We grow almost every kind of commonly grown organic vegetable found on Long Island as well as plenty of unusual heirloom varieties. Each week members pick up between 10-15 pounds of certified organic vegetables plus bouquets of certified organic flowers and culinary herbs.
We are a small operation who believe in bio-diversity, seed saving and preserving heirloom varieties. Among our vegetables are lettuces, peppers, onions, tomatoes, kale, eggplants, scallions, garlic, carrots, beets, turnips, cabbages, rutabaga, endive, radish, spinach, summer and winter squash, melons, pumpkins and decorative gourds. We grow sunflowers, zinnias, calendula, nasturtium, and marigolds, among others.
We specialize in heirloom varieties including the Slow Food Ark of Taste varieties: Moon & Stars Watermelon, Cherokee Trail of Tears beans, Amish Deer Tongue lettuce, ground cherries, Gilfeather turnip, speckled lettuce, Jimmy Nardella Sweet Italian Frying pepper, Valencia Tomato and Sudduth Strain Brandywine tomato. The Ark is an international catalog of foods that are threatened by industrial standardization, the regulations of large-scale distribution and environmental damage. In an effort to cultivate consumer demand—key to agricultural conservation—only the best tasting endangered foods make it onto the Ark. Since 1996, more than 800 products from over 50 countries have been added to the International Ark of Taste. The US Ark of Taste profiles over 200 rare regional foods, and is a tool that helps farmers, ranchers, fishers, chefs, retail grocers, educators and consumers celebrate our country's diverse biological, cultural and culinary heritage.
We are also members of The Seed Savers Exchange and have begun the process of saving our own organic seeds.
We provide organic produce to a number of different outlets on Long Island including our CSA members, the Motherhouse of the Sisters of St. Dominic, and The Interfaith Nutrition Network (The INN).
Absolutely! We are one of the oldest certified NOFA NY-LLC organic CSA farms on Long Island. Certification assures that the food grown is free of dangerous chemicals, pesticides and are non-GMO. Additionally, organic growing practices ensures the land can safely grow food in the future, the farm workers, members and children can safely work in the fields and the health of the planet and its inhabitants are protected. In addition to our organic certification Homecoming Farm has taken the Farmer’s Pledge. The Farmer’s Pledge is a commitment to a broad set of farming principles that address labor issues, production practices, community values and marketing. The Farmer’s Pledge is NOT a substitute for organic certification which is a service whereby a third party scrutinizes a detailed farm plan, inspects the farm and then has the paper records of the farm reviewed by qualified peers for compliance with the regulations set forth in the USDA National Organic Program (NOP).
CSA pick-up is available Tuesday 2-6pm and Saturdays 12pm to 1pm.
Yes, members of the CSA commit to 15 hours over the course of the season. However, most of our members choose to work more hours at the farm saying that their CSA membership doubles as a gym membership providing the best workout on the planet!
Organic farmers nurture healthy plants by working to create a foundation of healthy soil. Conventional farmers focus on healthy plants often without regard to soil. Organic farming seeks to maintain and improve land quality and soil through natural biological processes. However, there are many factors in determining a soil’s health including pH and organic matter. It is important that the soil contains enough organic matter to feed the microbes in the soil. Healthy soil leads to healthy crops.