About Ley Creek Farm
Our farm started with Victoria's desire for a value-aligned, slow-paced lifestyle.
The dream became a reality in 2015 when she and her husband, Chris, gave up their city dwelling for an 1860 farmhouse surrounded by woods, the ruins of an old barn, overgrown flower gardens, and the wetlands of Ley Creek. In 2018, five years after buying her first books about market farming, Victoria began selling her produce, pastured eggs, and flowers to friends and neighbors.
Since then, the farm has shifted its goals and continues to establish itself as a trusted source for regeneratively grown wholesale cut flowers and foliage, edible flowers, and herbs. Victoria and her family have expanded to a second site where they will expand their offerings to include a more extensive catalogue of fruits, vegetables, herbs, flowers, and foliage.
Our Mission & Core Values
Ley Creek Farm strives to produce outstanding local goods for our customers in sufficient quantity to provide an outstanding, value-aligned quality of life for our family. We believe that the farm is an incredible environment for raising children, and we desire to cultivate an ecologically sustainable operation that will provide our children with skills that will benefit them within the realm of agriculture and beyond.
HERITAGE: We strive to explore agriculture as a means of honoring the values, culture, and nourishment of our ancestors. We have a strong interest in traditional foods.
STEWARDSHIP: We feel that we are responsible for growing fresh food and flowers of the highest quality without the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, or bioengineering. We focus on natural methods such as cover crops, intercropping, trap crops, and crop rotation. Learn more.
COMMUNITY: Education is a priority at Ley Creek Farm, and we have an interest in collaborating with other business owners, families, and schools to teach children about soil regeneration, food justice, and careers in agriculture.
REST: Our family strives to set an example for a slow, gentle lifestyle that allows us ample time to be present with one another, explore our hobbies and interests, and honor our bodies' need for rest.
Meet the Farmer
Caregiver. Teacher. Lifelong learner.
These are the titles I am most proud to hold in my life, and farming has given me the opportunity to nurture all three of them.
I was fortunate to grow up in a family that centered itself around the kitchen and the garden. Farming is not too far away in my lineage. My mom's father, who had Pennsylvania Dutch roots, was raised on a farm outside of Philadelphia. His mother and mother-in-law were both renowned bakers and passed their knowledge down to my mom.
My dad's mother grew up on a homestead in rural South Carolina. They lacked modern conveniences like grocery stores and running water, and for better or worse they lived communally with a rhythm driven by the seasons and food preservation; they had no choice. Her husband was a first generation Italian American whose family relied on their kitchen garden and their butchery trade skills to settle into their new life. Their kitchen was adorned with strings of dried chili peppers, braids of garlic, and shelves full of home-canned tomatoes.
I was very lucky to have parents who shared and nurtured these skills. Now I have the privilege of realigning my life with my ancestors' lives and passing these skills to yet another generation. My favorite job of all is being a mother. To me, a farm and its kitchen are the most authentic classrooms we can offer to a developing child's mind.
My professional training is in the arts and in education. Early in my working years, I was a freelance musician by night and an elementary literacy specialist by day. One of my favorite parts of my career was coaching other educators to align their practices with research while honing their observation and data-collection skills. In so many ways, my former work in education has influenced the way I farm. In the same way that I live by the mantra of "follow the child" with kids, I encourage growers to "follow the land" when it comes to developing their own holistic farm and business plans. You can learn so much by slowing down and taking the time to observe your unique property.
Thank you for following along with my journey. I'm so grateful to be your neighborhood farmer and look forward to serving our community!
