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Farm Happenings at Broadfork Farm
Second Half of April...Main Season on the Horizon
Our main season is just on the horizon! This week's share is the last of our "Winter Farm Share" season. Thank you so, so much for joining us for this inaugural Winter Season and first run with the Harvie software. We hoped you've enjoyed the vegetables (and bread) and the process. If you haven't s1 read more »
The Farm, the First Week of April
Hello from your vegetable farmers! We're welcoming in April and feeling grateful for the bit of a dry spell we have gotten. There's a lot of work in the fields that we can't do unless the soil is dry enough. Plus...the company that put up our new deer fence three weeks ago could only finish 751 read more »
Real Spring!
The spring equinox and the start of our new crew members both happen this week! Farm work cranks up a notch every year at this time, and then cranks up yet another notch in April and then again in May. May through September is a sustained wild ride here on the farm. So, we are taking deep breaths t1 read more »
March Mudness?
Welcome to March! Our 2019 crew is rolling in, plants are growing, and the mud is not yet receding. We may be sobbing from drought conditions this summer, but for now we continue to wish for the ground to dry out a bit. It still too wet to do much of anything in our fields, which we are sad about.1 read more »
Farm Happenings for February 21, 2019
Welcome to the second half of February! Virginia has brought us some hints of spring, but we know they are just hints and not the real deal. We'll stick to our planting schedule and not get lured into planting out tender crops early!
Farm energy is starting to shift, as we are now actively car1 read more »
What's Going On at the Start of February?
Well, we could have provided you with a gorgeous photo of the Arugula that is growing *right now* and waiting to be cut for your enjoyment this weekend, but instead we have this fabulous photo of the two of us being silly with an Emu egg that our neighbor dropped off this afternoon. Our neighbor ha1 read more »
Farm Happenings as of Jan 22, 2019
It's nearing the end of January and we still have a delicious variety of vegetables to harvest! We still don't know what February will bring, but historically the increasing amount of daylight this time of year makes our plants pretty happy. Now, 16 degree mornings put the plants into a dormancy, s1 read more »
Winter Farm Shares for 1/10 and 1/12
Happy New Year! The mild weather has allowed our vegetables to grow nicely, so we have a delicious selection available for you this week. There is colder weather in the forecast, which means we may lose our more tender greens. We shall see! Enjoy this goodness while it's here.
For those of yo1 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.