Willow Farm in Dorchester is in full planting season. Located just off Route 106 in Dorchester, the Farm offers seedlings currently, and vegetables later in the year at a roadside stand and through the Sackville Farmers Market.
Kautzman says the big sellers are tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, zucchinis, and herbs. The plants are all fertilized organically and tended by hand, making them both healthy and hearty.
🎧 Hear the story here:
While many assume by June they’ve missed their garden window, Kautzman, says otherwise:
“I would say it’s not too late. I would say go for it.”
Kautzman has been seeding since April, giving her plants a strong head start. Now, with the weather warming and the seedlings fully matured, customers can transplant them directly into gardens with confidence.
“When you have a big head start like that, then they’re gonna produce for you.”
Originally musicians based in Montreal, Kautzman and her partner Gregory Burton transitioned into farming after moving east. In recent years, they expanded the farm significantly – but scaled back after the birth of their second child. Burton said:
“It wasn’t the lifestyle that we had envisioned for ourselves… our lifestyle was supposed to be more, a little more family oriented.”
Burton said the decision to reduce the farm’s scale wasn’t just about money, it was about staying true to their values while still making the business work.
“We are going to try our very best to balance that with… our values around how we manage our soil, uh, how we interact with our community, et cetera.”
While he acknowledged the need to make tough decisions about pricing and operations, he emphasized that they were committed to running the farm ethically, while carving out time for family, and making it all work.
“We’re doing our best to run our business as ethically as we know how, uh, while also. Running it successfully.”
Burton has since shifted to carpentry, while Kautzman continues to run the farm solo. This year, they’ve also made the difficult decision not to attend the Dorchester Farmers Market, which now runs on Sundays.
“It was a really hard decision not to do the Dorchester farm farmer’s market… in the end, we had to prioritize our family.”
Seedlings are available until the end of June – or until they sell out – and Willow Farm can be contacted here. For additional vegetables options in the area, the Dorchester Farmers Market runs Sundays from 11am-3pm.
