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About us
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Ever wonder where your food comes from? Not just the country whose name is printed on the label but really where and how? What was sprayed on the soil or the plant that produced the strawberry that looks plastic? Where did the animal whose body nourishes yours grow up and what did it eat? How fairly are the people who grow and harvest your food treated and paid at the prices you pay? What are the climate implications of acquiring the food the way you do? We asked ourselves these questions over 25 years ago and the answers convinced us that growing and consuming clean food is imperative to our family’s moral integrity not to mention Earth's ecological stability.
This commitment crystallized our motivation to not only grow our own food and sell excess but adhere to the Permaculture ethics: people care, Earth care and limit growth/return the surplus. Examples include the green renovation of our historic circa 1890’s home, on-farm biodynamic and organic practices, native conservation landscaping to manage storm water and practical/educational outreach. On our 5 suburban acres bordering Seneca Creek State Park in Darnestown, Maryland, Nature never ceases to amaze our family. Whether we are picking berries, swinging from vines, practicing bush skills, observing plants and animals or just learning from and coexisting in the world beyond our built structure, we feel community and oneness with this 'natural order of things'. We knew foraging could only sustain a small percentage of humans but are always inspired by Nature's bounty and the diversity of foods and medicines that have co-evolved with us to nourish, cleanse and heal our minds, bodies and spirits. Thus, we chose the difficult to cultivate, wild, edible mushroom, Chicken of the Woods, Laetiporus sulphureus, as our farm's name. We found it the first summer we arrived in 2014 and have since harvested annual batches. Our own flock of chickens thrive in their natural habitat, the woods. Descendants of the great Tyrannosaurus rex, they avidly hunt through the understory playing essential roles in recycling bugs to fertilizer and tilling the top layer of detritus into fine humus. These wonders along with so many farm happenings occur with minimal human intervention. We simply with much gratitude, reap the rewards. |
Permaculture
In 2000, Bridgette embarked on her permaculture journey interning at Barking Frogs Permaculture in FL and then Claymont Farm in WV. She completed an online class and began implementing a design on a 63 acre property her and Jesse purchased near Deep Creek Lake, MD. Over the course of 6 years, they spent weekends and vacations working with volunteers, friends and family on restoration, reclaiming and implementation of permaculture design principles. Projects included trash removal, partnering with Trout Unlimited and WVU for acid mine drainage mitigation, pond building, windbreak/fruit/nut tree plantings and the construction of an Earthship Hut (WV earthship hut | Flickr). In 2019, Bridgette obtained her Permaculture Design Certificate from Forested in Bowie, MD. Although is a constant state of revision, the site plan completed during the class drives most of the protocols and decisions on the farm. Techniques and technology are implemented first on a small scale and after observation tweaked for expansion or nixed and replaced in an effort to stack functions, minimize waste (in all forms) and increase/optimize interrelationships between elements. 
Agroforestry/Alleycropping
Committed to a regenerative carbon negative farm model, in May 2023, we received a 3 year $33K grant from the MD Healthy Soil Fund. We propose to implement nine 30'x80' food forest berms/swales throughout 2.75 acres. We will also test combinations of basalt rock dust, charged biochar (made onsite) and compost for carbon sequestration potential while maintaining optimal soil health within a regenerative agricultural model. |
What’s Happening on the FarmEvents
Jan 2021 - Gathering for the start of the Biochar Bonfire
Oct 2020 - High tunnel raising party
Hemp
In partnership with the Biofuels Research Program at Hood College in Frederick, we obtained a permit from the MD Dept of Agriculture in 2019 and 2020 to grow high CBD hemp bud for teas, salves and pre-rolls and sent the leaves and stalks to Hood College and partnering research labs for experiments on ethanol production. 
Biochar Party
Using two years worth of tree trimmings and cleared brush, a group of 15 gathered on a February morning to conduct a biochar burn in our homemade flame curtain kiln. After 5 hours of loading, we quenched the fire from the base up and added bokashi and chicken manure produced on site. The charged biocjar was then hand spread on all beds. |
Fall 2023 - We're Certified!
"The Grassroots Alternative to Certified Organic"
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