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Farm Happenings at Broadfork Farm
While Enjoying Summer, Fall is Growing
Happy August!
It's hot and humid and the vegetables are dense right now - there's not many leafy greens that like to stay alive in this weather. But in the ground are the delights of fall. Cabbage, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Kale, and more are growing right now. It can be a challenge to keep them1 read more »
Dense Vegetables Time of Year
Welcome, August! We are now in the peak of the fruiting season of a vegetable farm in central Virginia. By fruiting, we mean harvesting things with seeds inside of them: Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplants, Beans, and Watermelon are happiest this time of year on our farm. (We wish that Summer Squash and C1 read more »
Dense Vegetables Time of Year
August begins this week! We are now in the peak of the fruiting season of a vegetable farm in central Virginia. By fruiting, we mean harvesting things with seeds inside of them: Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplants, Beans, and Watermelon are happiest this time of year on our farm. (We wish that Summer Squa1 read more »
Past the Hottest Point of the Summer!
We normally flood your emails with pictures from the farm, but today we share this pic from the weekend to show that we are real people - we are not always in the field, and not always with vegetables. As we shared on social media this morning, we have this ridiculous tradition of celebrating1 read more »
Past the Hottest Point of the Summer!
We normally flood your emails with pictures from the farm, but today we share this pic from the weekend to show that we are real people - we are not always in the field, and not always with vegetables. As we shared on social media this morning, we have this ridiculous tradition of celebrating1 read more »
Where Have All the Cucumbers Gone?
Mid July! Heat is really setting in! Some vegetable plants love it, and others despise it. Kale (and Broccoli and Cabbage) are things of the past. We'll see them again in the fall. But even some crops that seem like summer crops are badly damaged by the bugs and fungal disease that thrive in th1 read more »
Where Have All the Cucumbers Gone?
Mid July! Heat is really setting in! Some vegetable plants love it, and others despise it. Kale (and Broccoli and Cabbage) are things of the past. We'll see them again in the fall. But even some crops that seem like summer crops are badly damaged by the bugs and fungal disease that thrive in the he1 read more »
Farm Happenings for July 13, 2019
We are grateful for some rain after these weeks of hot, dry weather! Water from overhead actually causes a lot of problems for plant growth here in our humid and hot climate (wet foliage leads quickly to fungal disease). However, a good soaking from rain is really helpful from time to time. The pla1 read more »
Farm Happenings for July 10, 2019
We are grateful for some rain after these weeks of hot, dry weather! Water from overhead actually causes a lot of problems for plant growth here in our humid and hot climate (wet foliage leads quickly to fungal disease). However, a good soaking from rain is really helpful after a long period of dry1 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.