Hi WWOOFers! My name is Seth, and my wife Mae and I own a small family farm in Orange County, NY located in the Hudson Valley. During the summer months, we primarily produce fruits, vegetables, cut flowers, eggs, and honey, which we sell through our farm stand located on our farm. We have two Labrador Retrievers who live with us (Monty and Emma). We started our farm about 5 years ago, and have slowly grown each year. From day one, we've been committed to growing everything organically. It's challenging, but our goal is to produce low-carbon, healthy, organic products for our community. As we develop our farm, we plan to add livestock, ideally grass-feed sheep, which we will allow us to close the loop and produce sufficient quantities of on-site compost, which we then incorporate back into our crop fields. We currently grow tomatoes, peppers, onions, cucumbers, zucchini, summer squash, sweet corn, potatoes, garlic, onions, shallots, green beans, kale, beets, celery, watermelon, cantaloupes, pumpkins, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, rhubarb, asparagus, cut lavender, cut sunflowers, and other products. We have a flock of laying hens and ducks, which free-range on an approximately 1/2 acre pasture. Currently, we have approximately 1 acre in vegetable production, including a high tunnel and hoop house. We also have a small u-pick operation we are developing, as well as a small fruit-tree orchard.
A typical day on the farm begins around 7 or 8 AM with a quick inspection of the crop fields. This often dictates what the day's tasks include, such as where weeds may need to be pulled or if pests/disease need to be addressed on the crops. Three days a week we harvest crops and then stock the farm stand (currently Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays). In the future, we may be participating in on or more of the local farmers markets as well. About once a week or every other week, I tend to our beehives. We have about a dozen beehives that help us pollinate our crops. They also produce some of the tastiest honey around. Much of the work on the farm is weeding, harvesting, and planting, especially during the summer months from June through September. During our busy season (mid June through September) we ask that WWOOFers stay for at least a week.
Our farm is on a very unique property nestled in the Hudson Valley of New York. We have a primary house on the property which we live in, but we also have a recently renovated guest house as well, which is where we host WWOOFers. The guest house has two separate living spaces: a downstairs unit which is a stand-alone efficiency apartment complete with a king-size guest bed, en suite bathroom, and small living area with a television, fireplace, sitting area, etc. There is a second unit as well on the second floor which has a kitchenette, a second bathroom, bedroom, sleeping loft, dining nook, and living room. The guest house has two balconies that overlook the nearby creek. We would be happy for WWOOFers to use the kitchen and living spaces in the main house (which is approximately 100' away) for meal preparation and dining as well. During the summer months, we incorporate our fresh farm products into our meals when and where we can.
We also have a swimming pool on our property which our WWOOFers would be welcome to use, as well as a half-court basketball court. We are situated right along-side a small creek which affords incredible bird-watching, fishing, and kayaking opportunities as well.
We enjoy walking our dogs, cooking, traveling, and outdoor activities such as hiking, swimming, fishing, and bird-watching. Pretty much every day after the work is done I go for a swim in our pool with our dogs. Here in the Hudson Valley, there are tons of outdoor activities nearby. We have wineries, distilleries, and breweries all around us. We're also about a 75 minute train ride from New York City. I'm an avid NYCFC fan, so I try and catch a soccer match or two each season.
Both my wife and I are learning Italian, and would love the opportunity to host Italian speaking WWOOFers. We absolutely love Italy, and hope to one day live there. In the mean-time, we travel there as often as we can.
Read more
Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Fruit or nut farming
Poultry farming
Beekeeping
Flower farming
Meat processing
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Green Building
Renewable energy production
Methods or systems
Biological pest control
Biodynamic agriculture
Holistic management
Regenerative agriculture
Host type
Production farm
11.3
Hectares
|
28
Acres
