How We Did This: North of Boston Farm
Boxford’s North of Boston Farm produces fresh food on centuries-old farmland while maintaining a strong focus on soil health and natural resource conservation. The farm uses only non-GMO seeds and plants and fertilizes with cow and chicken manure—they don’t own a sprayer. “We’d rather lose a crop, and replant, than deal with poisons and nonsense,” says 12th-generation farmer Justin Chase. “We maintain year-round cover crops to increase soil health, to increase our farm’s biodiversity and to attract pollinators while providing a valuable corridor to surrounding conservation lands.”
When Chase bought the land, he knew the challenges involved in making a modern New England farm thrive, and he developed strategies to face them head-on. Farming year-round in hoop houses and greenhouses allows customers to enjoy fresh carrots, greens and radishes through the long, cold winter season. Bolstering their offerings with food sourced from trusted neighbors offers customers more variety and shines a light on new farmers and producers. Their highly personalized delivery service offers an alternative to third-party delivery or apps—they’ll deliver just what you want to your “workplace, your apartment on the 22nd floor, or to your boat slip.”
What does it take to make a modern farm thrive? Chase shared his story with Edible Boston.
Farming year-round at North of Boston Farm
Mission: To cultivate relationships with local food.
Vision: To grow a thriving local food culture that’s inclusive, accessible and resilient as hell.
I’ve been farming or working to strengthen local farms my entire life. I grew up the 12th generation on my family’s historic farm in Newburyport. After taking a break to work with farmers unions and local non-profits (see bio on our website), my wife and I decided to buy our own farm. Finding nothing perfect, we doubled down our bet and bought raw land with almost no infrastructure. After working with USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service, we’ve successfully built out our new farm, created new soil and got up and running. It’s been a crazy ride! I spent years consulting beginning farmers, so I knew what was coming at us, but to experience it firsthand was a whole other level. I’ve heard the expression “blood, sweat and tears” many times. I never really thought of it literally. Man, I sure do now!
Early spring harvest at North of Boston Farm
We produce year-round, with an increasing focus on winters. I love growing food in winter. There’s something romantic about it—working against the weather and getting to know crops that play well with cold air and short days. But then spring comes around and I get all kinds of excited to sow some interesting crops and grow culturally connected foods, like Tokyo Bekana, red tatsoi and super out-there squashes, like cousa-ziti crosses and fuzzy heirloom melons.
Delivery is a major focus
As for our sales, home delivery is a primary focus. We love, love, love the relational aspect of our days—getting to know people and anticipating what they’d like. Yesterday we were pulling carrots and we found a few that were especially small and crooked. Right away we knew who would appreciate them so we bunched them up and tagged them with someone’s name. Sure enough, they loved them and they appreciated the thought. It’s that sort of thing that makes the process fun.
We deliver to 65 communities 5 days a week. We pack miles on our vans and we love every minute of it. People think we’re a big farm because of our services and offerings, but the truth is we’re tiny, and behind the scenes we can be a bit of a train wreck, but we always pull through and we grow stronger every day.
Growing never stops at North of Boston Farm
Delivery area and Farmers Market hours at northofboston.farm
This story appeared as an Online Exclusive in March 2022.
