ABOUT
In 2014 I was laid off for the third time in eight years from corporate banking environments. The universe led me back to a passion of my youth, organic farming.
delli Carpini farm is an old-fashioned diverse vegetable farm based on the classic American model of the roadside stand and truck farmer. We began using hand-turned wide raised beds on 780 square feet of deer-proof garden in a friend's back yard in Crozier, Virginia. After quickly filling that space, we requested the owner open another 700 square feet of ground, and filled that. We outgrew the space an migrated to an acre of land in Montpelier, Virginia in summer of 2014. After a year of experimentation there, we began farming an acre tract on Trainham Road in Beaverdam District. We now operate the farm on 12 acres of fertile pasture that had been grazed by an herd of organically raised red & white Hereford beef cattle for decades.
We aspire to a closed system and object to the use of black plastic or landscape fabric to suppress weeds, because these products eventually make their way into public landfills and are not bio-degradable. Ideally a true organic farm should not use any petroleum based inputs, including gasoline. We are exploring the possibility of converting our gas tractors to bio-diesel.
We object to corporate control of crop seed and the GMO phenomenon. We are convinced that the widespread use of glyptophosphate ("RoundUp") and chemical pesticides and herbicides are detrimental to human health, beneficial insects, honeybees and water quality. In most cases, we use open-pollinated heirloom varieties and make every attempt to save our own seed for future plantings. Occasionally we will grow an old-fashioned F1 Hybrid.
We believe and implement concepts like companion planting, cover crops and farmscaping. 5% of our farm is planted in plants known to attract and encourage populations of beneficial insects. This year we have noticed that ladybugs seem to prefer habitat that includes what would normally be considered "weeds". Because of this, we make no effort to eliminate weed pressure, just control it so that it does not impact crop yields or success when harvesting. Diversity is natural; mono-crops are fabrications of man.
THE CROPS
Arugula, Asian greens, asparagus, basil, beans, beets, broccoli, broccoli raab, broccolini, burdock, cardoon, carrots, cauliflower, Chinese broccoli, Chinese cabbage, cantaloupe, cilantro, eggplant, elephant garlic, fava beans, garlic, ground cherry, jicama, kale, leeks, lettuce, red, white and yellow onions (including Italian cipollinis), orach (mountain spinach or saltbush), parsley, parsnips, peas, potatoes (including fingerlings), radishes, salsify, scorzonera, shallots, spinach, strawberries, summer squash, sweet potatoes, Swiss chard, tarragon, thyme, turnips, watermelons, winter squash & more.
Last year we began offering burdock and juniper berries to the herbalist trade and will be expanding our offerings into what we are calling an apothecary garden that will include anise, anise hyssop, black cohosh, chamomile, elderberry, elderflower, hyssop, nettle, red clover, rue, spring oats & yarrow.