April 2024 - 16

GROWER PROFILE
In southwest Florida, Eva and Chris Worden grow more than 50 organic
vegetables, herbs and flowers, including leafy greens, peppers, squash
and tomatoes. Photo by Christina Cannell.
" Our customers and farm
members are enthusiastic about
trying different crops and often will
ask about what's new this season, "
Chris Worden said.
The Wordens collaborate with the
University of Florida (UF) Institute
of Food and Agricultural Sciences
Tropical Research and Education
Center researchers on calabaza
and cucurbita moschata, a tropical
pumpkin well-adapted to southwest
Florida's climate, making it a good
fit for organic production, Chris
Worden said.
The Wordens met while earning
masters of science degrees in
horticulture at the University
of Maryland. Eva, who grew up
in the Miami area, earned her
bachelor degree at UF. Chris grew
up on Maryland's Eastern Shore,
spending summers on his family's
multi-generational dairy farm in
Pennsylvania. Eva's family planted
a tropical fruit grove in Homestead,
Florida, in 1980.
They both earned doctoral
degrees in the early 2000s while
farming part-time on land trust
property in Connecticut and were
involved in the Northeast Organic
Farming Association. Chris earned
a doctorate in crop science from
the University of Connecticut and
Eva's is in ecosystem management
from Yale.
Founding Worden Farm in 2003,
the couple built their business,
reinvesting yearly to improve
efficiencies and productivity.
" We love growing for our local
community and creating meaningful
and enduring connections with them,
giving them access to healthy food
and an opportunity to play a part in
the stewardship of our farmland, "
WE AIM FOR TOP-QUALITY CROPS WITH
NO OR FEW WEEDS. IN A SUCCESSFUL CROP
RUN, AS THE CROP NEARS MATURITY, IT HAS
AN ESTABLISHED PLANT CANOPY, AND HAS
OUTCOMPETED THE WEEDS. THE CROP WILL BE
EASY TO HARVEST AND EASY TO TURN OVER
FOR THE SUBSEQUENT CROP CYCLE.
- Eva Worden
16 | APRIL 2024
Eva Worden said. " When we can help
our neighbors to be healthier, that
enlarges their capacity and improves
their lives, which beneficially ripples
outward into the larger world. "
Sustainability is
a key goal
" To be sustainable long-term,
we ultimately want to create an
agricultural system that can thrive
without us, " she said. " We are
the founders of this farm, and we
recognize that in order for it to
continue beyond us, we must make
it viable for our successors. Our goal
in the last 20 years was to start up
the farm, and our goal in the next
20 years will be to grow towards the
future, with our two sons, for the next
generation. "

April 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2024

Editor's Letter
The Pest Whisperer?
Managing wildlife on the farm
Weed battle
Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association
Southeast honors
Why every operation needs two succession plans
Biopesticides and beneficial insects
Ag Labor Review
Farm Market & Agriculture
Classifieds
Advertiser Index
April 2024 - 1
April 2024 - 2
April 2024 - 3
April 2024 - Editor's Letter
April 2024 - 5
April 2024 - The Pest Whisperer?
April 2024 - 7
April 2024 - 8
April 2024 - 9
April 2024 - Managing wildlife on the farm
April 2024 - 11
April 2024 - 12
April 2024 - 13
April 2024 - Weed battle
April 2024 - 15
April 2024 - 16
April 2024 - 17
April 2024 - Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association
April 2024 - 19
April 2024 - Southeast honors
April 2024 - 21
April 2024 - Why every operation needs two succession plans
April 2024 - 23
April 2024 - Biopesticides and beneficial insects
April 2024 - 25
April 2024 - 26
April 2024 - 27
April 2024 - 28
April 2024 - 29
April 2024 - Ag Labor Review
April 2024 - 31
April 2024 - Farm Market & Agriculture
April 2024 - 33
April 2024 - Classifieds
April 2024 - Advertiser Index
April 2024 - 36
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/january-2022
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/seedguide-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/buyersguide-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/january-2021
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