By Danielle Ray
Down a winding stretch of idyllic country road in town is a shining beacon of agricultural delight, Fat Daddy’s Apiary, a 24-hour honor system farm stand featuring farm fresh eggs, raw local honey, handmade soaps, bath bombs and dog treats, and more recently a wide variety of hydroponic lettuce, microgreens and sprouts.
Owner Eric Jewett purchased the lot five years ago as an apiary for his honeybees, but it has grown into much more than a home for his buzzing friends.
“I started beekeeping about six years ago and quickly was hooked,” he said. “I bought the lot because I heard the orchard where I kept my bees was going on the market and I had too many hives to keep at my house.”
CREDIT: Danielle Ray
Jewett, who lives in Marlborough, said the inspiration behind the business name comes from a moniker his daughter gave to him.
“My four-year-old daughter gave me that nickname one day and it just stuck, I thought it was perfect,” he said with a chuckle.
Although his neighbors had mixed feelings about the business at first, Jewett said they came around when they saw what he had in mind: a hydroponic greenhouse enabling him to grow fresh produce year-round and a farm stand to sell them in along with all kinds of other goodies.
“The community as a whole has welcomed us and been very supportive,” Jewett said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better bunch of people and love talking to them whenever I get the chance. The community has been really good to us.”
Although soap and honey are some of their best sellers, Jewett said he can barely keep up with the demand for the fresh produce he grows. Every Saturday he plans 72 seeds, moves the same number of seedlings from the propagation area to the nursery, 72 plants from the nursery to the finish area, and harvests the 72 plants that are ready.
“I have everything planted for the next six weeks,” he said, including tomatoes, Asian greens, and a variety of different types of lettuce. Jewett said the red salanova lettuce gets its pink hue from the hot pink LED lights that help the plants to grow and thrive, all without soil. The 12-foot-long by five-foot-wide hydroponic flood table keeps water running constantly through the roots of the plants.
The high-tech greenhouse has controls that regulate humidity and temperature, a carbon dioxide sensor and monitor, and a computer system that continuously monitors the amount of nutrients the plants need. The system adjusts automatically according to the information the sensors get from the computer and relay to the pumps that deliver the nutrients.
CREDIT: Danielle Ray
“Our produce is grown hydroponically using a nutrient film technique, a specialized fertilizer solution custom made for the water we use,” Jewett said. “This solution is pumped through the system 24 hours a day and delivers all the nutrients that the plants need.”
Jewett said with his current set up he can do 26 crop turns per year, which equals around 3,700 heads of lettuce plus other produce. He has plans to add a larger greenhouse and expand the operation this spring to a hydroponic flood table that holds 10,000 plants at a time and convert the current greenhouse to be dedicated solely to microgreens.
“I plan to grow squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, everything you need to make a salad and meals year-round,” Jewett said. “It is important for me to supply fresh local produce because I feel the quality of the produce available especially in winter is substandard. Not only is my produce fresher, but more nutrient rich and better tasting. You will not find anything this nutritious in the grocery store. It also is better for the environment and moves the town of Sterling closer to becoming able to produce all the food residents need right in town.”
To date, Jewett has just about $10,000 invested in the business, which started out three years ago as a plastic table by the side of the road. The business upgraded to a covered cart the second year, and then the wood farm stand crafted from raw wood beams that opened Memorial Day last year.
“If the power goes out the whole crop is lost within a couple hours,” Jewett said, adding that power went out not too long ago and he lost half the plants, which delays his harvest by a couple weeks.
If customers come to the farm stand on a Saturday, chances are the produce was harvested that morning.
“I put out 72 heads of lettuce and they are gone by Monday,” Jewett said. “We realize there is a production gap, we are working on it.”
Because the lettuce and other plants and herbs grown have roots still attached when purchased, they will last much longer than store bought produce – Jewett said about a month in the refrigerator.
CREDIT: Danielle Ray
The farm stand was half the size it is now when Jewett bought it. The seamless addition was done by Sterling resident and carpenter Joe Ruggiero.
“He does phenomenal work,” Jewett said.
“The greenhouse was opened this past December,” he said. “This coming winter we should have a complete line of hydroponic veggies available all year round.”
The cost of heat, propane, electricity, LED and plant nutrients runs him around $500 a month.
Jewett’s family members and their contribution to the business can be seen all around the interior of the farm stand. Birdhouses and other creations by his late father, whom he mentions frequently, paintings on slate and beeswax candles his mother makes, dog treats and essential oils crafted by his sister, soaps handmade by his daughter, and flavored cooking oils and finishing salts Jewett’s son helps him make are featured throughout.
CREDIT: Danielle Ray
“It’s a nice little place, has just about anything you want,” Jewett said. “I am hoping it turns into one of those places people come to get their eggs and a head of lettuce.”
And then of course there are all different flavors and types of honey, some sourced from other parts of the state and region – blueberry and orange blossom – and honey harvested from his own bees.
“You can’t get more local than this,” Jewett said, proudly holding up a glass jar of his amber hued honey.
As of now he has 23 egg laying chickens and wants to bring in 200 more. His dream is to grow Fat Daddy’s into a profitable, shining jewel in Sterling’s agricultural crown; so much so that he can focus on it full time.
“My hope is that I can build my larger greenhouse this summer and build a business supplying fresh hydroponic veggies to the local community year-round and make enough to quit my full-time job and farm full time,” he said. “I love working in the greenhouse as well as working the hives. I guess I just love everything about farming.”
Fat Daddy’s Apiary is located at 132 Chace Hill Rd. For more information follow Fat Daddy’s Apiary on Facebook.
CREDIT: Danielle Ray