Our Farming Practices and Philosophy

We grow a wide variety of fruits and vegetables using organic and biodynamic techniques.  This includes using only organic sources (mostly manure, leaf litter, and wood chips produced at the farm) for soil amendment and fertilizer.  Biodegradable cornstarch “biofilm” weed barrier minimizes weeding and warms the soil for early plantings.  We grow cover crops like clover, annual rye grass and soybeans when plots aren’t planted to food crops.  We use techniques like rotating plantings to break pest life cycles, maintenance of habitat for beneficial insects, and rotational or seasonal grazing of paddocks to enhance soil productivity.  As well, drip irrigation provides for precise watering and cold frames (high tunnels) give us season extension of summer crops that need high temperatures. We keep about one hundred laying hens and press apple and pear ciders from our little heirloom orchard.  We also provide pasture for friends in the sheep and goat ranching business and harvest honey from bee hives we keep to help with pollination of all the plants.

In all, we see the farm as an integrated system in which plants, animals and microorganisms in the soil work together to harvest the energy of the sun and the earth.  A bit (let’s be honest, a lot) of hard work allows us to share a bountiful harvest with you.  This allows us to do what is most important around this farm, which is to connect with the people in our community.