There was an almost audible collective gasp of “Oh, no,” when H.G. Haskell announced his retirement and the closing of his SIW produce stand in March. Haskell and SIW had been a fixture on Creek Road for decades. What were people going to do for local fresh produce?
Enter Carl Ramsey, a sixth-generation farmer whose family has owned Ramsey’s Farm in Delaware since 1860. As of June 4, SIW became New Roots at Ramsey’s Farm, but it’s still at the SIW location at 4336 S. Creek Road in Pennsbury Township.
“The idea was mine,” said Ramsey during a brief interview. “H and I were helping each other out. He was teaching me about different kinds of farming practices because I’m relatively new compared to him in the produce realm.”
Ramsey said his farm has some cattle, sheep, and turkeys, but they also grow a lot of pumpkins. But he said he wanted to expand his product line.
“I wanted to grow more tomatoes, so I started talking to H, and it came up that he wanted to retire. I thought, well, I’m young, ambitious. I said to him, If you want help, I’d be willing to help out,” he said.
It was a mutually beneficial arrangement. As Ramsey helped Haskell, Haskell helped Ramsey.
“Everything equaled out. I was getting H pumpkins and he was helping me with produce,” which led to New Roots.
“H called one day and said he was ready to retire. ‘It’s not a three-year plan, I’m ready right now.’ I said, now’s the time…and it all came together a few weeks ago.”
He said the cool spring delayed some planting, but the corn and lima beans will be planted this week.
The site looks as it did with flowers, some produce, and some jars of Ramsey Farm sauces and jams. But it will grow.
“It’s a work in progress,” he said.
And he likes the idea of specializing, with one farm focusing on one or two things, and another farm focusing on other things.
“This farm can specialize in sweet corn and tomatoes, while Ramsey’s Farm is more of an agritourism location,” he said. “We’ll still grow vegetables, but we have you-pick strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries. Everything to get you involved.”
There are also hayrides and school tours at Ramsey’s, and those school tours lead to an educational function, teaching people about things such as crop rotation.
The two locations become part of a symbiotic relationship, with each focusing on a specific specialty. People who pick their own berries at Ramsey’s can be pointed to New Roots for their sweet corn and tomatoes, while customers at New Roots can learn where they can pick their own berries.
He said there wasn’t much crossover of customers before, but some of the former SIW customers did stop by Ramsey’s Farm to say they’d miss SIW. And that led Ramsey to realize something about the SIW customers.
“You have a community here. That’s one thing I’ve learned in less than 48 hours being open here. It’s a community. People will come here to meet people. This is like a social gathering to get your vegetables for the week.”
With New Roots at Ramsey’s Farm, that community once again has a local source for farm-fresh produce. New Roots is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., seven days per week, through the end of October, depending on the weather.
Ramsey’s final comment during the interview was, “Come out and check us out and, hopefully, we’ll stand up to the SIW name.”
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
