Jo and Rob Pendergraph occupy a gourmet niche in Virginia farming. The couple has run Manakintowne Specialty Growers since 1985 and their commitment to fresh produce and the people who buy and eat it has taken this family- owned and -operated farm to the forefront of fine Virginia cuisine.

Begun on Monacan Farm in Powhatan, the Pendergraph’s farm moved to the Federal Hills neighborhood off Judes Ferry Road in 1997. The couple’s 21-acre farm provides “fresh and sometimes unusual produce to top restaurants” and specialty markets from Charlottesville to Williamsburg, said Jo Pendergraph. Manakintowne Specialty Growers will be one of seven farms featured in the Powhatan County Agri-Entrepreneurship Tour, Saturday August 13.

For most of the year, the Pendergraphs run the farm with the help of one full-time employee; during peak seasons they employ six to eight part-time workers.

“We’re up early,” said Jo. “Everyone is here by seven [a.m.]. We start by checking on restaurant orders that came in overnight [on voicemail]. Four days a week are spent getting orders together; the rest of the time is for regular farm work. In the afternoons we drop the orders off to restaurants.”

Patrons of the farm’s greens include Bookbinder’s, Cancan, and Ellwood Thompson’s in Richmond; Clifton Inn and Duner’s in Charlottesville; and The Trellis in Williamsburg. A number of area caterers and cooking schools also buy from the specialty growers.

“This is a business like any other,” said Jo, “it’s run on consistency.”

Fresh cut herbs, baby salad greens, micro greens and edible flowers are the farm’s staple produce; but variety is the spice of life and experimentation seems to make Jo smile. Seasonal specialties include black Spanish radishes, chiogga beets, zucchini blossoms, kabocha squash, African blue basil, and bronze fennel.

In an age of mechanized mega farming, Manakintowne Specialty Growers has built a profitable small business in a field and two green houses; responsible farming is the key for continued success.

“We try to be good stewards of the land; the health of the soil determines success, so we do make a lot of use of sustainable farming practices,” said Jo, paraphrasing the farm’s stated mission.

Crop rotation, cover cropping, composting, companion planting, row covers, and mulching with compostable materials are aspects of the farm’s approach.

“We use tractors to till the soil, but otherwise it’s all done by hand,” said Jo.

“I buy it [produce] here because it’s local and it’s fresh, you know where it was grown and when it was picked,” said Becky Lilywhite, owner of Becky’s Tea Cafe in Powhatan. “It’s a wonderful sense of having something grown in Powhatan by our families…it’s fresh and not treated with pesticides.”

For Rob Pendergraph, the secret to their success has been to tap into something he and his wife remain passionate about. “This isn’t work,” he said. “It’s fun.”