Janet Aardema and Dan Gagnon (Photo courtesy Broadfork Farm)
History: Owners Dan Gagnon and Janet Aardema are the stars of their own farming love story. The two biology graduates, fled to the West Coast post-college and worked on organic farms. At 30, the duo returned to Virginia, transitioning to owners and launching their 2-acre urban farm in 2011. “We decided that Chesterfield needed a farm like ours,” says Aardema, a Richmond native.
Specialties: Broadfork grows 50 to 60 varieties of veggies, herbs and flowers year-round. Salad greens are their forte, and they grow an abundance of kale, arugula, spinach, cabbage and chard, along with squash, peppers, onions and radishes. Their secret weapon: The partners are bakers — they make organic sourdough loaves in a wood-fired oven using wild yeast.
Production methods: Broadfork implements bio-intensive and organic practices using raised beds that contribute to pesticide-free soil. “We want to continue to be in it for the long haul, have a customer base that trusts us and our very deliberate [growing] measures,” Gagnon says.
Where to find: The Farmers Market at St. Stephen’s and Fall Line Farms
