Astarte Farm

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Hadley, MA
Astarte Farm

Astarte Farm is a 3.5 acre certified organic, no-till/no-spray farm in Hadley, Massachusetts. Why No-Till?

We offer high-quality seasonal fruits and vegetables for wholesale and delivery throughout the year in addition to a CSA. Astarte Farm is one of the valley's first 100 percent no-till commercial growers with a strong emphasis on creating pollinator/predator habitats. Tilling is the process of turning the soil prior to planting which is used in conventional farming to control weeds and prepare the

ground for planting or seeding. According to the USDA, "intensive soil tillage can increase the likelihood of soil erosion, nutrient runoff into nearby waterways, and the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. A reduction in how often or how intensively cropland is tilled enables the soil to retain more organic matter, which leaves the soil less susceptible to wind and water erosion and helps store, or 'sequester,' carbon." No-till focuses on restoring organic matter and biodiversity to the soil. Increased biodiversity means a more balanced ecosystem that provides a habitat for beneficial insects, earthworms, and mycelium. By not disturbing the soil, complex root systems are left intact that act as breeding grounds for fungi and other organisms. Encouraging biodiversity allows for a more complex soil composition that is resistant to extreme weather. No-till soil retains moisture during times of drought and absorbs water during times of flood, making it more resilient to climate change.

03/11/2025

This sunny day has us dreaming of blueberries, especially because we are finally DONE pruning the patch 🎉🫐 we did a lot of the pruning in the snow this year so it was nice to round it out with the birds chirping!

We are officially down to 8 CSA shares remaining for the 2025 season - link in bio to signup! In addition to the weekly box of washed produce, CSA members have access to pick-your-own throughout the season. In addition to blueberries, we have raspberries, blackberries, black raspberries, strawberries, husk cherries, tomatillos, San Marzanos, flowers, greens, peas, beans, herbs galore…imagine a weekly ritual of picking a fresh bouquet of flowers for your home and munching on sun warmed blueberries straight from the branch 😌 I CAN’T WAIT!

03/03/2025

Another year, another no-till workshop with Ellen and !

“Learn about the benefits of no-till gardening practices from Ellen Drews, Manager of Astarte Farm, a no-till, no-spray, certified organic farm. Ellen will discuss how no-till practices support the production of nutrient-dense veggies and help growers adapt to climate change. Attendees will walk away with concrete ideas and tips for preparing beds, planting and mulching with no-till techniques in their home gardens this year.

Topics covered will include:
- Benefits and guiding principles of no-till farming
- How to create beds from scratch without tilling
- How to manage weeds and moisture with mulch
- Discussion of other no-till tools and resources”

This is a FREE VIRTUAL event, follow the link in our bio to register and we’ll see you there 🙂🌻🌱

02/24/2025

Name! That! Sprout! First two seedings of the year have popped, do you recognize these lil guys? Hard to imagine that in a few short weeks the greenhouse will be full! Next steps: digging out all the greenhouse doors so we can actually get in without squeezing 😅🫶

02/20/2025

In honor of Black History Month we are celebrating a pioneer of community supported agriculture, Booker T. Whatley 🌱 In the 1960s & 70s, Whatley recognized that black farmers weren’t making money from wholesale farming. As an author, horticulturist, and professor at Tuskegee University in Alabama, he developed a plan that he considered essential for successful farming. Two of his concepts were a “Clientele Membership Club” and “pick-your-own” where members pay a fee upfront to pick their own produce for the duration of the season.

Many local farms offer one or both of these models, often under the term CSA (community supported agriculture) because by collecting membership fees upfront, farmers are able to purchase the seed and equipment needed for the season. It also massively reduces the waste of mildly imperfect produce that can’t go to wholesale. Members benefit from overall cheaper, local, and often chemical free produce & an opportunity to get outside to enjoy the farm with the folks growing their food!

Booker T. Whatley also created a prototype for a 25-acre family farm capable of providing a gross income of $100,000 a year, which he supervised at Tuskegee Institute. He has originated 5 sweet potato and 15 muscadine grape varieties, written more than 40 scientific papers, been elected a fellow of American Society for Horticultural Science and been honored by Alabama State Legislature.

