Location
4590 Deer Bonn Road
Keswick, VA 22947
Owner
Megan Weary
(434) 296-7414
roundaboutfarm@hotmail.com
Website
Products
Seasonal vegetables, flowers
Where to find products
Farmers markets - Charlottesville City Market
Restaurants - Feast!, Hedge, Whole Foods, Revolutionary Soup, L'etoile, Retail Relay, Dominion Harvest, and Harvest Moon Catering
CSA shares - yes (vegetable, student, flower, and working shares)
Recap
If you need vegetables, Roundabout Farm has 'em. Megan and Rob Weary run the 65-acre farm, growing vegetables and flowers outdoors, in two hoop houses, and in a greenhouse, giving them a pretty long growing season. The Wearys are committed to being active in the community; they welcome many visitors, offer very popular CSA shares, work with the University Internship Program run by U.Va. to help teach students about farming, and sell both to many area restaurants and at the Charlottesville City Market. Mrs. Weary was recently named on the list of Up & Comers in the Charlottesville food scene by the C-Ville newspaper.
In addition to maintaining a strong relationship with the people, Roundabout Farm works in concert with the land in order to produce more sustainably. While Roundabout is not certified biodynamic, the Wearys are starting to integrate the principles of biodynamic farming to help grow their operation. They make their own potting soil to keep more control over the entire growing process and often start plants in the greenhouse just as the growing season is starting.
Roundabout Farm produces a wide variety of vegetables and flowers; check their very useful website for lots of information including an abbreviated product chart. You can find their products in local restaurants, at the Charlottesville City Market, or in your weekly CSA box if you buy a share.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Hilldale Farm
Location
2444 Carysbrook Road
Palmyra, VA 22960
Owner
Catherine and David Tatman
(434) 589-2762
Products
Eggs, lamb, beef, hay, pigs (late 2009)
Where to find products
Farmers markets - Fluvanna, Nelson, Farmers in the Park
Restaurants - Georgetown area of Washington, D.C.
CSA shares - no
Recap
Raised on a farm in Missouri, Mrs. Tatman thoroughly appreciates what it means to be a farmer; that it is not merely a job but a lifestyle, and she and her family are willing to impart that knowledge to anyone who will listen. Growing up in the New Jersey suburbs, I only had ideas about what being a farmer would be like. I left Hilldale Farm, the first farm I visited for this project, with a much better understanding of how a farmer lives and an idea of what I will encounter on future visits. Rather than standing still and talking, Mrs. Tatman and I walked a loop around her farm and discussed life on Hilldale Farm.
Mrs. Tatman told me that her father and grandfather instilled in her a strong appreciation for the land on which the farm sits and taught her how it can serve as a strong foundation for any of her endeavors; she, her husband David, and her daughters Rachel and Julia all keep this whole-system approach in mind when working around the farm. The soil on the land the Tatmans bought was so poor that it has taken almost three full years of natural enrichment to get it to where it is today. They brought in a bred of sheep that, while not known as the absolute top-shelf producer of meat or wool, significantly improves the quality of the soil on which it lives. The Tatman family also uses Barred Plymouth Rocks for their production of eggs because they create a much calmer atmosphere within the hen house than the more traditional Rhode Island Red; the Tatmans believe that "happy chickens make great eggs," to paraphrase a popular ad campaign. More importantly for the Tatman family, happy chickens make for calmer farmers.
In addition to lamb and eggs, Hilldale Farm produces beef and certified organic hay, and is going to start producing pigs later this year. You can find Hilldale products at a few farmers markets in central Virginia as well as a growing number of restaurants in the Georgetown area of Washington, D.C.
2444 Carysbrook Road
Palmyra, VA 22960
Owner
Catherine and David Tatman
(434) 589-2762
Products
Eggs, lamb, beef, hay, pigs (late 2009)
Where to find products
Farmers markets - Fluvanna, Nelson, Farmers in the Park
Restaurants - Georgetown area of Washington, D.C.
CSA shares - no
Recap
Raised on a farm in Missouri, Mrs. Tatman thoroughly appreciates what it means to be a farmer; that it is not merely a job but a lifestyle, and she and her family are willing to impart that knowledge to anyone who will listen. Growing up in the New Jersey suburbs, I only had ideas about what being a farmer would be like. I left Hilldale Farm, the first farm I visited for this project, with a much better understanding of how a farmer lives and an idea of what I will encounter on future visits. Rather than standing still and talking, Mrs. Tatman and I walked a loop around her farm and discussed life on Hilldale Farm.
