The Farm: Then and Now
OUR STORY
In the spring of 2010, we purchased a picturesque, three acre piece of property off of Lexington Lane in Earlysville, VA. We never thought we would leave our family and friends in Virginia Beach yet the mountains were calling. With our two daughters not yet in elementary school, it felt like an opportune moment in time to relocate and establish our humble homestead.
In 2014, we took our hobby gardening skills and made some big changes to the property. By summer, we had two garden plots fenced and ready for more plants. The landscape of our small piece of paradise has certainly changed many times over the past 8 years. Our adventure began with growing hot peppers which gave birth to a wonderfully, tasty hot sauce made with our paper lantern peppers and locally sourced honey; Hammered Inn Sauce was born. We have spent the last four years adding pieces to the puzzle for a larger venture of selling our sauce in markets across Albemarle and Nelson counties.
Hammered Inn Farm and Garden also offers Heritage pork by the whole, half and quarter hog and has fresh, organically grown produce for sale through a summer CSA program. Beginning in April and May of each year, you will find offerings of beautiful annuals in hanging baskets, patio planters and individual pots. With the addition of a 20' x 50' greenhouse, we are also able to offer garden starts to our loyal customers who share the same passion for growing their own produce.
To be honest, we never thought we would be living this life. This beautiful life chose us and we answered the call to do our best to learn homesteading techniques through trial, lots of errors and a whole lot of sweat along the way. Now we can't imagine doing anything else with our lives other than digging in the dirt and tending to our many farm critters including rabbits, chickens, cats, hogs and dogs.
Life is about relationships and meaningful connection. Our village here in Earlysville has opened it's arms to us and we embrace them back fully. Our world today is in fast-forward but the Hammer family is doing what we can to slow our own pace of living down so we can take the time to love one another thoughtfully, help our neighbors genuinely, and live as much as we can off the land around us.
Thank you for visiting our website; now, come for a real visit on the farm!
With peace and gratitude,
Aaron and Mitzi Hammer