SM26 (WK10): Dynamic Duo
Dear Farm Community,
Earlier this summer, we shared that our dynamic Beaverdam Rd management duo, Farmers Emma and Anna, were heading off into exciting new chapters, with one moving to the West Coast and the other beginning nursing school. Now, we’re very excited to introduce the new Beaverdam Boyz in Charge: Farmers Antho and Reid!
They’ve been doing a stellar job since the transition, and we couldn’t be happier to have two capable, experienced farmers stepping up to take the reins ~ especially because both have already been part of the Diamond Hill Farmily for years. The Beaverdam Rd acreage is in excellent hands, and we can’t wait to show y’all just how great these two are!!
A few years ago, we featured Antho in a Know Your Farmer as the longest-tenured farmer at DHF. Now, with 2 more years under his belt, we’re excited to reintroduce him in Know Your Farmer 2.0 as one of the farmers leading the way at our Beaverdam Road property!
Antho has stepped seamlessly into the role of pack shed manager, along with all the joys of managing the property’s irrigation and seed houses. We are endlessly grateful to have such an experienced, communicative, good-vibes farmer making sure everything and everyone gets where they need to go. Without further ado, we’d love for y’all to get reacquainted with our favorite Antho in the game. And whatever you do, DO NOT call him Tony.
What is your role on the farm?
After 3+ years of splitting my time between the Beaverdam Rd and Morton Rd fields, I’m now what I can best describe as the “Flofillment Manager” at our Beaverdam Rd property. Basically, I help coordinate the Flo(w) of everything coming into the pack shed from both properties, making sure our CSA and chef wholesale orders are fulfilled, our market goals are met, and the finest produce we have to offer gets where it needs to go. None of this could happen without our AMAZING Pack Shed Matriarchs, Jeanny, Sandra, and Mirna <3 I also serve as Carter’s point person for maintaining the literal Flo(w) of water at Beaverdam, managing the irrigation system, and making sure our seed house bbs have everything they need to beat this summer heat. But first and forevermost, I’ll always be a veggie-farmin’, butt-wigglin’, stoic goof, jackass of all trades, and eternally grateful member of our “farmily.” ALWAYS!
Antho’s Farming Journey
My farming journey began with Carter and Diamond Hill Farm back at the namesake property in the spring of 2017. At the time, I was working at two bars downtown, and a former coworker from one of them (shoutout to Allie!) had started working at DHF and mentioned they needed some extra hands for the spring and summer seasons. Having always loved spending time outdoors and entering my 30th year, craving fulfillment and wanting to be more active, it seemed worth a try… and it was love at first harvest! Since then, I’ve had two breaks in farming: one from 2018 to the fall of 2020 when I moved to NYC with my then-partner (shoutout to Nikki! ), and another after returning to DHF for two years, when I took a break to be a stay-at-home papa for my daughter, Charlie, from the summer of 2022 to spring 2024. It’s been amazing and inspiring to see how the farm and everyone who’s passed through over the years have grown and evolved into each new season of our respective lives!
What makes you passionate about organic farming?
As a consumer ~ both ecologically and economically ~ I think it’s really important to know where our food comes from and what’s in it (or more importantly, what isn’t in it), or used in its production. On a personal level, farming has deepened my appreciation for this earth we all depend on, the plants that nourish us, and the people who harvest them. Did you know spinach is harvested leaf by leaf, and spicy mix and arugula are cut by the handful, zen-monk-tending-to-the-garden style? There is also a strange and beautiful duality to farming: constantly being humbled by long days working in the dirt, the toil and the toll that it takes on your body, the unpredictability of the weather and unexpected failure of crops - while at the same time feeling empowered by your growing connection with the earth, discovering and pushing the limits of your body’s capabilities, and experiencing that same body adapting and healing in phenomenal ways, and through it all knowing you are helping to nourish your community. Since experiencing that duality, I hope I never have to live a day without it.
Fun fact about Antho
Ever since reading Patrick Süskind's Perfume: The Story of a Murderer in high school (because it was one of Kurt Cobain’s favorite books, and I was obsessed with Nirvana), I’ve been fascinated by the world of scents. Notable side effects of this infatuation have been smelling random leaves and roots on the farm (nutsedge root is a favorite, though it’s a real menace of a weed) and in everyday life—along with the inevitable accumulation of an unfarmerly amount of fragrances and essential oils at home.
What’s something you’ve done on the farm that you are proud of?
Just growing food organically and responsibly for our community and the surrounding area is enough to be proud of, along with being a part of a loving team that works so hard to accomplish all that we do while keeping each other laughing and feeling like the goddesses/clowns that we all are.
