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Farm Happenings at Broadfork Farm
Farm Happenings for June 2, 2021
Finally the rains fell! It's not usually so dry in May, but this year it was. After a saturated winter of above-average rainfall, May saw us dry. This weekend's rains were a relief for our plants, though it also means all the weeds just got a boost and will explode this week! We've had a motto this1 read more »
Farm Happenings for May 29, 2021
Whooo it has gotten hot and dry on the farm so quickly! It's amazing how fast things change sometimes. Thought we got a tiny bit of precipitation last night, we have been hustling to try to get everything irrigated, and our water pump broke last week and eluded repair as of yet. If we can keep thin1 read more »
Farm Happenings for May 26, 2021
Whooo it has gotten hot and dry on the farm so quickly! It's amazing how fast things change sometimes. We are hustling to try to get everything irrigated, and our water pump broke and eluded repair as of yet. If we can keep things watered (and if we can get some regular, gentle, rains), the crops a1 read more »
Farm Happenings for May 22, 2021
Here is your Farm Share email for this week! Spring is progressing nicely on the farm and we are happy with how most things are growing.
For some of our every-other-week members, this is your first share. Here's a repeat of information from last week's email to help everyone with the technica1 read more »
Farm Happenings for May 19, 2021
Here is your Farm Share email for this week! Spring is progressing nicely on the farm and we are happy with how most things are growing.
For some of our every-other-week members, this is your first share. Here's a repeat of information from last week's email to help everyone with the technica1 read more »
Farm Happenings for May 15, 2021
Happy First Farm Share!
MOST IMPORTANT Reminders: At our self-serve pick up sites, find the share WITH YOUR NAME ON IT, and then LEAVE US THE EMPTY GREEN BOX. You simply take the contents of the box, plus anything you've ordered that is packed separate from the green box (ie: Bread,1 read more »
Farm Happenings for May 12, 2021
Happy First Farm Share!
MOST IMPORTANT Reminders: At our self-serve pick up sites, find the share WITH YOUR NAME ON IT, and then LEAVE US THE EMPTY GREEN BOX. You simply take the contents of the box, plus anything you've ordered that is packed separate from the green box (ie: Bread, Flowers,1 read more »
Digital FarmStand for Sat., May 8
The farm is bursting with abundance this week! Here is your chance to order a one-time share of vegetables, plus options for Breads, Herbal Gift Sets from Gathered Threads Farm in Nelson County, super delicious fermented vegetables from Gathered Threads, eggs from Steve Ault, and flowers from our f1 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.