Collinsville; Sundays, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. June 12 to October 23, 2011: www.collinsvillefarmersmarket.org.

Deeply Rooted Farms, LLC Harwinton; 860-921-3434: www.deeplyrootedfarms.net; info@deeplyrootedfarms.net.