When my friend Elsa texted me one day last summer to tell me about Meadow Mist Farm in Lexington, I remember wondering why I had never heard about it before, despite living in the neighboring town for such a long time. “I know you will love it, Béa,” she said. “You can choose and pick your own carrots, beets, kale and tomatoes right from the field.” I had done the obvious PYO before—cherries, peaches and apples—but not with vegetables in this manner. I was intrigued.

I quickly organized a Saturday afternoon outing with my 6-year-old son and my husband. And what a welcoming surprise it was when we arrived. Right away, I saw the charm present in small family- owned farms similar to my cousin’s near my rural home village in northeastern France. Elsa was right: I was smitten—and so was my young boy, amused by the conversation he joyfully had with the chatty chicken found behind the house.

Located in a rural corner of Lexington at the end of a narrow country lane, Meadow Mist is an integrated farm owned by Lauren Yaffee and her husband. And even if their path to farming is the result of an unlikely set of circumstances, after a lot of hard work— barns raised, rocks cleared, fences erected and trees planted— they are pleased to have turned it now into a successful micro-farm and an integral part of the local economy and community.

“My husband gave me a calf for my birthday, and the calf needed to be taken care of,” Lauren says. “So even if I had doubts I could handle the physically demanding work that most people my age would find exhausting, that was how I started my adventure in farming at Meadow Mist.”

Lauren tells me that at the farm they birth and raise cows and sheep; they sell grass-fed beef, lamb, pastured chicken and turkey. Each week, they collect and sell 1,500 eggs from their laying hens, and have a four-season egg CSA.

They also have a simple but appealing PYO system offering the best farm-to-table experience: Grab a basket, pick the vegetables or berries you like while strolling through the different patches and orchards around the property, walk inside the tiny farmshop to weigh picked produce, pay and promise to yourself to make it a habit to come back soon again.

That’s what we did. For example, in May you can pick asparagus; in June a quart of strawberries; and in August sun-filled tomatoes of all sizes, varieties and shapes.

Together, Lauren and her husband make everything they can to keep nature’s cycles strong and healthy. Beehives are kept for pollination and honey; grains are ground for bread. They also turn their produce into jams, jellies and other products from their home kitchen, with the goal of selling the best produce available in the local market.

“You will find here a slice of rural life in the middle of the city,” Lauren says.

They also pride themselves on having “everything done without the use of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, hormones or conventional fertilizers.” And, to provide the best organic matter to the soil, they add compost and recycle animal and vegetable waste.

“Sometimes we have volunteers that come to help, but for the most part, we do all of the work,” Lauren says, before adding that they also partner with a local school program to give students with learning challenges a place to come and try caring for plants and animals in a low-stress environment.

On paper, it all sounds easy, but it’s not. Lauren loves to welcome first-time visitors to the farm. And take care of returning ones, too.

meadow-mist.com

This story appeared in the Summer 2021 issue.