Mrs. Tatman told me that her father and grandfather instilled in her a strong appreciation for the land on which the farm sits and taught her how it can serve as a strong foundation for any of her endeavors; she, her husband David, and her daughters Rachel and Julia all keep this whole-system approach in mind when working around the farm. The soil on the land the Tatmans bought was so poor that it has taken almost three full years of natural enrichment to get it to where it is today. They brought in a bred of sheep that, while not known as the absolute top-shelf producer of meat or wool, significantly improves the quality of the soil on which it lives. The Tatman family also uses Barred Plymouth Rocks for their production of eggs because they create a much calmer atmosphere within the hen house than the more traditional Rhode Island Red; the Tatmans believe that "happy chickens make great eggs," to paraphrase a popular ad campaign. More importantly for the Tatman family, happy chickens make for calmer farmers.
In addition to lamb and eggs, Hilldale Farm produces beef and certified organic hay, and is going to start producing pigs later this year. You can find Hilldale products at a few farmers markets in central Virginia as well as a growing number of restaurants in the Georgetown area of Washington, D.C.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Steve's introduction
Hello!
I'm Steve, a graduate of U.Va. and temporary resident of Charlottesville with a strong interest in, among other things, sustainable food production and food systems. I contacted the Piedmont Environmental Council a few months ago because I really like the work done by the Buy Fresh, Buy Local project and wanted to lend a hand. After meeting with Melissa Wiley, we decided it would be a good idea for me to visit area farms, speak with the owners, and write about my experience. This will obviously help me learn about my interests, but it will also make the names and farms you read about in the Buy Fresh, Buy Local guides even more of a personal feel. I hope to give you summaries about my visits that will encourage you to do a variety of things including, but definitely not limited to, buying CSA shares, patronizing restaurants that use local products, and visiting local farmers markets. I will be leaving Charlottesville at the end of the summer, but I hope to visit a bunch of farms before then and, with some luck, this blog may even continue after I leave town.
With that said, I just have a few notes about how this blog will be organized.
-Every farm that is profiled will come from the Buy Fresh, Buy Local guide published annually by the Piedmont Environmental Council. That can be found at the BFBL website.
-Due to a full-time job and some other obligations, I have relatively limited time to do these visits. I will not be able to see a significant majority of the farms in the guide. I will try to survey a variety of places, but make no promises.
-I use the term "farm" a lot in my introduction. This is merely a convenience on my part because I really want to include restaurants, grocers, cheese-makers, and really anyone in this general area who contributes to the local food supply.
-As you may have noticed, I included the tag "Steve" on this post. I plan to do so on all of my posts. As I stated above, I will not be in town for much longer and this project is that I believe should continue well past then. I would love for your help! If you want to contribute - this summer or beyond - email me at ehsteve7@gmail.com.
That's a pretty thorough run-down of how this blog will be run, but I'll update you if and when any of this changes. I hope you enjoy what I write, but I hope you enjoy your locally-produced food even more. Happy eating!
I'm Steve, a graduate of U.Va. and temporary resident of Charlottesville with a strong interest in, among other things, sustainable food production and food systems. I contacted the Piedmont Environmental Council a few months ago because I really like the work done by the Buy Fresh, Buy Local project and wanted to lend a hand. After meeting with Melissa Wiley, we decided it would be a good idea for me to visit area farms, speak with the owners, and write about my experience. This will obviously help me learn about my interests, but it will also make the names and farms you read about in the Buy Fresh, Buy Local guides even more of a personal feel. I hope to give you summaries about my visits that will encourage you to do a variety of things including, but definitely not limited to, buying CSA shares, patronizing restaurants that use local products, and visiting local farmers markets. I will be leaving Charlottesville at the end of the summer, but I hope to visit a bunch of farms before then and, with some luck, this blog may even continue after I leave town.
With that said, I just have a few notes about how this blog will be organized.
-Every farm that is profiled will come from the Buy Fresh, Buy Local guide published annually by the Piedmont Environmental Council. That can be found at the BFBL website.
-Due to a full-time job and some other obligations, I have relatively limited time to do these visits. I will not be able to see a significant majority of the farms in the guide. I will try to survey a variety of places, but make no promises.
-I use the term "farm" a lot in my introduction. This is merely a convenience on my part because I really want to include restaurants, grocers, cheese-makers, and really anyone in this general area who contributes to the local food supply.
-As you may have noticed, I included the tag "Steve" on this post. I plan to do so on all of my posts. As I stated above, I will not be in town for much longer and this project is that I believe should continue well past then. I would love for your help! If you want to contribute - this summer or beyond - email me at ehsteve7@gmail.com.
That's a pretty thorough run-down of how this blog will be run, but I'll update you if and when any of this changes. I hope you enjoy what I write, but I hope you enjoy your locally-produced food even more. Happy eating!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
