While our business was strong, for personal reasons, we decided that 2022 was our last season in operation. We have greatly enjoyed our work and the love and support in the community for our business and the local food system. As of March 2023, Beth and Daryl are enjoying a return to retirement. Nicki remains engaged with the local farming community as the Community Outreach Coordinator for Known & Grown STL. And Katie has taken the position as Farm Manager of Le Champ de Fleurs at Stone Soup Cottage in Cottleville.
Hart|Beet Farm was established in 2015 as a small, diversified farm in northern Lincoln County, MO. In 2018, we became Certified Naturally Grown, which is a grassroots alternative to the USDA's Certified Organic program. From our fields we grow a variety of vegetables with the promise to never use pesticides, herbicides, or synthetic fertilizers. From our forest we harvest many wild edibles including mushrooms, fruits, and maple sap.
Our mission is to provide sustainably-produced, high quality foods to our community while improving the land and upholding our values of social and ecological justice.
Our farming philosophy is focused on the health of the soil and all of the living organisms within it. Healthy soil produces healthy food for a healthy community. Starting in 2018 we began our transition to a no-till system. Disturbance of the soil through tillage is one of the most harmful activities for the living microbes and other organisms in the soil. Our focus is to encourage and maintain a living system. We don't claim to be perfect, but we are constantly working towards a more holistic management of the land that more closely mimics nature while at the same time being accessible to us as farmers.
In addition to our agricultural practices, we engage in sustainable wild foraging. Every day we are learning new things about the land of which we are stewards. Our small farm is filled with an abundance of wild foods that have become mostly forgotten over the last few generations. We are conscious of the needs of the wildlife that surround us as well as the overall health of the plants we are harvesting, being always careful to take only a small proportion of what is available.
YOUR FARMERS
We are two-generational beginning farmers!
Beth Morgan
Nicki Morgan
Daryl Morgan
Katie Hochstedler
Known & Grown exists to help farmers within the St. Louis foodshed spread the word about their practices, their products, and the principles that ground their food. Farmers must adhere to all the required sustainable practices and are encouraged to use a number of other environmentally responsible and ethical practices.
As a Golden Beet recipient, we have demonstrated practices that go above and beyond the standards of the Known and Grown STL label.
Certified Naturally Grown is a grassroots alternative to the National Organic Program. While farmers adhere to the same growing standards, CNG also provides a platform for farmers to collect and disseminate knowledge and information through a robust farmer network and annual peer-review based inspections.