Most people know Steve Hop as the friendly faced guy in the back of the pub drinking lemonade out of his mug labeled “Hopless”. Near him is always an overflowing basket or two filled with aromatic herbs and vegetables. Steve supplies New Holland with fresh basil and our staff, along with the occasional lucky diner, with whatever is in season.
Steve began gardening with his wife years ago. He and his family cleared much of the overgrowth and woods that covered his two acre property, just north of New Holland‘s production facility. They also took down an old barn in ruins to make room for a yard and future farm projects. This was all put on hold though when Steve’s wife passed away. He gave up gardening for ten years and only within the last few years has began gardening and farming again.
We took a trip to Steve’s farm, which is all organic and nutrients are replenished with composting, rotating crops and occasionally organic fertilizer. There are flowers, a huge variety of herbs, melon and many vegetables, some we had not even heard of! The front of the house is mostly herbs and some flowers. The basil smelled amazingly good! As we walked around the side of the house there were beds of carrots, edible flowers, strawberries, and dill just to name a few. We continued walking to the “hoop house,” which houses the cantaloupe and is the future site for a lettuce bed that will even produce in the winter. The hoop house actually records temperatures throughout the day and night and lets you know if there was a freeze, which makes it easy to make adjustments to care for the produce. Outside and behind the hoop house, we were amazed to see that the property kept going. There are purple beans and green beans which actually add nutrients back into the soil as they decompose, tomatoes, squash and of course more herbs and flowers. Steve says “flowers feed the soul and vegetables feed the body.” He has put an incredible amount of work into this project and hopes to expand every year.
On the other side of the house, chickens reside, wondering the property and picking at the vegetables. They are a new addition, and will supply the farm with fresh eggs and meat eventually. Steve hopes to have other animals in the future but his main project now is canning.
Steve has started making jams and pickles and canning other vegetables as well. He does three berry, raspberry and strawberry jams. They are all amazing, we got to try some samples! He is thinking of marketing them as party favors, for gift baskets, and wedding favors…care to “spread the love” anyone? Steve will be hosting a canning demo as part of our Harvest series, happening at the pub Thursday, October 6th~ be sure to check it out for some great tips and instructions.
What started as a hobby with his wife has now turned into a full time job for Steve. Between expanding the farm, adding animals and canning there can not be much time for anything else! Steve loves what he is doing and hopes to be able to live off what he has created. We wish him the best and look forward to hearing about his future projects!
Check out photos from the canning demo here!
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