Merryvale Farm wins district environmental awards
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| From left are Jack Frye, a director with the Virginia Department of Conservation & Recreation Soil & Water Division, Tyler Crittenden of Merryvale Farm, and David Moore, Virginia Cooperative Extension Agent (right). |
Merryvale Farm also received the Chesapeake Bay Coastal Basin Award in 2010. This is a regional award that includes the area from part of the Eastern Shore west across the Middle Peninsula including Essex and King and Queen counties.
Merryvale Farm is less than a mile from the Chesapeake Bay. It is run by James T. (Turk) Crittenden III and his son James Tyler Crittenden IV. They grow specialty fruits and vegetables as well as the traditional corn, soybeans and wheat. The specialty crops include sweet corn, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, cantaloupes, watermelons and strawberries, to name a few.
The Crittendens have been farming in Deltaville since the late 1800s. They started growing watermelons in the 1920s and hauled them to Washington, D.C., where Turk’s father, the late James T. Crittenden II, had a market. In the 1960s and 70s they also ran a tomato cannery.
Turk and Tyler Crittenden have always believed in protecting the land and know the importance of utilizing conservation practices to prevent soil loss and excess nutrients from entering the Bay. Merryvale Farm had the first farm conservation plan in Middlesex.
James Crittenden served on the ASCS Board in the 1960s and Turk Crittenden served on the Tidewater SWCD Board for several years in the 1980s.
The Crittendens practice no-till on the majority of their land, use winter cover crops to protect the soil in between crop rotations, and always keep an up-to-date Nutrient Management Plan. Their vegetable rotation has one year of plowing; however, due to proper rotations, they maintain a positive SCI (Soil Conditions Index) that determines if land is losing, holding or gaining soil organic matter. Merryvale is actually gaining organic matter.
Merryvale Farm uses drip irrigation and puts fertilizer through the drip so it is injected directly into the soil near the plant roots and not lost into the air or bodies of water. The water used to irrigate the vegetables is pumped out of ponds, so no ground water is being used. The majority of the farm’s ponds are close enough to the vegetables to collect runoff, so the water is captured and re-used.
Since it is so close to the Bay, the Crittendens voluntarily install buffers to capture any excess nutrients and sediment. They also leave some of their land forested for wildlife.
They are very stringent about following their Nutrient Management Plan so they don’t apply excess nutrients that the crops don’t need. Turk and Tyler Crittenden scout fields for insects, weeds and diseases, and use established thresholds when applying pesticides. They make sure their spray equipment is properly calibrated and that empty pesticide containers are properly disposed (triple-rinsed and recycled).
Turk Crittenden has a Restricted Use Pesticide Certificate issued by the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Merryvale Farms Inc. is very active in its community. It operates a large produce stand from the middle of May through the end of October.
Tyler Crittenden has served on the Tidewater Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Directors for three years. The Crittendens also work with local Virginia Cooperative Extension agents planting test plots and hosting field days. Merryvale is also a member of the Northern Neck Vegetable Association.
