Sanders Ridge Organic
Farm produces USDA Certified organically grown vegetables and
herbs for the
Sanders Ridge Food Guild/CSA,
- and in September, we'll be growing for
our restaurant, Home Place 1847, which will be located at
our vineyard and winery just down the road! The Farm
is also involved in
helping other farmers learn
about and transition to sustainable farming and land
stewardship.
Our mission is to
promote by example and through outreach activities -
direct connections between local farmers and local consumers
and build a regional sustainably produced and distributed
food supply that will provide local consumers with
reasonably priced healthy and nourishing food and farmers an
equitable compensation for their efforts.
| Now, in 2008
if the weather isn't WORSE than 2007 (and if the wheel
don't run off) - we will again serve up to 100 Food
Guild members and certify a total of 4 1/2 acres for
organic vegetable, herb, and flower production.
We
thank you for your interest in the Farm and look forward
to serving you this year - either through the Food Guild
- or at our Homeplace 1847 Restaurant (opening in
Sept!)
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About the Farm...
The
Farm business was
established in 2005 as a
CSA
or
Community Supported Agriculture.
We grow a
wide variety of vegetables and herbs on about 3 acres of fields.
Crops are planted in succession in order to provide a continuous weekly supply
of mixed vegetables, and we grow them
organically - which in a
nutshell means without the use of synthetic fertilizers and pest control - utilizing
instead soil
building and integrated cropping techniques, companion planting, and intensive greenhouse
production - all of which help to reduce risk factors for us and our
shareholders and which provides multiple benefits to the soil and the regional
environment.

Visitors are welcome to
visit and wander the farm freely year-round, 9am to 6pm.
(It is a good idea to give us a quick call or email before you
set out though - just to be sure we'll be around to greet you -
as the farm dogs are a little easier to get to know that way...)
A Little
History...
It all started in December 2005,
when Neil Shore
invited me (Cindy
Conti), an organic
grower, to partner with him to obtain USDA Organic Certification
and to produce and sell organic vegetables, herbs, and cut
flowers at his farm.
We started out with about 1/4 of an acre in cultivation and
5 CSA customers.
By the
Spring of
2006 we were
growing on over an acre and serving 40 members as well as The
Kitchen at Elkin Creek! The weather that season was fantastic
and we
delivered vegetables up until the week before Christmas.
The entire season was so awesome.
Interest in the farm and inquiries into
new memberships poured in, sooo - we decided to plow and prepare
2 additional acres and double the number of memberships, which
would have been a fine decision had the Boss (Mother N) not
chosen to make
2007 - The
Year of EXTREMES!

Cindy, Neil, and Even
Photo by John Rolland |
In February 2007
we submitted our application for USDA Organic Certification and
our certificate was awarded in August. (Whew!)
Certification must be renewed yearly - so this July
(2008), we'll go
through it all over again! |
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