Welcome to Vollmecke Orchards! A Chester County CSA!

VOLLMECKE ORCHARDS & CSA is a 37 acre family-owned farm and
orchard located in West Brandywine Township, Chester County , PA.
We offer a wide variety of fruits and vegetables to our 150-member
CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program and to our
retail customers.

See what’s happening at the farm. Check out our blog!
Our Mission · Our Philosophy
Growing Methods at Vollmecke Farm
Notes From the Farm · CSA New Member Waiting List

Our Mission
Be a vibrant successful small family farm based on quality produce and respect for nature. Support other local farmers with like goals.

Our Philosophy

Consumers have the right to a clean food source that enhances not only their own health, but that of the environment. Having a direct connection to the people who grow their food and the land where it is grown spawns a healthy, respectful view of our place on this earth. Our CSA members and customers know they can count on us to bring lots of variety and a sense of adventure into their lives with delicious food fresh from the fields. We offer real food grown in a manner that enlivens our bodies while supporting a healthy environment. Unlike purchasing produce at a grocery store, our customers and members can ask us directly about our growing practices and visit the farm personally to see where their food is grown. By buying locally, consumers help support and keep farming alive in our communities!

Growing Methods at Vollmecke Farm

At Vollmecke Orchards, we grow high quality, wholesome food in an environmentally friendly way. We are deeply committed to respecting the land while producing our fruits and vegetables, then harvesting at peak ripeness and flavor. To us, the word quality means produce rich in flavor and high in nutritional content. How it is raised matters a great deal to us, not necessarily that it be perfect in appearance. After all, it is precisely the desire for perfect, blemish-free fruits and vegetables that has led to such extreme use of chemicals in our general food supply today. We realize that all of us might need to modify our old views and expectations in order to embrace a healthier way of life.

We grow all of our vegetables naturally, without synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, genetically modified organisms or sewage sludge. We use crop rotation, cover crops and compost extensively to enrich our soil so it will support a teeming soil biology that, in turn, supports healthy plants. Our dedication to these techniques over the years has improved our soils substantially, a continuing goal of which we are rather proud.

In our orchards, we practice IPM (Integrated Pest Management), choosing to apply cultural techniques where possible rather than chemical sprays. When we deem it necessary to spray for damaging insects (usually based on trap counts) or fungus problems that could destroy the fruit crop, materials are always selected for safety, efficacy, and minimal impact to the environment. We might choose to spray an organic material or, at times, a non-organic material. We regularly perform foliar sprays of organic nutrients. These foliar applied nutrients along with regular applications of our own compost to the base of the trees are major components of our fertility and disease management programs.

We monitor the health of the trees weekly with a special tool called a refractometer. The refractometer tells us the % of dissolved soluble content of liquids measured by the brix scale. A high brix reading means that we’re doing a good job. If the brix number drops, it could indicate a foliar spray is needed. High brix numbers translate to healthy trees and plants that are naturally disease resistant and not subject to insect feeding.

We prefer this proactive approach to keep plants in good health rather than to spray harsher materials if they become inundated by pests and diseases. By using this new technology, we can produce extremely sweet fruit and vegetables that are full of good nutrients!

We also are fortunate to have the help of a local soil scientist who is assisting us with the technical side of obtaining and maintaining a proper nutrient balance to the soils. We hope that this mix of science and the intuitive art of farming will translate to a vibrancy and quality that everyone will recognize!

At Vollmecke Orchards, you can Taste the Difference!

Notes From the Farm

We have expanded our production of high quality organic compost compost to enhance our farm operations and to include retail sales to customers and members. Good quality compost is the basis of our natural growing practices and can complement your home garden, too! We sell compost in 40 lb. bags @ $8.50 per bag. We also offer our compost bulk for $50.00 a yard. To order or ask any questions, contact us at vollmeckecsa@hotmail.com

CSA New Member Waiting List

We are accepting new member applications for the 2011 Waiting List. We will be happy to add you! Just send us an e-mail with your current mailing address and preferred CSA pick-up site (and 2nd choice, if applicable).

Note: If you are a Vollmecke Orchards CSA member from any past year since 1998, you do not need to be on the waiting list. Simply sign up next February during Early Enrollment as a returning member after our website has been updated with 2011 Pledge Forms.

** We welcome e-mail questions or comments any time. **

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