We have made a comitment to organic farming.  We believe the earth is a fragile place, and it is our responsibility to be good stewards of our land.  We are commited to growing without the use of pesticides or synthetic fertilizers. The organic certification we maintained for three years gave us a great base to learn from. 

Bees help increase our yields by pollinating crops.  We have two hives which contain more than 20,000 honey bees each.  Most synthetic pesticides don't discriminate between good and bad bugs.  That is one reason honey bees are so threatened in the United States.  Our girls are Italian honey bees.  They are  gentle and hardworking additions to the farm. 

In 2007, we lost both hives of bees.  It was a bad year for bees throughout the country, and unfortunately we were not immune.  No one knows why, but one day all of our bees were gone.  We are starting again this spring with two queens and six pounds of Italian honey bees.

Owning a farm has been a long held dream.  In the spring of 2004, that dream was realized when we purchased 71 acres in eastern Culpeper County, Virginia.  The farm was formed in the late 1800's by combining land from two adjoing farms.  The orginal part of the house was built in the 1890's and added to in the 1920's.  Prior to our purchase the farm had been in the same family for nearly 50 years and was used mainly for cattle and some crops.

The farm is a diverse setting, consisting of forest, scrub, a pond and pasture.  We have a beautiful view of the Blue Ridge mountains. It took most of last summer to bush hog the neglected pastures to begin the recovery process.  Since the soil is a heavy clay, we are using cover crops to add organic matter and break up the soil for organic cultivation.