Ryan Crocker pointed to the broccoli, turnips, radishes, lettuce and onions that filled a table at Saturday's Local Food Festival and Art Exhibition.
"It's amazing, you know, what we can grow right here," said Crocker, who owns Earthwise Gardens.
He gets his produce locally, within 100 miles, and regionally. If it's not available from Texas, he gets it from California.
"But it's always organic," he said.
Saturday's festival was a preview for the business, which will be located at 728 N. Elm St. once Crocker gets everything set up. The money he raises will help buy the equipment he needs to open the shop.
"We'll be selling all this stuff you see today - all of this local produce," Crocker said.
He grows some of the vegetables and fruits on a quarter-acre he owns in Denton, but he doesn't know how much of his own produce will be sold at the shop, which he hopes to open in March.
"It's hard for me to estimate because season by season it changes," he said.
Because he doesn't have a storefront yet, Crocker has been selling produce at the Denton Community Market, which runs every Saturday from May to October.
Barbara Halbert met Crocker at the weekly market. She joined his community-supported agriculture network, which means she gets fresh produce from him once a week on Saturday.
"It's fabulous because everything we've gotten from him lasts longer than what you get from the regular grocery store," she said.
"The carrots are awesome," her daughter, Amanda, added.
Halbert also recommended the organic meat from Hudspeth Farm in Forestburg that Crocker sells. The farm offers grass-fed beef as well as pastured poultry and pork.
Dale and Linda Hudspeth, who own the farm, said their meat is served at the Wildwood Inn in Denton.
"We use organic methods," Dale Hudspeth said. "Healthy soil makes healthy grass, which makes healthy animals, which makes healthy people that eat the animals."
Despite the temperatures, which were in the 30s Saturday, people brought out their children and dogs to buy organic produce, listen to music and see the art on exhibit inside the building, which is not yet ready for occupancy. More than 100 people came through in the first couple hours of the event. During the festival, Crocker helped customers pick out produce and advised them how cook certain vegetables.
Christina Trevino, Crocker's wife, said they expected at least 850 to come out on Saturday based on sales through Groupon, a daily deal website.
Crocker, who graduated from the University of North Texas, previously lived in Santa Fe, N.M., where he began organic farming. He decided to return to Denton with his wife and children last year.
"It's home," Crocker said. "I've got kids, and I wanted them to be in Denton."
RACHEL MEHLHAFF can be reached at 940-566-6889. Her e-mail address is rmehlhaff@dentonrc.com.
ON THE WEB
Earthwise Gardens: www.earthwise-gardens.com
