Meet Tammy Brislin of Under the M Neighborhood Farm Stand in Golden

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tammy Brislin.

Tammy, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I have a farm stand in my backyard mid-June – September. 2019 was my second season for the stand and I was open Sunday mornings and Tuesday afternoons. This all came about four years ago when I was inspired by an “honor garden” in upstate New York. Where people take the vegetables they want from a garden and are trusted to leave money for what they take. We have a large backyard at our home and my husband and I had been discussing what we should do with all our space. So this little honor garden was the inspiration for what I am doing now.

Once I had the idea to convert some of our backyard into beds for veggies and flowers, I needed the skills set to execute the idea. I did not know much about gardening, so I enrolled in the Master Gardener Program in Jefferson County, which is part of the Colorado State University Extension program. I learned a lot about gardening and everything I needed to know about seeds to soil management and everything in between. It was an overwhelming amount of information, but I loved every minute of learning while taking the classes. While in this program, I learned that a friend had a farm stand in her neighborhood and after one visit to see what she was doing, I was hooked! I was really taken by the community event she had created in her neighborhood. Friends and neighbors stop by every Sunday morning to say hi, have a chat and buy veggies or fresh bread. It is a fabulous deal and I wanted to do that in my neighborhood.

That led me to enroll in the Colorado Building Farmers Class thru CSU Extension, which was a four-month class on the principles of business planning and management and I wrote a business plan for the farm stand. While there are a number of farmer’s markets and CSA’s (community supported agriculture) in the area, there are not many farm stands! So, I was on my own to figure things out. I applied for my permits, went through a food safety training class as well as a Colorado Cottage Foods Act training class. I partnered with one of my Building Farmers classmates and we launched the stand together in 2018. We had a successful first year, but I still had/have so much to learn about growing food to be sold at the farm stand, so I enrolled in the Beginning Market Farmer course that is offered thru the Denver Botanic Gardens and CSU Extension. We are VERY lucky to have the CSU Extension program in Colorado! I would not be where I am today, without all their valuable resources.

People are beginning to learn about and embrace the concept, that it is important to seek out food that has been grown without dangerous pesticides and chemicals. It is also important to eat as local as possible, which is becoming very easy to do these days. Farming is not easy and the land is not easy to come by, but I think people in my community would be surprised (and pleased, I hope) to learn about how many small urban farms there are in the Denver, Lakewood, Golden and Arvada area.

My educations continues! At the beginning of the year, I joined the local chapter of Mile High Farmers, it has been time well spent! Thru the group, there are quarterly meetings, farm tours, speakers, etc. It is a great group to meet other urban farmers, collaborate, share information and help each other out when needed. If you are interested in urban agriculture or want to learn more about supporting your local farmer, Mile High Farmers is a great resource.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
As my skills improve and I meet more backyard and urban farmers, I love what I do more and more. There are many people to be inspired by, who are farming along the front range. They are hard working, passionate about what they do and committed to the mission of providing fresh, locally grown food. Added bonus to my new job – I get to work from home and work outside, one can’t beat that scenario.

My first year I cussed frequently and I killed a lot of plants! My operation is very small, maybe 1/8 of an acre, so that makes it much easier than the urban farmers I know with bigger operations. Everything has a huge learning curve from starting plants from seed to learning what will grow where and making sure the soil has all the correct nutrients so the plants will grow. Then there is the weather, especially severe weather like hail storms to worry about, pest/insect management, etc. When I finally do get plants growing, it is always hard for me to thin them out, because it is such an accomplishment to get a full row of carrots or beets or radishes, for example.

Running the farm stand has been a lot of fun, as I am meeting my neighbors and neighbors are meeting neighbors, which is really cool. It is an interesting challenge to know what people will buy and I realize that most people like the basics. But it is fun to try specialty, heirloom seeds from companies like Baker Creek, Johnny’s, Seed Savers, Botanical Interests, to name a few. I send out two emails a week during my farm stand season and I try and highlight one vegetable every email, hoping I can get people to try something new like kohlrabi or pattypan squash.

My biggest challenge with the farm stand is pricing, as produce and products from small farms and producers are, of course, more expensive. There is no way to compete with prices at the commercial shops and even medium-size grocers and certainly not with Walmart and Amazon. For example, I sell a dozen eggs for $6.50 and I should sell them for at least $8 if I want to cover all my costs. But, they won’t sell at $8, especially when you can get a dozen eggs for $3 at a local grocer. But, once someone has eaten a fresh egg, they are willing to pay the $6.50 at least! Fresh eggs are a completely different taste experiences.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
As mentioned, I have a farm stand in my backyard on Sunday mornings and Tuesday afternoons, mid-June – September. At the farm stand, I sell seasonal vegetables, strawberries and flowers that I grow in my garden, as well as eggs from our chickens. I also make gluten-free seed crackers. I sell vegetables from two to three other local urban farms to supplement what I have, plus eggs from two other friends with backyard chickens. I bring in locally grown microgreens, certified organic mushrooms, certified organic plums and apples, honey and jam. I have someone who bakes sweets like raspberry crumble bars and zucchini/chocolate chip mini-loaves. I get small-batch roasted coffee beans and bottled cold brew from a local guy in Golden and I have friends with a ranch in Yuma, CO and I sell their certified grass-fed ground beef. Lastly, my cousin made a calendula hand salve from calendula and lavender she grew in her backyard and we sold that this past summer too. Everyone I buy from grows their produce following organic farming guidelines. Although, not everyone is certified organic, as that is an expensive process. Everyone I buy from has gone through a certification class on food safety and is familiar with the Colorado Cottage Food Act.

I like the idea of providing fresh, locally grown produce and products to my friends and neighbors. The vegetables are harvested one to two days before the market and are as fresh as you can get. Yes, people have many options to shop at farmer’s markets and the many markets we have available to buy fresh local produce, but my advantage is convenience. Unfortunately, I am not known for my produce, but for the raspberry crumble bars that my friend Jen bakes and the chicken eggs. Jen’s crumble bars are addicting!

I am most proud of the fact, that neighbors are meeting neighbors when they stop at the farm stand. It really makes me happy to see customers chatting and making connections or learning the name of a neighbor they have been passing by on the street for years. It was also a very nice “pat on the back” when Goldens,’ Mayor Sloan gave us a shout out, last year.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I am committed to the farm stand for five years. I have three more years to go and then I will re-assess the situation. If I can put five more years in after that, I will be satisfied with my new found career path. I have learned a lot through my Beginning Market Farmer class this year and I look forward to “Season III.” Hopefully, I will be more organized and not kill as many plants!

One idea I am exploring for next year is setting up a self-serve farm stand. Where everything is set up for sale and people pay on the honor system. A couple of people I have talked to have had few problems selling their products this way. I look forward to the experiment.

Pricing:

• Eggs – $6.50 dozen
• Heirloom Tomatoes – $5/lb

Contact Info:

• Address: 1900 Pinal Rd
  Golden, CO 80401
  Farm stand entrance is on the south side of the house.
• Website: www.utmfarm.com
• Email: tbrislin@gmail.com
• Instagram: @utmfarm
• Facebook: @underthemfarm
• Other: Google My Business Under the M Farm Stand

Image Credit:
Photo credits Tammy Brislin

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