Mike Nolan, farmer at Earth Spring Farm, is now in his 16th season of producing organically grown produce, herbs and fruits. Earth Spring also raises around 500 laying chickens each year on the farm's pastures.

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Long before settling in the heartland of Cumberland Valley, Pennsylvania, Mike spent his grade school years working on local farms in upstate New York. He was also active in 4H with his brother, raising beef cattle and hogs. He later became interested in organic farming as a Peace Corps volunteer in West Africa. He served as an agricultural extension agent in beautiful Togo, a country whose agriculture is mostly subsistence farming. As poor soil is their primary obstacle to successful farming, Mike focused on creating a network of farmers who were practicing composting, erosion control and other soil improvement techniques. 

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Building such a network was a worthy challenge in the late 90s. He traveled the country, identifying successful farmers and then cajoling them into helping many more farmers comprehend soil health, teaching them how to improve their own land. Together they created a school for farmers that accelerated their understanding of how to make a better life for themselves and their families through agriculture.

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When he returned from Africa, Mike moved to Austin, Texas and landed on a small urban farm with a CSA program. Here he started his education in organic vegetables. He married one of the farm volunteers (spoiler alert: it was Diem...) and brainwashed her into believing that building a farming life together was going to be fun. Their firstborn daughter, Sage, came into the world on that farm in Texas. Her sister Harper would come along a few years later, on a farm that awaited them in the future.

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Alongside her volunteer work on the organic farm, Mike's wife Diem Nguyen (pronounced "yim win") also studied acupuncture in Austin, where she had established a successful practice. 

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In 2008, the family moved back east to be closer to their extended families. They first worked to set up Diem's acupuncture and Chinese medicine practice, Heart Energy Medicine, which has become a beacon of wellness and healing for their community in the greater Harrisburg area. Earth Spring Farm was then established in 2010. Originally located in Gardners, PA, the farm moved to an idyllic 42-acre plot of land right outside Boiling Springs, PA, where you can find it today, complete with vibrant fields, gently rolling hills, blooming greenhouses and a bubbling spring coming from the natural aquifer below. 

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For the past several years, Earth Spring has been primarily a CSA farm, with a strong presence at the Mount Pleasant Farmers market in Washington, D.C., and an ever improving farmstand located directly on the farm. With the CSA program now on hiatus, the plan for 2019 will focus more on wholesale partnerships, expanding the farm's presence at some of D.C.'s best farmers markets, launching new products like Earth Pig Soil Mix and Diem's Herbs & Flowers, and continuing to offer more variety at the farmstand, stocked with the absolute freshest harvest right from the fields.

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We believe that food tastes better when you know who's growing it, so we encourage you to come visit the farm and see where the magic happens! The farmstand is open every day. We keep it stocked with our freshest seasonal produce, and we're constantly working on expanding our selection of high quality local goods. Feel free to reach out with any questions about the farm, wholesale partnerships, Earth Pig Soil, or just to say hi! We're happy to be your farmers.

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