Only 2% of farmers in the U.S. are black yet modern day sustainable agriculture is often rooted in Afro-indigenous tradition. This vital truth is often left out of the story and forgotten; it is our responsibility to keep this history alive. So let’s celebrate Booker T. Whatley! His revolutionary ideas have allowed thousands of people to get to know the farmers growing their food and reap the benefits from delicious local produce.

This info was pulled from a 1982 interview with Whatley on Mother Earth News and the Glynwood Center for Regional Food and Farming. For more black history check out the book “Farming While Black” by Leah Penniman from 🌻

*FYI: WE ARE DOWN TO 10 CSA SHARES LEFT! Link in bio!*

02/06/2025

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for some cozy off season hot cocoa in the snow, but I can’t lie - I’m so excited to eat a fresh veggie straight outta the ground! We have started blueberry pruning and I love seeing the farm in the snow while looking out and remembering the lush butterfly filled flower beds, the smell of tomatoes and basil, the crunch of a fresh bean…warms my lil heart.

We still have some CSA shares available, join us! As one CSA member said, “It’s not just a pick up, it’s a spiritual part of our week to experience what is there to receive and glean,” and I couldn’t agree more - and it feels extra spiritual in this day and age to gather and grow. We look forward to harvesting strawberries and herbs along side you and celebrating the summer solstice and fall harvest with potlucks 💗 we hope to see you all soon, link in bio to signup!

02/05/2025

THE PROMISED LAND! Six years in and Ellen and I finally got around to redoing the greenhouse floors. Truly makes my little heart sing 🤩 In the process of moving the tables in and out we also realized that changing the tables from horizontal along the sides to vertical down the middle makes the space feel twice as big and will also make watering a dream as we won’t have to be weaving in and out of tables. That’s one of those things that you just have to laugh about, only took six years for us to notice! All that to say that we are about to have the best greenhouse year yet. Starting to seed next week, can you believe it!! First up are scallions and lettuce, woot woot.

01/27/2025

As you shop for your CSA, checkout these snippets from Ellen about what no-till means and why we grow using these practices even though it’s tricky! This is from an interview with River Valley Co-op from 2023 and it all still rings true. As River Valley summarized: “Their practices are rooted, literally, in leaving the roots alone and letting things go their own way with no-till, a forward-thinking farming philosophy that intriguingly reverts back to the natural order. They let the existing ecosystems dictate the conditions for everything they grow, resulting in higher quality, better flavor, the preservation of heirlooms, and great resilience.” You can find the full video at the link in our bio!

Our goal at Astarte Farm is to learn as much as we can about how to grow food using no-till practices and we couldn’t do it without the support of our community. That means all of the buyers at who work hard to promote our food, the restaurants that highlight our ingredients even though we cost more than just organic, and of course, our CSA members. Not only is growing and eating together in community such a treat, but the folks eating our food can see and taste the difference that no-till makes. We hope as you shop for your CSA this year you will keep in mind that Astarte Farm is more than just local veggies every week, it’s a commitment to protecting this land for future generations to come and to teach as many people as we possibly can what we have and are still learning here. We hope you’ll join us on this mission!

We know that the cost of a CSA share can be prohibitive and that is why we introduced a sliding scale this year so people can support us at a level that works for them. We offer payment plans, accept SNAP, and have donor supported shares. We also encourage folks to check out the farm share loan, a zero interest loan that can be paid back over the course of 6 months at no extra cost!

This is a bizarre and frightening time we are living in, with everything from climate change to political unrest, but we promise to always do our best to be a source of peace, beauty and community 💗 stay safe and see you soon!

01/21/2025

Catch Sadie around town slingin’ posters because we have only 20 CSA SHARES LEFT! Visit the link in our bio to join us for the 2025 season, it’s going to be a good one! Spring will be starting off strong this year with some new goodies: the new tulip bed, dried hot peppers from last season, and veggie starts 🤩 we can’t wait to feed you!

