Production Methods

Love Letter Farm strongly believes in sustainability, resilience, and in the mantra “leave it better than you found it.” This means that as a land steward, it is important for the farm to give back to the land in order to maintain its agricultural viability for future generations.

For Love Letter farm, giving back means taking an adaptive approach (continuously learning and experimenting!) with the goal of minimizing soil disturbance as much as possible. This means reducing soil tillage. Tillage has been shown to have many adverse effects. For one, it causes soil erosion, which depletes the long-term viability of the land. It also releases CO2 from the soil back into the atmosphere. More recently, tillage has also been shown to dramatically reduce soil biology which has an impact on the nutrients available to the plants and by extension, us. When you get produce from Love Letter farm, you’re getting plants that have been cultivated to maximize available nutrients, meaning healthier and more nourishing meals.

To reduce tillage, the farm uses a permanent bed system and incorporates compost, cover crops, and mulching systems to improve soil organic matter. In combination, these systems work to minimize carbon emissions and help the land become more resilient to some of the extreme weather brought on by climate change. The farm also reduces soil disturbance through keeping the soil covered as much as possible. This happens through intensive plant spacing, interplanting, cover crops, mulch and tarps where necessary.

Sustainability and resilience stem from diversity. Love Letter Farm grows many different crop species and rotates them annually to encourage biodiversity. This includes flowering plants that both feed us and attract beneficial insects and pollinators. Sustainability through diversity also means participating in a food system that relies on many different scales and methods of farming and by supporting farmers of diverse backgrounds and cultures.

Everything grown at the farm is grown without adding toxic chemicals, herbicides and pesticides. By encouraging soil biology and biodiversity, Love Letter Farm goes above and beyond the organic standards to provide you with high-quality nutritious food.

Many of the varieties that are grown on the farm are grown from seed that was sourced locally, with several varieties grown through the Open Source Seed Initiative. Locally-sourced seed keeps dollars in the local economy and also encourages selective breeding for plants that have been adapted to our region's unique climate and growing conditions. Some of the varieties are grown from seed that was selected and saved here at Love Letter Farm.