Frequently Asked Questions
Placing your order online helps you and it helps us! Pre-ordering assures that your produce is harvested and set aside just for you. Your order is harvested before pickup and ready for you at the pickup location.
Pre-orders are open from Wednesday 5:00pm through Thursday 11:59pm every week.
Once your order has been placed, we will send you an e-mail that your order has been confirmed with our address/directions to pickup on Fridays from 4-6pm.
We are part of the Mount Holly Farmer's Market, market pickup is 8:00am-12:00pm through the regular season (May - October) and In the off-season pickup hours are Friday from 6:00pm-6:30pm (November-April).
The easy answer is because we care. We hold true to old ways of doing things with the knowledge of those before us. We farm with our hands. We are continually learning and applying new techniques to our farm to regenerate the land for the next generation. We produce everything we sell, we also eat everything we sell(and we are picky!). We are also a fully transparent farm. Want to see it for yourself? Just reach out, if we're on the farm you are welcome to come down and we will show you the whole process!
Absolutely, however we do ask that you reach out to us before making a drive. We live on our farm/homestead and there are occasions where we may not be available to be on the property to show you around.
After researching and reviewing the requirements we do not feel that organic certifying our farm is beneficial or cost-effective to our mission. Organic standards do not reward innovation or regenerative farming, instead they only label a farm organic once minimum standards are met, promoting complacency. There are large holes in the organic standards that allow sprays, degenerative practices and other unnatural processes. We are happy to have you over to the farm or to talk at the market about our practices and why we believe our produce and eggs are better than organic.
We grow in permanent beds. We do not till, however the soil was inverted during the building of the beds and lime was applied to our acidic soil, but only then. The permanent beds get applications of compost and only compost a few times a year. Our compost is made here from vegetable scraps and materials from the farm. We use seeds that are Organic and Non-GMO when organic is not available. We grow our own transplants in soil from Dirtcraft Organics. Plants are not given any synthetic chemicals of any kind. Our process is natural and at the mercy of the weather and pest pressure, sometimes crops get destroyed by a pest, but we do not kill those pests. Instead we believe in a holistic approach, that a healthy soil will produce healthy plants and a healthy population of life around them that regulates itself. Pest pressure is a sign of an imbalance in the environment and we will look for natural ways to correct the imbalance.
You do not have to wash your produce, we have washed it for you. However, the occasional piece of dirt or a stray bug may be hanging on to your produce(remember we don't use pesticides or insecticides). So do not be alarmed if you find this, simply give it a little wash.
Typically, produce is harvested in the field or tunnel and taken to the wash/pack shed to be washed and packed. Produce is washed with clean UV treated well water that undergoes regular testing(this is our water as well). Wash water is mixed with a bit of vinegar to make double sure everything is clean.
We do not sell lettuce that was harvested last week, that harvested lettuce is composted or fed to our chickens. We recommend that you use your lettuce as soon as you can, lettuce will typically stay fresh refrigerated in its unopened bag for about 7 days from purchase.
Carrot tops can be used to make many different meals, carrot top pesto is just one. Here are a couple resources for some recipes that use your carrot tops: https://ohmyveggies.com/what-to-do-with-carrot-greens-inspiring-ideas/
https://www.thekitchn.com/5-ways-to-eat-carrot-tops-183415
Our salad bags are Home Compostable, they can be composted in your compost pile or you can return them to us and we will compost them. They are made from Non-GMO corn starch from a company in New Zealand we have partnered with Econic.
We feed a Organic, Soy Free feed from Reedy Fork Organic Farm.
Golden Comet Hens
Our hens lay brown eggs, we do not have any plans to purchase any hens that lay colored eggs.
Yes! Absolutely, unwashed eggs are able to be kept at room temperature for up to a month(maybe longer) if they are not washed. Eggs have a protective coating on them that prevents bacteria from contaminating the egg. Once washed the egg's protective coating is lost and the risk of bacteria getting in through the porous egg surface is much greater so they will need to be refrigerated.
