By Kris Goracke

Reporter

For Cody Kurowski, what many might call failure has become his greatest teacher—and the unlikely foundation of a thriving produce farm in Glenwood.

If you look up the definition of failure, you’ll find words like “lack of success” and “falling short.” But for Kurowski, failure has been the seed of creativity, resilience, and remarkable success.

Kurowski is the heart and soul behind North Lakeshore Garden, a local produce farm serving the Glenwood area. He takes pride in sustainable growing practices and produces chemical-free fruits and vegetables that stay fresh longer and taste better.

This summer marks the farm’s fourth growing season, which began with a total loss. In that first year, Kurowski built twenty raised beds, only to see nature take its toll. Flooding and hungry deer left him with nothing to harvest. “My first year was a bust,” he recalls. But instead of giving up, he saw an opportunity to learn. He dove into research, improved irrigation, tiled the land, and erected a fence to keep the deer out.

By the second season, things began to shift. The results were better: a successful carrot crop, though the lettuce struggled. “I learned that lettuce doesn’t like heat and humidity,” Kurowski explains. Undeterred, he built a tunnel (greenhouse) and discovered that lettuce thrives in a controlled environment, even when grown in the ground. This adaptation paid off—lettuce varieties are now the farm’s top crop, prized for their flavor and long shelf life. “People notice the difference in the taste from store bought lettuce,” he says.

In addition to lettuce, Kurowski grows standard hybrids and heirloom tomatoes, which are picked at the first blush and ripened naturally for the market.

Other produce offered includes:

• Baby potatoes

• Garden-fresh and grape tomatoes

• Carrots, onions, and garlic

• Pea pods, kohlrabi, radishes, and beets

• Baby zucchini, bell peppers, broccoli, celery, cucumbers

• Green beans and spinach

To best know what is available, check out the North Lakeshore Garden Facebook page, where weekly updates are posted.

Even though, he has a few years of success in some areas to show, for Kurowski strawberries remain a challenge. “This is my fourth year working on strawberries, and we’re still not as successful as we’d like to be,” he admits. “To help with the heat, I tried white matting but found it wasn’t as effective as hoped, so I am already making revisions as to what I will do next year,” he commented.

Kurowski attributes his progress to a blend of curiosity and learning from failure.

“I do a lot of reading and research and sometimes take online classes, but mainly, success comes from failure.”

His passion for farming and sustainability is rooted in a desire to reconnect with nature. After years in the tech industry, Kurowski purchased a fixer-upper cabin on Lake Minnewaska in 2020 and began exploring homesteading. “I wanted to grow my vegetables and not have to buy from the store,” he recalls.

In 2021, he purchased just over an acre of land behind his home—a plot with poor soil, prone to flooding and drought. “So, obviously, I bought it!” he said.

Building healthy, nutrient-rich soil became his mission. North Lakeshore Garden uses compost and fish emulsion as primary fertilizers, supplemented by dry organic options like feather and alfalfa meal. Synthetic fertilizers are strictly avoided. The farm also practices no-till agriculture, using permanent beds and a broad fork to maintain soil structure and ecology.

Small-scale farming is labor-intensive, but Kurowski sees this as a blessing. “We can steward every square foot of land and bring in people from the community. We get to show a different way to grow food and invite the younger generation back into agriculture.” Every crop is personally inspected, ensuring the highest quality for customers.

Kurowski is not alone in his efforts. Clancy, Cody’s wife of one year now joins him in working on the farm, and together, they have hired a part-time employee to help with the demanding workload.

“Neighbor Geri Krueger and her late husband, Kim Krueger, have been helpful and good neighbors to us as we grow,” he said, expressing gratitude for the support that has helped North Lakeshore Garden thrive.

Today, North Lakeshore Garden flourishes on three-quarters of an acre and offers more than 20 different crops. The farm store, located at 17112 Golf Course Road in Glenwood, is open Fridays from 4–6 p.m. and Saturdays from 8–11 a.m.

For Kurowski, every setback has been a lesson, and every failure a step toward success.

“We love flavorful, fresh, high-quality food and know other folks do too. Our goal is to grow the area’s highest quality, best-tasting fruits and veggies—and failure has been our greatest teacher.”