Hilltop Hanover Farm & Environmental Center

Home
United States
Yorktown Heights, NY
Hilltop Hanover Farm & Environmental Center

Preservation • Education• Food Justice

Hilltop Hanover Farm is a bucolic 400-year old historic working farm in Yorktown Heights, Westchester County New York.

Hilltop Hanover Farm and Environmental Center is dedicated to the development and advancement of sustainable agriculture, environmental stewardship, community education, and accessible food systems for all. This farm and historic land is also in a critical environmental area of the Croton Watershed, which supplies drinking water to Westchester County and NYC. From the 1930’s to the early 1990’s th

e farm was a prize-winning dairy farm, home to Guernsey and champion Holstein cattle. However, by 1991, the breeding program for Hilltop Hanover Holsteins ceased and the entire herd, 123 head was sold at auction. When the herd was sold, there was tremendous pressure to convert the land into a condominium complex. However; with strong support from local residents, the County of Westchester purchased the 187 acres of the original 250 acre farm and surrounding woodlands in 2003. The County’s mission was to provide watershed protection, protect open space and preserve the area’s agricultural heritage. In 2011, the non-profit organization The Friends of Hilltop Hanover Farm and Environmental Center, Inc. a 501 (c) (3) was established. Today the Friends conducts the farming and educational programming, in a cooperative public-private partnership with the County of Westchester. Today the farm is a regional education center that offers programs on healthy and sustainable food production and teaches skills for small-scale suburban and urban farming techniques, illustrating sustainable living practices for the region and local communities. The farm features demonstration models for backyard farming, rainwater harvesting, composting, and greenroof technology. Visitors can hike the farm's 3.5 miles of woodland trails, picnic on the farm grounds, purchase a CSA share, or produce from our farm stand or at U-Pick during the growing season, or attend any of our numerous classes and lectures. Hilltop Hanover Farm offers tours, classes and field trips to school groups, garden clubs, and scout troops.

06/19/2026

Scouting and seed collection day at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation. 🌿

Our native plants team headed out to find and collect seed for the work we do here at Hilltop. Swipe through for a look at what we found.

🍓 Fragaria virginiana — wild strawberry. This is our native strawberry, distinct from the cultivated varieties we eat. A low-growing groundcover that feeds pollinators in spring and wildlife into early summer.

🌼 Erigeron philadelphicus — Philadelphia fleabane. A delicate, daisy-like native with hundreds of thread-thin petals circling a yellow center. Common, resilient, and beloved by early-season pollinators.

Every seed we collect gets cleaned, processed, and grown out right here — eventually finding its way back into the landscapes of Westchester County. This is what restoration looks like. One seed, one walk, one County park at a time.

————————————————-
Did you know?

Hilltop Hanover Farm & Environmental Center is part of Westchester County Parks.

Our Native Plants Program works to support biodiversity in our region by growing seed and plants for parks, restoration projects, community initiatives, research, and home gardens.

Our production starts with ethically collected wild seed from 18,000 acres of Westchester County parkland. The seed and plants we produce from these populations preserve genetic variation, which increases resistance to extreme weather, climate shifts, diseases, and pests, creating a more resilient ecosystem for the future. 🤓

06/17/2026

Still here. Not for long. 🍓

Strawberry season is winding down and every single one left in that field is worth savoring.

Farm Stand is open Thursday through Sunday, 10am to 4pm.

06/16/2026

Back in early May, our Friends of Hilltop and Sustainer Donors got to visit Ten Mile Farm Foundation in Dover Plains, NY — a farm that grows 100% for donation, distributing fresh produce to communities locally and in New York City. Seeing their operation in person was inspiring, and we wanted to share a few highlights with you. Swipe through 🌿

1️⃣ Their newly constructed wash pack facility — a serious upgrade for efficiency and food safety.

2️⃣ Curing tables, where crops rest and develop before storage or distribution.

3️⃣ A conveyor crop washer that recycles its own water. We took notes.

4️⃣ Bin weights — a simple system that keeps the whole team aligned on accurate recordkeeping. Small detail, big impact.

5️⃣ Executive Director Gibson Durnford, who generously gave us the full tour and answered every question we had (and we had a lot).

6️⃣ Their propagation greenhouse, where it all begins.

7️⃣ Hardening off tunnels — helping young plants transition before they head to the field.

8️⃣ More hardening off tables. There is a whole system here and it works.

9️⃣ Walking the fields — always our favorite part.

🔟 Tomatoes thriving in the tunnel.

1️⃣1️⃣ Cucumbers in the tunnel — all grafted onto more hardy root stock for stronger, more resilient plants. A technique we are very interested in.

1️⃣2️⃣ Our group, grateful to be there.

1️⃣3️⃣ And fresh eggs from their laying hens — because no working farm is complete without a flock.

Thank you to Ten Mile Farm Foundation and Gibson for hosting us. Visits like this remind us we are part of something bigger — a whole network of people growing good food and getting it to the people who need it most. 🌿

06/15/2026

Last month, the Friends of Hilltop and Sustainer Donors got to visit Ten Mile Farm Foundation in Dover Plains, NY — a farm that grows 100% for donation, distributing fresh produce to communities locally and in New York City. Seeing their operation in person was inspiring, and we wanted to share a few highlights with you. Swipe through 🌿

1️⃣ Their newly constructed wash pack facility — a serious upgrade for efficiency and food safety.

