February 4, 2023 Rebecca Katzer-Rice plants fresh cut flowers at Moonshot Farm in East Windsor, New Jersey, in a geothermal heated greenhouse. NJ Advance Media by NJ.com
A Brooklyn couple with no farming experience thought it would be fun to live on a farm, not to mention raise a few chickens and grow peas in their garden.
In 2019 they moved to East Windsor with their young daughter Rose and opened Moonshot Farms on 9.5 acres.
“We planted 40,000 tulips and then thousands of ranunculi, anemones, freesias and other special flowers,” said Rebecca Kouzelis, co-owner of the farm with her husband Mark Ginsberg.
“I always joke that I spent my whole life protecting financial services for Russian hackers, but growing flowers is much harder, harder and harder to master,” says Kutzer-Rice, Ginsberg is a carpenter, and Kutzer-Rice – Rice worked in the field cybersecurity, but resigned on January 1st. Both are now full-time farmers.
Anemone flowers at Moonshot Farm grow in a geothermal heated greenhouse on February 5, 2023 in East Windsor, New Jersey. NJ Advance Media by NJ.com
“Each plant has unique requirements. We grow over 200 types of flowers,” says Kutzer-Rice. How to plant, when to harvest, and consider the unique needs of each flower, she says. They are not certified organic but use organic methods which is really hard.
“We share flowers in the middle of winter, which is really wonderful. So I would say these are the most sustainable flowers in New Jersey because they are all grown without chemical pesticides or herbicides,” said Katzer-Rice.
“Now we have geothermal energy, so the carbon footprint is very low. We were inspired to start doing this after we learned that Valentine’s Day red roses have the highest carbon footprint of any food,” adds Katzer-Rice.
The farm received USDA funding through the Rural America Energy Program to install geothermal power. Grants under the Inflation Reduction Act and new tax credits cover about 60 percent of the plant’s roughly $100,000 cost.
“It basically consists of one long horizontal ring in the ground. So most people think geothermal will be very low and deep, but it’s only about 8 feet deep, and it’s much more economical,” Katzer-Rice said.
Flowers for sale at the farm at Moonshot Farms. Some flowers grow in a greenhouse heated by a geothermal heating plant on February 5, 2023 in East Windsor, New Jersey. NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
“The loop was filled with pipes filled with non-toxic antifreeze, and then heat pumps were installed in the greenhouse. It gets very hot in the greenhouse during the day, right? Because it’s a greenhouse. The system doesn’t really let all the air out, and those are the pipes that trap it and pump the heat back into the ground, and then at night, when it’s very cold outside, it pumps the heat back into the greenhouse, and we’re pretty sure this is America’s first geothermal greenhouse for cut flowers,” added Katzer-Rice.
“So we had a very cold front last night and the geothermal greenhouse held the heat better than anything else,” Katzer-Rice said.
“Most people who grow in greenhouses during the winter have to use fossil fuels to add a lot of heat, and that works without fossil fuels,” added Katzer-Rice.
Anemone flowers at Moonshot Farm grow in a geothermal heated greenhouse on February 5, 2023 in East Windsor, New Jersey. NJ Advance Media by NJ.com
“The flowers are absolutely amazing, you won’t find them anywhere else,” said Maria Kilar, who stopped by to pick flowers for her mother. She chose a bouquet of freshly cut tulips.
“I love that they grow close to home,” says Allison Koari from Manalapan, who wants to stay every week.
“Usually a bouquet costs over $20, which is definitely more expensive than flowers from a grocery store, but they have an amazing moral story,” Katzer-Rice said, adding: “Our employees get a living wage and when they grow it without chemicals, without plastic , they smell better, have a longer shelf life, and you can’t buy them at the grocery store.”
“Because the flowers are ready for sale a day or two after they are cut, they last longer in the vase,” says Mark Ginsberg.
The 2023 Bouquet of the Month Club is sold out at $35 per month, but subscriptions will reopen in the fall.
The Farm Stand is open every Sunday and Valentine’s Day. They are also sold at West Windsor Farmers Market and Union Square Farmers Market in Manhattan.
“I used to think that growing flowers was pretty boring compared to growing food, but now that I see the joy on people’s faces, I realize it’s a very rewarding job,” Katzer-Rice said.
Moonshot Farm flowers grow in a geothermal-heated greenhouse on February 4, 2023 in East Windsor, New Jersey. New Jersey Advance Media
Anemone flowers at Moonshot Farm grow in a geothermal heated greenhouse on February 5, 2023 in East Windsor, New Jersey. NJ Advance Media by NJ.com
Moonshot Farms co-owner Rebecca Katzer-Rice cuts flowers grown in a geothermal-heated greenhouse February 5, 2023 in East Windsor, New Jersey. NJ Advance Media by NJ.com
Anemone flowers at Moonshot Farm grow in a geothermal heated greenhouse on February 5, 2023 in East Windsor, New Jersey. NJ Advance Media by NJ.com
Anemone flowers at Moonshot Farm grow in a geothermal heated greenhouse on February 5, 2023 in East Windsor, New Jersey. NJ Advance Media by NJ.com
Rebecca Katzer-Rice handing over freshly cut tulips to her husband Mark Ginsberg. Moonshot Farms flowers grow in a geothermal heated greenhouse on February 4, 2023 in East Windsor, New Jersey. NJ Advance Media by NJ.com
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Post time: Feb-16-2023