I’ve also had a hand in building 15 of the caterpillar tunnels we currently have at our Beaverdam property. Shoutout to Eli, Josh, and Jackson for the shared bonding experience of having molten Tek screw sparks rain down on our faces through multiple kinds of grueling weather! I’m really just grateful to be constantly learning new skills and adding to both my own story and the farm’s.
What’s your favorite crop to grow?
As far as convenience goes, okra wins by a long shot! Planting, weeding, and harvesting are all a breeze thanks to its single-row planting and chest-level height. Sentimentally though, picking the first strawberries after nurturing them all throughout the winter is a wonderful feeling - a welcome sign of warmer, sunnier days ahead!
What is a small thing on the farm that you are grateful for?
I’m grateful for the ambient sounds of all the critters in the area (fellow farmers included), for kale faeries ~ aka cabbage moths ~ flitting above the dewy brassicas on a chilly morning, and for the fact that any time is sky time.
If you were a critter on the farm, what would you be and why?
I honestly can’t believe no one else has said this yet, but I would 100% be Chicken (full name: Chicken Finger) ~ our resident Handsome Boy, Farm Kitty extraordinaire, and part-time pest control expert! He spends his days lounging in his big house across the tree line with his canine buddies, roaming the farm in search of absent-minded rodents and bugs, sneaking into the coziest vehicles with open windows, and getting endless love, hugs, and treats from the sweetest farmers this side of the sun. He’s truly living his best, fully-charmed kind of life. I want in!
What do you think about when you’re harvesting?
There’s always a kitchen radio playing in my head… sometimes underneath my thoughts, often right over them. And whenever I’m bopping around the farm, one song consistently finds its way onto that mental station, even going back to when I first started seven years ago: "Santa Maria De Feira" by Devendra Banhart. Beyond that, it’s usually whatever my daughter Charlie’s favorite Ms. Rachel song is at the moment (begone from my head, "Hop Little Bunnies"!!!). But mostly, my mind is focused on the crop I’m harvesting and the variables that come with it—size, bunch weight, and so on.
What’s your favorite way to pass the time weeding with other farmers?
Farm therapy (when we play therapist for each other) is real, but we also spend a lot of time catching up on life events and what we're all watching, listening to, loving, and hating at the moment ~ along with some crop talk and weather musings (very much the opposite of "small talk" for a farmer!)
We’re all in the pack shed finishing up a big market harvest and you’re handed the AUX. What do you play?
Anything that would keep our spirits high & our butts moving! I’ve long been obsessed with the bratty doo-wop vibes of “1000 Times” by Big Blood (also: teenage daughter wants to join aging-hipster parents’ locally beloved indie band? Any musician parents’ DREAM)
What is your favorite Diamond Hill Farm memory?
I’m beyond lucky to have five years’ worth of favorite memories spread across nearly a decade with Diamond Hill, the Dodd family, and all the gorgeous souls who have come, gone, and stayed at the farm, all of whom will ALWAYS be Farmily.
Forced to choose a favorite, it’ll always be the thoughtful gifts we’ve given each other, in or out of season, tangible or otherwise, time spent with one another, or any of the many stupid/brilliant pranks we’ve all played upon one another over the years…. mostly on Carter though
editor’s note: Antho thought he could overwrite my previous note about his Truck Nuts prank antics by answering this question this time. But the fact remains. Antho is a Truck Nuts zip tie bandit and nobody’s car is safe.
What is your favorite thing about Diamond Hill Farm?
Truly and always, the badass lovely people that keep it going (we all decided "farmily" was cool, yeah?)
This week in your CSA’s y’all are getting something seriously summery… sweet potato greens!! A common ingredient in Asian and African cuisines, they cook up with a flavor and texture similar to spinach, but a little silkier and sweeter (go figure!) While they’re technically edible both raw and cooked, we definitely find they’re yummier cooked up. You can try them out in this tried-and-true dish for sweet potato greens in coconut cream that is suuuuper delicious served over some rice. You can also try cooking up this NYT adaptation of Asaro, a west African Yoruba dish made of green plantains, tomatoes, and yams that also calls for “hearty greens” ~ your sweet potato greens fit the bill perfectly (PS you can usually find green plantains at Kroger or Earth Fare!) If neither of these sound good to you, or you just don’t have the time to cook up a whole dang recipe, you can quickly sauté them with spices of your choosing or sub them in for spinach. Hope you love this seasonal treat!
From our Farmily to Yours,
Diamond Hill Farmers
everything that’s good:
standard share: beans, sweet peppers, sweet potato greens, onions, spaghetti squash, slicer tomatoes OR cherry tomatoes
large share: beans, sweet peppers, sweet potato greens x2, onions, spaghetti squash, slicer tomatoes OR cherry tomatoes, basil, summer squash