• Farmer Partner •

Deer Run Farm

Hanover, VA

Chris Rudolph’s father and grandfather farmed in the Short Pump area near Richmond, back when it was fields and forests instead of malls and big box stores. Then in 1979, when Chris was 5, the family moved out to 100 acres in King William County.

Like a lot of our farmers, Chris and his family start their seedlings in greenhouses and later transplant them to the fields. That way the produce is ready earlier in the season. They conserve water with drip irrigation and the farm is low- or no-spray. When a pesticide is absolutely necessary, Chris only uses the kind that disappears quickly so the family can get back in the field the next day. They keep their own bees and that protects both the humans and the pollinators.

Chris also has a lot of old tractors, which look very charming. But Chris likes them because they’re not computerized so he can repair them himself.

Deer Run Farm Provides:

beans • broccoli • cabbages • cauliflower • collards • cucumbers • eggplant • kale • peppers of all kinds • potatoes • red potatoes • radishes • spring onions • sweet potatoes • swiss chard • tomatoes of all kinds

The support from Seasonal Roots members has been helpful because you can plant more knowing you have an outlet. I like meeting our customers, and they all ask, ‘How do you do it all?!’ Well, you get up when the sun comes up and you just work ’til the work is done. You rest up in the winter.

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