By Robin: This week I saw an ad in the West Valley View of a Farmers Market in Tonapah. The ad said “All natural is better than organic.” Now, what the heck is that supposed to mean? So, I took a trip out there this morning and boy was I surprised. A word of caution – you’ll need directions and you don’t want to use mapquest because as usual, they’re wrong. I got lost but found my way eventually. It’s quite a ways out there but I think you’ll find it’s worth the drive. I met people from all over the place, Cave Creek, Chandler, even Prescott. And I thought I drove a long way……
So, back to the statement “All natural is better than organic”. I asked Rob what he meant by all natural? He tol
d me that all natural is better than organic because the farm uses all-natural methods such as beneficial bug warfare, green composts, natural fertilizers and companion planting to ward off the pesty pests. Organic farms are allowed to use certain sprays and soaps, but Tonopah Rob’s doesn’t use either.
In addition to produce the farm has fresh eggs. You’ll also find several other vendors out at the farm. I bought tamales from Molly’s Tamales and boy where they good! I also picked up some natural, homemade lemon all-purpose cleaner from JaNicki’s Eco-House. It smells so good. You can also find fresh bread, local honey, jams and jellies. For those of you looking for fresh meat, The Meat Shop is featuring all natural specialty pork and Double Check Ranch is featuring all natural beef. I don’t eat meat so I didn’t stop by those booths, but there were quite a few people purchasing from both vendors.
Tonopah Rob’s considers themselves to be unique as they are the only farmer’s market that features all Arizona products. The farm has a website that you can visit to get more information www.tonopahrob.com . You’ll find the dates, times and directions (you’ll need them). Rob, the owner, posts articles for the upcoming week and you’ll get a chuckle when reading them.
Let us know what you think when you go out and visit the farm by posting your comment here on the blog. And don’t forget to sign up to recieve an email when we post new articles.
