Local Grain
from the rolling hills of Germansville, PA pronounced with a hard G

One of the forerunners of local small scale farming in the Lehigh Valley, Teena Bailey, owner of Red Cat Farm grew mixed vegetables for close to 20 years until an Extension agent suggested she should cover crop her vegetable area. Teena planted a cover of red fife wheat, but when it came time to till it under, she thought it was so beautiful and let it go to seed. Her foray into growing wheat has turned into her niche, providing local expertly-milled heirloom grain products that are sought after by all kinds of Lehigh Valley bakers.

Teena grows heritage grains and wheats, which are old-standing strains that have not been hybridized or much altered for mass market production. In some instances, these varieties of wheat are more easily tolerated by people with gluten sensitivities. Of course these varieties are free from GMOs and are not sprayed with harmful chemicals. They are mechanically harvested when naturally ripe, not sprayed with herbicide to hasten maturity which is better for people and the planet. The grains are then milled locally into a fluffy, light flour that bakes up beautifully.

Teena's high quality Spring starter plants can be found almost exclusively at the Mill in Germansville from mid-April until June. Cold hardy crops only until Mid May when it is appropriate to plant everyone's favorite warm weather crops like tomatoes and peppers.

"I look forward to visiting every spring to get my garden starts! Best quality around, and always something new and interesting." Brian Heft

"I love that these are organic and so reasonably priced. Tina has everything you could want for whatever size garden you have." Sharon Wagner

"Plants are grown for this zone." Kay Louise

For further reading:

Morning Call Article 2013