Most of the growers in TOG (with the exception of Jubilee in Martinsburg WV) live in central Pennsylvania along the many creeks and rivers that make up the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.  Although the farms share the same general region they are as diverse as the produce they offer. Central Pennsylvania shares a common ridge and valley pattern that determines the layout of a farm, as well as what grows best in a particular location.  The farms closest to TOG in Huntingdon, Bedford and Fulton Counties are defined mostly by steep ridges that hem in the creeks where a mix of  alluvial and shale soils offer the best farming for the area. Contoured fields are common and vegetable rows tend to follow the path of a stream or hug the edge of a hill. Higher elevations also extend the season for cool weather crops like lettuce, kale and arugula.  (If any of us lived farther west in Somerset County we'd be plowing snow in May. You can always count on WEATHER on the Allegheny Plateau.)  It definitely gets hot in this part of PA, but when you climb that last mountain from a trip from DC you know you're entering a different climate zone.

Farther east the valleys spread out between the mountains, opening into some of the best farm land in the world. To their western neighbors these are the flat landers even though mountains like the Tuscarora and Kittatiny are clear boundaries on every horizon. This isn't Indiana but a tractor can cultivate for half a mile before turning around or hitting a rock.  (There are some things that farmers covet.)  This is also the region where many of our extended summer crops come from.

The map below gives a general idea of the proximity of TOG farmers to each other and its market area. Click on the farm names to find out more about our members.