About the garden
The Slough Garden is an evolving fixture of the Foundation where community engagement and food production come together. Cultivating roughly one and a quarter acre between two plots, we aim to be efficient and mighty. We employ low-till, organic approaches, relying on the power of our own hands. Our goal is to be varied and abundant in what we produce while maintaining a space that is welcoming and inclusive for visitors and volunteers of all kinds.
Outreach
Slough Farm partners with the Island’s network of programs working to promote food equity. Everything grown in the garden is either used in our on-site programming or donated to the community. The bulk of the produce is distributed through Island Grown Initiative’s Mobile Market, Community Lunch Program, Gleaning Program, The Island Food Pantry and the Slough Farm Suppers Program. Food is also donated to the Island Schools and other food distribution outlets. We frequently support events and outreach programs organized by the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society and the Trustees at the Farm Institute. Collaborating and communicating with these partners brings focus to our growing practices as we aim to produce the foods and varieties that best meet the needs of those we serve.
Each year, we look to strengthen and clarify the garden’s impact. Since its inception, our growing space has more than doubled in size. Our collaborative efforts with Island Grown Initiative expanded in 2020 with the creation of Slough Farm Suppers– a program that provides free, frozen, single-serve meals made with local ingredients to anyone on the Island. We’ve spent three seasons gradually expanding our infrastructure to extend the growing season and allow for more experimental crop trials. For two years we’ve been partnering with Hospice and Palliative Care of Martha’s Vineyard, providing fresh cut flowers from July-September to patients and families.
Our unique location
Slough Farm is situated on historic farmland on the outwash plains of Katama, on Martha’s Vineyard’s South Shore. The height of our growing season runs from June through October. The Island climate perpetually varies between wet and windy, and gloriously mild. We enjoy long summer days that meld into warm, abundant autumns. Humidity is a constant. Nor’easters are an annual threat. Responding to the elements of oceanside growing is a continuous learning curve that informs how we design and plan every year.
OUR agricultural community
We feel lucky to be amongst a strong agricultural community rich with generations of knowledge. A key component of Slough Farm’s mission is to support other farmers and non-profits here on Martha’s Vineyard. This takes the shape of sharing resources and tools, hosting visiting educators and experts, and contributing to events and programs across the island. Our status as a non-profit allows us the flexibility to experiment in our own practices. We then take what we learn and make our experiences available as an additional resource to our fellow farmers. In this way we hope our work will preserve and replenish the health of our own farmland while contributing to best practices on the island at large.
