Our local coupon this issue saves you 50¢ on any four inch culinary or medicinal herb from Spring Creek Farm—a small family home­stead in Rochester. Owners Chris Robinson and Melissa Southwick have been providing starts to the Co-op for over 10 years. Theirs is a business built upon ingenuity, experi­ence, and a love of plants.

Since they began in 1996, Chris and Melis­sa have been committed to maintaining a low environmental impact. Both the farm and home operate partially off the grid, us­ing solar power to water the plants. Spring Creek Farm’s growing methods are free from chemical pesticides or fertilizers. They utilize biological controls when they experience rare pest issues, and craft their own organic soil mix.

Chris and Melissa are dedicated to their work and the care they take is evident in the health and quality of their cultivars. They grow about 150 culinary and medicinal herb varieties, including about 25 varieties of lav­ender, many mints, plenty of thyme, and an abundance of harder-to-find medicinal herbs such as motherwort, skullcap, and arnica.

Spring Creek produces any vegetable start you may be seeking, from peas to pumpkins to peppers. They also cultivate fruiting favorites such as blueberry bushes, fig trees, strawberries, and hops. Respect­ing their workers and supporting a strong local economy, they pay their modest 1–2 person staff at $15 per hour.

We hope this coupon inspires you to try growing a new herb, or to finally get that lovely lavender plant you’ve been eyeing.