Meet the Team Behind Our Veggies
The vegetable production department is the largest on our farm. We have 48 acres of land in production and every season we bring in a crew of 20 to make it all happen.
Taylor Henry (left) is our Vegetable Department Manager. He started at the farm eleven years ago as a seventeen-year-old morning harvester. He is joined by Mayah Fischer-Byrne (right), our Veg Processing Lead who has been with us since the fall of 2013 and Tegan Pellerin (middle), our Veg Crew Lead who is marking her fifth season. Together the three of them plan, implement and oversee every aspect of our vegetable and berry production. It is quite the undertaking!
After saying goodbye to the seasonal crew in November they sit down and start the planning process for the upcoming season. Seeds are ordered, planting schedules are finalized, and the hiring process begins. By the time April rolls around the first crew members start to trickle in, the greenhouse is filling with vegetable starts, tomatoes are grafted and the first of the spring greens are in the hoop houses. From May onward the fields are planted in a successive rotation, and harvesting happens daily with the crew out in the fields by 7:15 every morning.
What is your favorite vegetable to grow?
Mayah: My favorite thing to harvest is fennel, leeks and napa cabbage because they grow so well, and it is satisfying to grow a beautiful vegetable.
Tegan: Overall my favorite thing to grow and harvest and eat are pumpkins. They grow fast, I love their vines and picking is fun. I’m always happy in the pumpkin patch.
Taylor: I enjoy growing full season crops like garlic and winter squash. They require a little love in the beginning of the season but then pay dividends when harvested. A little care up front goes a long way.
