The North Union Farmers Market has been a staple summer event at Legacy through the years and would be nothing without the farmers and vendors that show up each week! We wanted to take the time to highlight some of the vendors this summer to allow attendees to learn more about the business behind the farmers market stand.

Martha’s Farm has been owned by Martha Gaffney and her family for over 20 years. Located in Ashland, Ohio, Martha’s Farm grows a wide variety of produce that they harvest for the farmers market every Sunday throughout the summer.

Martha’s Farm came to be when the family purchased land that was once an Amish farm. Before they even set their minds to planting produce, they spent almost eight years “healing the soil,” as Martha said. A lot needed to be done to curate the soil for proper farming.

“We worked hard to add depleted minerals back into the ground through years of composting and cover-cropping,” Martha said. From there, they used a lot of trial error with their planting in order to gauge the condition of the soil.

Martha is committed to growing a wide range of produce that doesn’t always yield a high quantity as she strives for biodiversification. Doing this is better for the environment and is why each time she comes to the market, she offers a different bounty for sale. The farm is committed to growing completely natural, organic, non-GMO and pesticide free produce. They own their own seeds, so they are not buying them from somewhere and are subject to GMO and pesticides.

Additionally, they are committed to sharing their knowledge. It is not just about selling produce in order to make money, they take the time to come to the markets on their day of rest after working 12-14 hour days six days a week in order to interact with people and to educate them on the food they are eating and purchasing. In a further effort to share knowledge, each year they work with an additional individual who wants to learn about the way they farm to propagate the knowledge and spread good information about farming

Martha’s favorite part of farming is “ALL OF IT.” She says it is her pleasure to be a part of the earth’s great miracle each and every day.

Martha would like to encourage everyone to come to the North Union Farmers market in order to take more care in where their food is coming from and to support the small farms that are committed to providing higher quality food!