From Backyard Garden to Organic Farm

This week, we spoke with Laura Davis at . Upon leaving the corporate world, Davis decided to expand on her love of home gardening and, in 2011, purchased a farm. She sells her produce at local farmers’ markets, including Ashland and Bellingham. In addition, the farm offers shares (or CSAs) entitling the buyer to a box of fresh produce every week. Long Life Farm is “beyond organic,” meaning that in addition to refraining from using pesticides or genetically modified ingredients, the farm follows a plan to remineralize the soil, resulting in higher nutritional values in their vegetables. Davis hopes to have completed the process to be certified organic by next year.

When was the business started? 2011

Do you live in Hopkinton?  Yes

What do you like best about owning this business? Working on something I am passionate about. This job also forces you to exercise and eat right. And I enjoy seeing people happy about produce. Yesterday at our CSA pickup, the little kids were so excited about snap peas and eating them on the way home.

Are you on Facebook/Twitter?  Yes, you can find us on facebook and twitter (@lbd205winter)

Advice for someone new to the business? You have to love what you’re doing! The difficulty of farming is that nobody gets rich this way. Starting out, try working with another farmer, to learn by doing. Massachusetts has lots of resources to help farmers, like Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) and Tufts’ Beginning Farmer Network.

What do your customers like best about your business? They love the ability pick up a bag of produce that was grown in their community that is fresh and .  A CSA box is like a mystery every week, so you have to love to cook.

Visit Long Life Farm at the or call (508)596-1651 to ask about a CSA share.