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Farm Happenings at Broadfork Farm
Farm Happenings for September 25, 2021
The Tomato plants are fading fast, and soon the melt-in-our-mouths meals of roasted Eggplants and Summer Squash will again be memories of a summer past. But we're welcoming the surprisingly sweet Salad Turnips and looking forward to the fall Carrots. This yearly cycle we live out is beautiful and w1 read more »
Farm Happenings for September 22, 2021
The Tomato plants are fading fast, and soon the melt-in-our-mouths meals of roasted Eggplants and Summer Squash will again be memories of a summer past. But we're welcoming the surprisingly sweet Salad Turnips and looking forward to the fall Carrots. This yearly cycle we live out is beautiful and w1 read more »
Farm Happenings for September 18, 2021
We're excitedly in the countdown to REAL fall now here on the farm! With the Fall Equinox less than a week away, we get a little giddy. AND our family got to sneak up to the mountains last weekend for a very brief Saturday afternoon-Sunday afternoon camping trip, complete with a lovely fire pit Sat1 read more »
Farm Happenings for September 15, 2021
We're really in the countdown to REAL fall now here on the farm! With the Fall Equinox about a week away, we get a little giddy. AND our family got to sneak up to the mountains for a very brief Saturday afternoon-Sunday afternoon camping trip, complete with a lovely fire pit Saturday evening and cr1 read more »
Farm Happenings for September 11, 2021
The Lettuce and Fall crops are finally loving their growing conditions! These recent days of cooler weather have been glorious - for plants and farmers alike. We took Labor Day at half speed with most of our staff enjoying the day off while Dan and I (Janet) did the most necessary chores, and Julie1 read more »
Farm Happenings for September 8, 2021
The Lettuce and Fall crops are finally looking like they love their growing conditions! These past few days of cooler weather have been glorious - for plants and farmers alike. We're taking Labor Day today at half speed with most of our staff enjoying the day off while Dan and I do the most necessa1 read more »
Farm Happenings for September 4, 2021
Even with many area students back in school already and the drop in temps after the storm Ida that moved through, Summer is still with us! Our first round/early season Tomatoes did terribly this year, so we poured extra energy into our later rounds of Tomato plantings and we are delighted that1 read more »
Farm Happenings for September 1, 2021
Even with many area students back in school already, Summer is still hot and real! We were reflecting recently about how different many things (including carbon emissions) would be if communities ate seasonally. Now is the time to eat "deconstructed" salads of chopped seasonal vegetables. (We have1 read more »
Farm Happenings for August 28, 2021
Even with this week as Back to School Week for many area students, Summer is still hot and real! We were reflecting recently about how different many things (including carbon emissions) would be if communities ate seasonally. Now is the time to eat "deconstructed" salads of chopped seasonal vegetab1 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.