Our Story
begins on Monacan farm along the James River in Powhatan County, Virginia where in 1985 Jo and Rob Pendergraph started Manakintowne with an herb and vegetable garden next to a horse barn, with lots of well composted manure. Once we tasted the difference fresh herbs and fresh produce made in our own cooking, we knew we were onto something any good chef would appreciate. Our first customer was a creative and appreciative chef, and our customers continue to be the creative chef and the home cook who demand the best. What began as a part time backyard pursuit has evolved into the Manakintowne of today. With our dedicated staff, we grow on 21 acres in central Powhatan for chefs and markets throught Central Virginia, from Charlottesville to Tidewater.
How We Grow
Our mission as farmers is to be good stewards of the land that sustains us and to provide people with a delicious, healthy and beautiful product. We recognize that the health of our soil underlies the success of our efforts. That is why we use sustainable farming methods, such as crop rotation, cover cropping, composting, mulching with compostable materials such as paper and hay, hand-tending and harvesting, and row covers and careful timing for pest control and season extension. Most of our crops grow in beds 100' by 4' or smaller, so each bed and each crop gets attention according to its needs. Our farm has a rolling terrain. We plant in a series of gardens, buffered by native grasses, windbreaks and wildlife habitat.
about Manakintowne
Manakintowne is a family farm and boutique produce company in Central Virginia, specializing in all kinds of salad greens, fresh culinary herbs, edible flowers and small batch seasonal specialty produce. We cater to the professional chef. Chefs give us inspiration and set the standards for how we operate our business. Our produce is also available at a limited number of retail outlets in Central Virginia, and online here and from the Fall Line Farms and Local Roots online market. We pride ourselves on the quality of our products and our reliable personal service to all our customers.
Our story began on Monacan farm along the James River in Powhatan County, where in 1985 Jo and Rob Pendergraph started Manakintowne Specialty Growers with an herb and vegetable garden next to a horse barn, and access to good sun and well composted manure. Once we tasted the difference fresh herbs and fresh produce made in our own cooking, we knew we were onto something any good chef would appreciate. Our first customer was a creative and appreciative chef. What began as a backyard pursuit has evolved into the Manakintowne of today. Today, the dedicated staff of Manakintowne produces on 21 acres, in the field, high tunnels and greenhouses, still in central Powhatan, not far from where we began. In 2006, VDACS certified our farm kitchen, allowing us to take our produce into the prep stage. In 2015, in response to the phenomenal success of Central Virginia's food scene, we established Virginia Growers LLC to expand local offerings to our customers and provide a way in to the restaurant business for other Virginia producers
How we grow
Our mission as farmers is to be good stewards of the land that sustains us and to provide people with a delicious, healthy and beautiful product. We recognize that the health of our soil underlies the success of our efforts. That is why we use sustainable farming methods, such as crop rotation, cover cropping, composting, mulching with compostable materials such as paper and hay, hand-tending and harvesting, and row covers and careful timing for pest control and season extension. Most of our beds are 100' by 4' or smaller, so each bed and each crop gets attention according to its needs. Although we have not been through an organic certification process, we use only natural fertilizers and OMRI approved botanically derived pesticides, and we use them sparingly, as we build our soil organically. We grow year round in greenhouses, high tunnels and under cover in the field. Wildlife habitat, pollinators and vegetative buffers
.are important components of the farm
About our Manakintowne Salad Mix Our Manakintowne mix is an ever changing selection of the best of the season, usually made up of 10 or more greens, salad herbs and shoots. We don’t call it spring mix except in the spring! Our fall, winter and summer mixes reflect those seasons as well. Here's what you may find in our seasonal salad mixes:
Spring: baby lettuces, pea shoots, mache, arugula, spinach, chervil, sorrel, mizuna
Summer: chard, dandelion, mixed shoots, lettuce, chicory, arugula, purslane
Fall: baby kale, tat soi, frilly mustards, arugula, sunflower shoots, lettuce, escarole
Winter: pea shoots, fava greens, sorrel, radicchio, nasturtium, radish greens, baby lettuces
What else we grow Every season, we grow a mix of our tried-and-true gourmet and heirloom produce and trial many more to add to our list of offerings. Our most popular year-round selections are our Manakintowne salad mix, fresh cut herbs, baby salad greens, shoots and micro greens, and edible flowers. Seasonally, we grow everything from fresh coriander, perilla and Aji Amarillo peppers to baby fennel, black Spanish radishes and zucchini blossoms
What we sell We sell everything we grow...and then some! We are proud to offer outstanding produce not only from our farm but from other Virginia farms through our Virginia Growers project. Chefs and Growers: contact us here for more information or your special requests.
