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Farm Happenings at Broadfork Farm
Wrapping Up Spring...for 6.1.2019
The meteorological end of Spring and beginning of Summer is upon us! We got what Broccoli we could out of the field yesterday, and Tomatoes are starting. (Not many this week, but this is the start!) Four points of logistics for you today:
- If you get TOMATOES or FLOWERS or of course BREAD in1 read more »
Memorial Day on the Farm...
Today we are being mindful of our gratitude for those that Memorial Day honors while also carrying on the farm work that needs doing. Weather has hit a sweet spot that's allowed our planning for early Tomatoes and spring Broccoli to work out, so we harvested both this morning. Note that we like pic1 read more »
Farm Happenings for May 25, 2019
Summer weather is hitting us fast this week, and we're hoping the lettuces, cabbages, and broccoli can survive it. Those crops tend to turn unharvestable in very hot weather. So, we'll be soon be harvesting all the lettuce that is ready to eat and crossing our fingers for the cabbage and broccoli.1 read more »
Farm Update for May 22, 2019
Summer weather is hitting us fast this week, and we're hoping the lettuces, cabbages, and broccoli can survive it. Those crops tend to turn unharvestable in very hot weather. So, we'll be harvesting all the lettuce that is ready to eat and crossing our fingers for the cabbage and broccoli. The Spec1 read more »
Spring Unfolds Deliciously
Pictured are Garlic Scapes, an option for you this week. They are only in season for about 2 weeks each spring, and they are the tender tops of our garlic plants. Cook them as you would asparagus...grill, oven bake on a sheet, or saute in a pan. They have asparagus texture but garlic flavor. 1 read more »
Abundance!
Shares are bigger this week! Thank you for your patience last week while our harvest was slim. Now we have so much! If you ever want to get less in your share, you can swap for a "Donation to the Food Bank" and we will donate vegetables to the St. Stephens Food Bank for you. And - a note about PREF1 read more »
First Farm Share Saturday!
Welcome to our main season Farm Share! PLEASE look at your default items and make changes if you'd like. **We want to make all options available to everyone - including Plants, Breads, and Donating to the Food Bank, Honey, & Herbal Salve. But that means the software sometimes plunks those items1 read more »
About the farm
Owned and operated by Janet Aardema and Dan Gagnon, Broadfork is a small family farm in Chesterfield, VA providing the metro-Richmond area with Certified Naturally Grown vegetables, herbs, and flowers.
We use traditional European methods of biointensive, raised bed production while maximizing soil and plant health for nutrition and sustainability. No synthetic/chemical fertilizer, pesticide, herbicide, or fungicide is ever used in any part of the process of growing your food. Everything we sell is grown by us, and we farm full-time, supporting ourselves and our four children through our farm business.
Growing practices at Broadfork utilize only ecological methods: compost, cover crops, organic fertilizer, and minerals are used to feed the soil that feeds our plants. Raised beds are used to prevent soil-compaction, allowing for happier plant roots. We use organic potting soil and fertilizer, as well as amendments like fish emulsion and sea minerals. No chemical fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides, or pesticides are ever used on your food and we are Certified Naturally Grown (which follows the same national standards used for Organic Certification). We are also proud members of the Virginia Association for Biological Farming and Slow Food RVA. Janet and Dan both hold Bachelor’s Degrees in Biology from Davidson and Lafayette Colleges, respectively. Janet holds a Master’s Degree in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. We both thrive on putting our biology backgrounds to use in a farm setting and share a passion for farm education.
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We use traditional European methods of biointensive, raised bed production while maximizing soil and plant health for nutrition and sustainability. No synthetic/chemical fertilizer, pesticide, herbicide, or fungicide is ever used in any part of the process of growing your food. Everything we sell is grown by us, and we farm full-time, supporting ourselves and our four children through our farm business.
Growing practices at Broadfork utilize only ecological methods: compost, cover crops, organic fertilizer, and minerals are used to feed the soil that feeds our plants. Raised beds are used to prevent soil-compaction, allowing for happier plant roots. We use organic potting soil and fertilizer, as well as amendments like fish emulsion and sea minerals. No chemical fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides, or pesticides are ever used on your food and we are Certified Naturally Grown (which follows the same national standards used for Organic Certification). We are also proud members of the Virginia Association for Biological Farming and Slow Food RVA. Janet and Dan both hold Bachelor’s Degrees in Biology from Davidson and Lafayette Colleges, respectively. Janet holds a Master’s Degree in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. We both thrive on putting our biology backgrounds to use in a farm setting and share a passion for farm education.