Locally Grown Food

When I started my business 18 years ago, I knew there were other chileheads across the US. What a pleasure it has been to discover so many of you share my passion. I prefer not to grow hybrids and favor the superior taste of open-pollinated varieties. Keeping heirloom seeds alive and viable is the key to preserving our biogenetic diversity. The flooding that wiped out my 1998 crop really drove home the point of how fragile an individual seed bank can be. Large commercial agricultural companies focus more and more on hybrids that reduce the varieties the home gardener can try, especially if they wish to try their hand at seed saving. With the controversy surrounding patented and bioengineered seed, I am more than ever committed to preserving and sharing chile seeds. Even though I have bred some of my own varieties, I would never dream of patenting them. Chiles are meant to be shared. Although I do not sell seeds, I am always willing to trade. If you are looking for a type of pepper or are fondly remembering a chile from a past family garden, please let me know. I will do my best to track it down and make it available to chile lovers everywhere.My plants always have been and always will be grown naturally, without any chemicals or pesticides. No federal certification labelling program will change the way that I farm. We have a term in Indiana to describe agricultural products that are produced naturally and sustainably: Hoosierganic. When you see our Hoosierganic logo, you know you are purchasing a product that has been produced with methods to protect our environment and for future generations as well.Products available at the Bloomington Community Farmers Market, and our greenhouse at 1704 Weimer Road.

Set in the rolling hills of South-central Indiana, Strangers Hill Organics is a small farm business specializing in Certified Organic produce. Operated as Strangers Hill by founders Dale and Lee Jones for over 30 years, our farm and greenhouse operation has been Certified Organic since 1989, the oldest continually Certified Organic farm in Indiana. In December of 2007, operations were expanded with the purchase of the historic 80-acre Howard Farm, next door to the original Strangers Hill farm. Joining founders Dale and Lee Jones in the new venture are Rick Dietz, George Huntington, Heather Reynolds and Dave Rollo. Each brings a wide range of experience and expertise. With the addition of new land—continuously farmed since 1816 and just 6.5 miles from downtown Bloomington—we have increased our production significantly and widened our distribution under the Strangers Hill Organics brand. Strangers Hill Organics produce and bedding plants are available from early spring until late fall at your nearby Bloomingfoods Co-op locations, Wholefoods in Indianapolis and at the Bloomington Farmers Market on Saturday and the Tuesday market as well. Taste the best the earth can offer… as local as it gets!

Dome Grown is a small permaculture farm within the city limits on our familys three acres. We use no synthetic chemicals, no-till methods and permaculture techniques to grow a wide variety of produce.