The Farm
Hi! We're Kelci and Chris. We met in 2015 in New Orleans and bonded over a shared love of plants. In New Orleans, Chris had a homestead with a vegetable garden, fruit trees, and a flock of chickens, ducks, and geese. Kelci worked at an urban farm, helped run a greenhouse for a landscaping company, and grew a flower garden. Looking to escape city life, we decided to move to Chris's hometown of Shelter Island. We wanted to live closer to nature and in a tight-knit community. We both took restaurant jobs and started our first shared garden together. The garden was great! The service industry grind was not. Kelci dreamed of growing beautiful blooms. Chris dreamed of not waiting tables.
So what did we do? We started a farm! Neither one of us grew up farming, but we both knew we wanted to play with plants. We wanted to eat good food and experience the beauty of flowers. We took over Jay and Marge Card's decades-old farm at Card's Cabins on Shelter Island. We cleared out the overgrown field in the fall of 2017 and began sowing vegetable and flower seeds the following spring. We reopened the farm stand on the property and joined the Havens Farmers Market on Shelter Island. In 2019, we started Shelter Island's first Flower CSA! In 2020, we expanded to design, build, and maintain home flower and vegetable gardens. We also do custom floral design, on-farm flower harvesting and design experiences, and garden consulting.
Our Farming Practices:
At Island Time Farm, we grow specialty cut flowers and delicious vegetables! We do this by fostering a healthy soil that grows healthy plants. We are a no-till, biological farm that uses regenerative practices. Our farm is about 1 acre, with 2/5 of an acre growing crops. We grow over 30 varieties of gorgeous flowers where we focus on beautiful, high-quality blooms that last in the vase. We also specialize in tomatoes, bringing you heirloom beefsteaks and Sun Gold cherry tomatoes along with shishito peppers and hot peppers. You will find the occasional surprise vegetable at the farmers market as well. You can get our flowers and vegetables at our farm stand at 62 N. Ferry Road (across from The Islander). We are at the Havens Farmers Market on Shelter Island every Saturday of the season.
We believe our practices should improve, rather than sustain, the quality of our soil and the life around the farm.
Here's how we do it:
We are NO-TILL! Why are we no-till? Tilling is killing! Did you know that soil is full of life? Bacteria, fungi, nematodes, arthropods, and worms are all part of the complex soil food web that is essential to creating healthy plants and humans. Basically, the soil food web feeds plants in exchange for root exudates created by photosynthesis. The more abundant and diverse the soil biology, the more nutritious and healthy our plants become. The healthier our plants are, the more they feed the soil. This cycle draws carbon from the air and creates organic matter. We use gentle practices that allow biology to flourish!
COMPOST is the backbone of our farm! Every year, we make tons (literally!) of compost. The compost increases organic matter in the soil, feeds soil biology, and ups the diversity of the life in our soil. We also make Actively Aerated Compost Teas to further inoculate our soil.
We use lots of MULCH. We use a mix of wood chips, leaves, hay, and seaweed to both protect and feed the soil. Mulch helps retain moisture, prevents erosion, protects against the summer sun, and feeds the soil as it breaks down.
We use COVER CROPS whenever we can. As photosynthesis is the life-force of soil, we want plants growing in our field all the time. When a bed is cleared at the end of the season, we plant a diverse mix of cover crop to keep boosting soil health.