2️⃣ Curing tables, where crops rest and develop before storage or distribution.

3️⃣ A conveyor crop washer that recycles its own water. We took notes.

4️⃣ Bin weights — a simple system that keeps the whole team aligned on accurate record keeping. Small detail, big impact.

5️⃣ Executive Director Gibson Durnford, who generously gave us the full tour and answered every question we had (and we had a lot).

6️⃣ Their propagation greenhouse, where it all begins.

7️⃣ Hardening off tunnels — helping young plants transition before they head to the field.

8️⃣ More hardening off tables. There is a whole system here and it works.

9️⃣ Walking the fields — always our favorite part.

🔟 Tomatoes thriving in the tunnel.

1️⃣1️⃣ Cucumbers in the tunnel — all grafted onto more hardy root stock for stronger, more resilient plants. A technique we are very interested in.

1️⃣2️⃣ Our group, grateful to be there.

1️⃣3️⃣ And fresh eggs from their laying hens.

Thank you to Ten Mile Farm Foundation and Gibson for hosting us. Visits like this remind us we are part of something bigger — a whole network of people growing good food and getting it to the people who need it most.

06/12/2026

Found this in the field today and felt like the universe was sending a message. ❤️🍓

Strawberry season is here — but not for long. Stop by this weekend and get yours before they’re gone.

Farm Stand open Thursday through Sunday, 10am to 4pm.

06/10/2026

Meet Cocoa. Dutch Belted dairy cow. Resident of Hilltop Hanover Farm & Environmental Center. Mother of our two other cows, Clover and Cricket. Undefeated staring contest champion.

She did not ask for this title. She simply earned it.

Did you win? 🏆

06/09/2026

Sub irrigated planters. Bear with us.

We built these out of five gallon buckets for our blueberry bushes and we are very pleased with ourselves.

Here is how it works:

A watering pipe runs down the side of the bucket into a two gallon reservoir at the bottom. A wicking column packed with hay draws moisture up from the reservoir into the soil above. The roots grow down toward the water and drink exactly what they need, exactly when they need it.

To water: pour directly into the pipe until water flows out of the overflow hole. The bucket tells you when it’s full.

We went with this method for two reasons. First — a working farm has a lot going on and the blueberries should not have to wait on us. Second — we needed something that would elevate the plants to sit flush with the height of our wayfinding benches. The five gallon bucket solved both problems at once.

You can pack the wicking column with soil, moss, or any number of materials. We used hay we had lying around.

These are going into our wayfinding benches — handcrafted wooden structures with Corten steel panels that guide visitors to key locations across the farm. Made possible by the Friends of Hilltop Hanover Farm and a generous grant.

A place to rest. A place to find your way. And now — a place where blueberries grow right alongside you. 🫐

01/02/2026

Farm Stand open This Saturday!
January 3rd
10am - 4pm

Stop on by! We will be offering produce from our winter growing tunnels, storage crops, and all of your favorite sourced goods from other local farms. We’ll also be hosting our monthly Old Time Music Jam, Tea with Animals program, and a Community Farm Work Day where we will be cleaning native seeds with our Native Plants team. Join us!

Did you know?

Many greens can grow right through winter in New York with a little planning and preparation. We have high tunnels full of spinach that will be ready to harvest for this Saturday’s Farm Stand. Here are three key factors we plan around:

1) Cold protection
All of our winter growing is done inside our growing tunnels this time of year where temperatures stay more moderate than outdoors. Our winter greens sit under two layers, the high tunnel plus row cover, creating conditions more like Maryland or even further south. So why not keep adding layers? Because too much cover can reduce light, which leads to the next factor.

2) The “Persephone Period” (less than 10 hours of daylight)
Farmer and writer Eliot Coleman coined the term “Persephone Period” for the stretch of winter when we receive fewer than 10 hours of daylight. During this time, many vegetables don’t actively grow—they mostly “hold.” That’s why we plant in fall while days are longer, so crops are established before the low-light season. The payoff: harvests in January, and once daylight increases in February, growth picks back up.

3) Freezing temperatures (and why winter greens can taste sweeter)
We don’t heat our growing spaces, so they can freeze solid from time to time. Some greens tolerate repeated freeze–thaw cycles and even taste sweeter because of them. In cold conditions, plants concentrate sugars in their cells, which helps protect them from freezing damage and has the bonus effect of the sweetest greens of the year. The key is letting leaves thaw naturally before harvesting. Winter greens, like our spinach, are a seasonal treat that we look forward to every winter.

Address

1271 Hanover Street
Yorktown Heights, NY
10598

Telephone

+19148625050

Website

http://www.hilltophanoverfarm.org/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Hilltop Hanover Farm & Environmental Center posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Hilltop Hanover Farm & Environmental Center:

Shortcuts

Want your business to be the top-listed Food & Beverage Service in Yorktown Heights?