Ellwood's Local Farmers

Amy’s Organic Garden

Amy’s Organic Garden was started in 1994 in Quinton, VA, just 28 miles from our store, and we were their first customers! Our 10+ year relationship has grown even stronger since, and so has Amy’s garden.

Amy and George are one of the elite few growers in Virginia to USDA Certified Organic, thus we label them with the Local BEST integrity pin!

Some of the prettiest tomatoes we’ve ever seen! Look for them in the summertime!

Amy Hicks, circa 1994!

Amy’s Organic Garden: Amy Hicks and George Ferguson
Founded: 1994
Location: Quinton, VA
Mileage to Ellwood Thompson’s: 28 miles
What they grow: Specialty produce including chard, kale, collards, melons, tomatoes, squash, beets, various heirloom varieties and cut flowers.

Manakintowne Specialty Growers

Once you finally get out of Midlothian and the trees outnumber the cars, there’s a good chance that you’ll run into Manakintowne farms, owned by Jo and Rob Pendergraph. Jo and Rob founded the farm in 1985 in Powhatan, VA, just 24 miles from our front door.

It’s a small farm, nestled beneath a small set of rolling hills and beautiful trees. They operate three greenhouses that grow primarily fresh cut herbs, baby salad greens, micro greens and edible flowers. Seasonally you’ll find everything from African blue basil, micro chives, bronze fennel, baby green beans and zucchini blossoms.

Very young micro-greens growing in the hoop houses.

Delicious clover!

Fresh cherry tomatoes! I ate these like candy!

The day that I came, Jo had just harvested a large amount of green and purple bell peppers. Truly a family farm with only 7 employees.

Location: Powhatan, VA

Mileage from Store: 24

Victory Farms

If you’re headed north on highway 301 in Hanover County, Victory Farms is easy to miss. Nestled back off the right, down a long driveway, the beautiful farmhouse and acres of fresh vegetables are hidden by the surrounding of large Oak trees.

In 2006, Charlie & Gina Collins moved from Phoenix, Arizona to Hanover County, VA. Their farm and growing practices however have been around since 1994, completely unconventional. After successfully serving nearly 200 families and 25 fine restaurants in Phoenix, Charlie and Gina Collins were ready for a change.

Their 52-acre farm host two acres of compost-fed, completely all-natural vegetables, herbs and vining fruits. His efficient use of space yields a bounty of produce for Ellwood Thompson’s as well as enough to supply a 200-member Community Supported Agriculture program in Richmond.

Charlie Collins has been farming for a living since 1994. With a degree in Botany, he has spent years developing methods for growing fine-quality produce on a small urban farm. The four+ acres of land are compost-fed and pesticides are never used. Artisanally grown produce is hand-harvested and tended to daily by Charlie himself and arrives at the markets freshly picked, clean and ready to enjoy. For more info on Victory Farms, click here.

Location: Hanover, VA

Mileage to Ellwood Thompson’s: 18 miles

What they grow: salad mix, carrots, onions, radishes, spinach, arugula, head lettuce, turnips, herbs, swiss chard or other cooking greens, heirloom tomatoes, melons, beets, cucumbers, summer squash, winter squash, garlic, peppers, cabbage, broccoli, green beans, potatoes, onions, sugar snap peas, etc., with seasonal variation.