01/20/2025

Astarte will once again be hosting Rose Cherneff’s class “No-till Gardening for a Resilient Future!” This class meets monthly at Astarte’s teaching plot to learn various techniques for how to grow food using no-till methods practiced at Astarte. The general overview for this 9 month course is as follows:

February - Gardening Design and Seed Ordering
March - Soil Health, Soil Testing, Soil Remediation
April - Direct Seeding and Cover Crops
May - Transplanting, Disease and Pest Management
June - Water and Irrigation in Times of Flood, Drought and Fire
July - Field Trips to Other No-till Farms
August - Seed Saving for Climate and Social Resilience
September - Putting Your Garden to Bed
October - Harvest Celebration and Resiliency Maps

In addition to the monthly class, Rose is also offering a couple of free drop-in days at Lilly Library for people to do garden dreaming/planning together (think seed catalogues, art supplies, etc) as well as a couple of one-off online classes 🙂

Past students have said of the course:

- “I feel more confident, more grounded, more connected and aware.”

-“Rose is in my mind the best kind of teacher, as they have deep experience and knowledge while also being a student themselves. They are generous and kind and serve as a kind of mentor or guide in meeting the students where they are.”

-“Experiential, deeply knowledge, and encouraging.”

For more information about class times/schedule, sliding scale costs, accessibility, and to sign up - visit the link in our bio! In this time of so many climatic and social crises, yourself the gift of grounding on the land and growing food and building community for the future. As always, feel free to reach out to Rose at [email protected] with any further questions. We hope to see you in February!

01/16/2025

‘Tis the season, we are hiring crew members! These positions are full-time (40 hrs/week) for the 2025 growing season, March 31st - October 31st.

The right applicant will start Monday, March 31st and work Monday through Friday, 40 hours a week. Scheduled hours are 7am-3:45pm and change to 6:30am-3:15pm in summer, weather- and workflow-depending.

Join us on our beautiful 3.5-acre, certified organic, no-till/no-spray farm. Crew members will be involved in all aspects of veggie production here at Astarte, including but not limited to, transplanting, weeding, trellising, pest control, harvesting, and no-till bed management. While this is not an apprenticeship there is a lot of learning that happens on a daily basis and we are very open to sharing our experience and knowledge of growing vegetables using no-till practices.

The ideal candidate is able to learn many tasks quickly and precisely, is naturally energized by the prospect of working outside in a small group, has stamina for long days of physical work, and has a great sense of humor and fun. Most importantly, we are looking for candidates that seek out physical activity in their daily lives and who are self-motivated by the mission of our farm. Applicants must be able to lift 50 lbs repeatedly and be content to work outside in all types of weather.

Desired Experience: This is an entry level crew position but we do value work experience with a physical and teamwork aspect like farming, restaurant work, etc.

Compensation: $18 with an annual professional development stipend (farm gear, workshops, books, etc.) and access to veggies, fruits, flowers and herbs.

To Apply: Email [email protected] with a resume, a brief statement about yourself and your interest in working at Astarte Farm, and a minimum of two references. We are look forward to hearing from you ☺️

01/15/2025

Have you see our “Why No-Till?” video that Theo made in 2021? We have learned a LOT since then but our passion and reasoning for no-till remain! Hear from farm founder Dan about why he decided organic wasn’t enough, from current owner Jim on prioritizing soil health and no-till research, and Amelia, Ellen and Sadie on carbon sequestering, benefits for produce, and working on a small team. Link in bio for the full video on YouTube!

As you begin to shop for your 2025 CSA, we hope you’ll consider joining us on our no-till journey. Your support is a big part of what makes this all possible and we are so grateful - CSA shares are more than halfway sold and we always sell out so get in while the gettings hot!

“French wines are all sold on the basis of terroir; the ground the grape is grown in is just as important as the variety of grape, how the grape is grown and pressed, the winemaker…you start with the ground and I really hope we can see that sort of awareness for just good old American produce.” - Dan Pratt, Astarte Farm founder

Visit the link in our bio for more info, see you this spring ☺️

01/12/2025

Peaceful winter energy at the farm 😌❄️ we have created a first draft of this year’s field plan and I love looking out over this land and imagining how lush and bountiful it soon will be! Not to rush resting season, of course. Next big projects coming up: redoing the prop house floors, hopefully building a few more tables, and a major blueberry enclosure revamp and prune. Greenhouse gets going in three weeks, can you believe it!

Address

123 West Street
Hadley, MA
01035

Website

http://www.astartefarm.com/

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