Click here to pre-order for next week’s pop-up market out our farm!  Pick-ups are Saturday, May 2nd from 8:00am-12:00pm.

Today, our “new normal” began, and surprisingly, it was pretty good and the most efficient process that this farm has ever done.  With that said, I think of this quote:

Matt and I weren’t sure how this season was going to go for us, but we are very passionate about what we do.  We are so proud that we found a solution to serve our community nutrient dense, sustainable food in a safe manner.  We are also so humbled by those of you are support our passion, our family farm.

We are planning on doing this again next Saturday!  You can pre-order here for pick-up next Saturday between 8:00am and 12:00pm.  We are only doing pick-ups up at the farm to give Matt a chance to catch up since this year, we will not have a workforce.  We will be at the South of the South of the James Farmer’s Market the following Saturday, May 9th.  We will continue with our pop-up location here at the farm since so many of our neighbors are enjoying it.

We hope to see you next week at our farm and the weeks to come at both the South of the James Farmer’s Market or at the farm as we try to stay innovative in our ways to serve you!

Once again, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your outpouring of love and support!

Next Saturday (April 25th) we will be ready to begin selling!  Matt has been working hard  to get the season started.    As the season continues, we will have more and more varieties of produce to offer as well as higher quantities!  Due to concerns of the virus threat, we have hired no additional workers to help us this year and the entire workload of the farm rests on Matt’s shoulders.  We still have plans to offer great produce selections.

As you know, it is our goal to keep everyone as healthy and we have worked hard to socially isolate so we can continue to produce for you.  As a result, we have come up with this plan.  You will pre-order and pre-pay at our online store by midnight on Wednesday.  We will then harvest your orders and pre-bag them for you to pick up either at the farm or at the South of the James Farmer’s Market.  You will choose your pick-up location when you pay.  You will then come to pick up your order at your selected location on the following Saturday from 8-12.  We will follow this model until the threat of COVID-19 passes.

Please know we appreciate your understanding as we move in to this “new normal”. Our farm will take a beating this year, but your continued support will keep us up and running until we get through this difficult time.

This week has been all about clearing out the greenhouse and transplanting plants in to the soil that Matt has worked hard to prepare.   We begin planting our seeds in February keeping them warm in the greenhouse.  We also send out soil samples during this time to labs.  We want to make sure our soil holds what is needed to grow our most beautiful nutrient dense produce.

 Once the results come in, Matt begins amending the soil following the lab results.  He works the month of March working the soil, prepping the beds all to make it to transplant day!

Transplant day is big!  We wait until the threat of frost is over and plant as much as we can.  Right now, we are planting beets, kale, kohl rabi, onions, various hearty herbs, and broccoli.  We spent the entire week and will spend the weekend putting all of these in to the ground!

Strawberry Flowers

Strawberry Field

Now all we have to do is wait for Mother Nature to do her work and with a lot of love and care from Matt, these beauties will grow in to food that offers pure nourishment!  I am absolutely dying for our salad, arugula, and strawberries!  Hurry up Mother Nature!

COVID-19…..what can I say?  This virus has brought our farm to our knees.  We chose to let our help go before they even got here because we were scared.  What do we do if they get sick?  What if they come sick and get us sick?  What if we don’t make enough money this season to pay the help?  After prayer, tears and more prayer on top of our devoted customers reaching out to us we decided to hold our heads high and JUST DO IT!!!!!  We chose not to have help this year and just do it the way the farm began 11 years ago with just me and Matt!  You know……growers gottta grow……..we are going to GROW for our family and community!

The benefit to working with your local farmers is that less hands touch your food!  The only folks that will be working with your food will be just me and Matt.  We will be harvesting your food as well as filling your orders.  We are dedicated to social isolation during this period because our health hinges on your health.  We are limiting help and volunteers to ensure everyone’s health.  Is it going to be hard,, yes, but my husband is a farmer and I am a principal, hard doesn’t scare us!

We are doing it!  Matt has been working hard preparing our beds.  This week, we will be putting in all the plants we have been growing from the greenhouse and they will grow, grow, grow!

Me potting up pepper plants.

Our salads and arugula have been seeded and we already have such a nice stand!  I can’t wait until they are ready to eat!  I just can’t wait for a fresh salad!  We also have beautiful strawberries in bloom, ready to burst with sweet berries!  We will also have spring onions, green garlic, and asparagus coming so soon!

Strawberry Flowers

The benefits of doing business with us is that only two people will be touching your food, Matt and I.  We are keeping ourselves as isolated as possible because we know our health depends on our ability to grow nutrient dense food for our customers.  So if you are wondering how in the world we are going to get all of this great food to you, we have a plan!!!!!!  You can either become a farm share member and get a pre-loaded gift card and save 10% of your seasonal purchases, or you can get a bag that is filled to the brim of our very best produce!  Most members love this choice!  If you aren’t ready for a commitment, we got that too!  I have created an online store where you can pre-purchase your food.  You will make your selections, select your location (our farm or South of the James) and come through drive-thru style, tell us your name, and will will place a bag in your trunk.  We will have our first harvest the third week of April.  We will start with a few items and as the season grows, so will our item base.

Please know how much we love you and feel your support as our farm, like the rest of us are going through a difficult time.  Please like us on Facebook and Instram blackcreekfarmrva and and follow this blog for up to date information.  It is YOU who are keeping us going right now.  The support we have received from our community, customers, personal chefs, and local groceries have inspired us.  We are JUST DOING IT!  Please join us and watch us GROW!