Hi, my name is Pedro Guimaraes and I'm the farmer at Bear Swamp Farm CSA. I have been growing organic vegetables for over 8 years and have several years of CSA experience. I am committed to growing vegetables naturally and improving the soil each year while using as little machinery as possible.

My goal is to bring you and your family a diverse variety of the most nutritious and freshest vegetables; all grown naturally and sustainably at Bear Swamp Farm. Growing food is my passion, which I believe is very important for a good harvest.

By joining the CSA you will not just be feeding your family the best locally grown produce, but you will also be supporting local small scale farming as well. Together we will be contributing in a small way to what I believe is the path to sustainability and the betterment of society.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me at info@bearswampfarmcsa.org or call me at 201-574-6194.

Sincerely,
Pedro Guimaraes

In the late 1930's / early 1940's our grandparents, Bill and Marjorie Hosford, fell in love with the property now known as Bear Swamp Farm. At that time it had been split into many undeveloped lots, owned by many individuals. Bit by bit over a 15 year period, Bill & Marjorie purchased all the little lots and pulled them back together into one large rocky, rolling, picaresque forest. They built their retirement home here, created a large vegetable garden on a flat knoll, for Marjorie, and lived the rest of their lives here, passing on the property as a legacy to their children.

In the mid 1960's with the backing of his siblings, their son, Jim, planted the first Christmas Trees in Marjorie's garden, and with the help of his family and a forester, began actively caring for the Forest. They sold Choose & Cut Christmas Trees, periodically had selective cut Timber Sales, and sold firewood.

In the late 1970's the third generation of Hosfords actively began managing the Christmas Tree Plantation and Forest. The New Jersey Forestry Association named the family 'New Jersey Tree Farmer of the Year' in 1987. Throughout the 1980's they expanded the Christmas Tree plantation to 10 acres, in the 1990's they changed their management practices to be organic.

We are very excited about our latest change: taking Marjorie's garden, expanding it, and leasing it to our friend, Pedro, for his CSA. We believe in preserving our legacy, this land, and treating it with the utmost care. We believe that organic sustainable gardening practices, and think that providing good local healthy food couldn't be a better use for the land at this point in time.

-Allison Hosford