Potter Hill Farm: Good Food, Good for the Environment

For visitors to the Grafton Farmers Market Jeff Backer might be a familiar face, but according to Backer many people are still discovering the fresh vegetables he grows using organic practices.

Backer started Potter Hill Farm in 2011 and has since grown his operation, which started as less than one acre of vegetables and four beef cattle, to six beef cattle and two acres of vegetable garden.

The Potter Hill Farm sits on 33 acres of land that Backer leases from the Grafton Land Trust. As a part of the lease agreement Backer must maintain a portion of the property as open space where residents can enjoy the views and spend time in a natural setting.

"It's natural preservation, it's open space and it’s locally grown produce, pork and beef. What more could you want?" Backer said.

Backer attributes his sales at the Grafton Farmers Market and the weekly customers mostly to word of mouth; he has never advertised and doesn't even have a Facebook page for the farm. He said the freshness of his vegetables is what keeps people coming back for more.

"People email me their orders Sunday, then on Monday morning I pick them. The customers can pick them up Monday afternoon." Backer said he also picks his vegetables for the farmers markets on the day of or the day before. "Everything you're buying was picked within the past 24 hours. I once had a head of lettuce that stayed in my fridge for three weeks and was still good."

The first seeds at Potter Hill Farm hit the soil in mid April, and Backer expects his first batch of vegies will be available for sale in early June. He is currently growing lettuce, carrots, onions, arugula and more. 

To find out what and when Backer will be selling next sign up for his weekly newsletter. On May 3 he shared the story of how a newborn female cow was accidentally named Kenneth and last Friday he informed readers about another birth at the farm, this time a female cow named Joy.