Mary asks Chico’s opinion on some late radishes.
Volunteer Thomas Lewis helps with the harvest. Thomas first visited the farm with his college class, and then he began volunteering.
Carrots washed and ready for the market.
Thomas Lewis tries his hand at farming, during a class trip to the farm.
Mary harvests beets toward the end of the farm’s growing season.
Chico washes kale before packing it for the farmers market.
Chico carries a tote full of vegetable to the truck.
Swiss chard awaits purchase at Mountain Harvest Farm’s market stall.
Chico and Mary prepare their stall at the Morgantown Farmers Market.
Radishes waiting to be sold.
Mountain Harvest employee Michelle arranges bundles of parsnips, as the market opens.
Mary and Chico greet friends at the market.
Withered tomato vines are supported by stakes and string.
Chico shows a visiting class a two-tone tomato that resulted from high greenhouse temperatures.
Farming is a family business for Mary Oldham and Francisco “Chico” Ramirez, the husband-wife team that owns and operates Mountain Harvest Farm, located just a few miles outside of Morgantown, WV. Mary and Chico run the vegetable farm together and spend many of their days working side-by-side. Mountain Harvest officially got its start at the beginning of 2013, but both Mary and Chico had been involved in farming for many years before founding their own farm. Mary began learning about farming while working in her university’s garden, and Chico was running his family’s farm in Honduras, when he and Mary met during her stint in the Peace Corps.
Mountain Harvest is an organic farm, something that was important to Mary and Chico from the beginning. When Mary and Chico moved to Mary’s hometown of Morgantown, their values and the local demand for organic products made the decision to farm organically an easy one. “It was what we wanted to do in terms of philosophy, and also the market for it’s getting stronger,” says Mary. Morgantown, a university city, is one of the largest cities in the state and has a population that is interested in supporting organic agriculture.
This year, Mountain Harvest is expanding in multiple ways. The farm itself is getting larger, going from two acres to three. Mary and Chico are also increasing the number of memberships available in their CSA (learn more about CSA’s) and are planning to sell at two farmers markets each week, instead of one.
Hear more about Mountain Harvest Farm.