Quail Hill Farm Celebrates its 35th Season

May 14, 2024

Established in 1990, Quail Hill Farm is one of the first Community Supported Agriculture farms in New York State

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — The Peconic Land Trust is celebrating the 35th season of Quail Hill Farm in Amagansett. Founded in 1990, Quail Hill Farm is one of the first Community Supported Agriculture farms in New York State. Quail Hill’s unique model – where farm members harvest their own shares from the fields – provides members with a personal connection to their food.

Situated on land donated to the Peconic Land Trust by Deborah Ann Light, a central part of our mission at Quail Hill is to educate our apprentices, farm members and the public concerning such issues as soil health, sustainable food systems, and regenerative farming practices.

"In creating a space for people to connect to the land over the past 35 years, we have been building a rich network of eaters, growers and lovers of land who come together to support an ethic of land stewardship that advances resilient food systems now and for many years to come," explains Quail Hill Farm Director, Layton Guenther.

The Summer Share season begins in early June and goes through October. Farm members get to harvest on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays in the fields from over 500 varieties of vegetables, herbs, and cut flowers. A box share option is also available for pick up either at the farm or at the Trust’s Bridge Gardens in Bridgehampton on Saturdays throughout the summer.

In 2020, Quail Hill Farm launched its Farm to Food Pantry program in partnership with the Bridgehampton Child Care and Recreational Center (aka The Center) to address acute food insecurity exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic and accompanying shutdown. Working with The Center, the farm provides fresh local produce to hundred's of individuals served by the food pantry’s distributions. Now in its fifth season, the program continues to provide thousands of pounds of vegetables throughout the growing season.

Additional information about the farm, farm shares, and the Farm to Food Pantry program can be found at www.QuailHillFarm.org.

Quail Hill Farm participates in the Amagansett Square Farmers Market on Thursdays from 2:30-5:30 PM beginning May 23. The farm also offers a robust winter share, beginning the week before Thanksgiving and going through February.

In addition to the educational programs listed below, the farm offers educational programming for school groups and children of all ages related to seeding, transplanting, and harvesting. To learn more and to schedule a visit, contact info@quailhillfarm.org.

Highlights of the season’s public events at Quail Hill Farm:

• Saturday May 18: Transplanting Seedlings into the Fields – join us for this hands-on day as we take seedlings from the greenhouses at the farm and plant them in the fields;
• Memorial Day Weekend, Saturday and Sunday, May 25-26: Annual Plant Sale and CSA Open House. Learn more about the farm while picking up some vegetable, flower and herb seedlings to plant at home – all grown in the Quail Hill Farm greenhouse.
• Thursday, July 25: Meet and Greet with Birds of Prey with the educators from the Quogue Wildlife Refuge in the orchard at the farm.
• Saturday, August 17: Bees and the Beekeeper with Bees’ Needs Mary Woltz in the orchard at the farm.

A complete list of events at Quail Hill Farm, as well as more events throughout the East End with the Peconic Land Trust, is available at www.peconiclandtrust.org/calendar or by emailing events@peconiclandtrust.org.

Established in 1990, Quail Hill Farm is on 35 acres generously donated to the Trust by Deborah Ann Light in Amagansett, NY. Over the farm’s history, more than 120 farm apprentices have been trained – with many of those still engaged in farming today. Training apprentices and providing share members with informational resources on the issues of soil health, our seed supply, food security and sustainable, and organic farming practices is a central part of the farm’s mission. Each year, Quail Hill Farm signs onto the Northeast Organic Farming Association, New York (NOFA-NY) Farmer’s Pledge “to sustain the land in healthy condition for future generations.” For more information visit www.quailhillfarm.org.