The Farm
Small Farm is a certified organic 3 acre farm growing mixed vegetable, berry, and cut flowers in Stow, Massachusetts. Our goal is to:
- Increase the seasonal availability of fresh produce in our area, and create excitement around healthy food
- Carefully steward the 20 acre property, using thoughtful farming practices to improve soil health and host a biodiverse environment of plants, wildlife, and insects
- Create a supportive space where our community can interact with each other and the natural world
- Operate a sustainable business, creating jobs that provide healthy wages and learning opportunities for employees
Our produce is available through our three-season CSA, four-season farm stand, Hudson and Acton summer farmers markets and wholesale channels.
Our popular pick-your-own-flower garden and public trail offer visitors the opportunity to see a working farm in action and celebrate the biologically diverse property.
The business is operated by owners Elena and Karl. In 2022 Elena and Karl purchased the farmland! The property is preserved for conservation in perpetuity through the efforts of the town of Stow and the Stow Conservation Trust.
The Farmers
Elena Colman
Elena Colman started farming in 2006 at Brigham Farm in Concord after seeing how wonderfully dirty her big sister looked when she returned from her farm job. She loves the physical and mental challenges of farming, and the number of skills she’s had to learn on the farm (plumbing, construction, accountant, PR).
She thinks farms are a special way to preserve land and provide a community space where people can gather, connect over the most basic of human needs–food– and leave their screens behind.
She also believes small-scale farms, both as providers and consumers, are an important piece of having a resilient food system, especially when faced with a changing climate. She is happy to be leasing land in an area with sufficient rainfall to replenish the water supply and takes her responsibilities of land stewardship very seriously.
Karl Goethert
Too old to return to summer camp, Karl was sent to work at a local farm during his junior summer year of high school. His interest in farming only grew from there. Karl has studied 2D animation in college, gotten covered with bees in Uganda, WWoof’ed in New Zealand and Hawaii and gotten lost in the Sierre Norte mountains of Mexico.
Karl loves small-scale farming, the challenges it brings and the knowledge and skills he gains through work. He believes it is a useful skill to preserve as the world becomes more automated and fewer people have the opportunity to work with their hands.
He enjoys growing lettuce and loves crunchy things he can chew on in the field. Also recently developed a taste for hot and spicy things.
In 2019 Elena and Karl got married in the flower field with family and friends!
Assistant Growers (full-time employees)
Kayla: Market Manager
Joined us in 2019 – present
Adam: Wash Station, Compost, Pest/Disease Manager
Joined us in 2021-present
Emmy: Greenhouse, Summer CSA, and Harvest Manager
Joined us in 2022-present
Allison: Irrigation and CSA Distribution
Jocelyn: Flower Manager
Patricia
2022 + 2023 Next step: Farmer-Owner at Flower Crown in Worcester
Kaila
2021 + 2022 Next step: grad school for agroecology
Gabby
2020 + 2021 Next step: WVDNR/NRCS as a pollinator specialist