I’d just come back from a liberal arts college, and to be honest, no one expected me to return to the farm. There have been women farmers – always – but they haven’t always been recognized as the ones running the place.

Returning to the Farm

I was the daughter who went off to study painting and writing, while my brother learned to drive tractors and weld. Naturally, the assumption was that he’d be the one to head the farm.

But we both do. And we’re lucky—we get along well, we share a vision, and that’s not something to take for granted in a family business.

Painting, Farming, and Finding the Overlap

Yes, I was a painter. But farming is a full-time practice, and it demands everything. I can really only manage one medium at a time. Still, there are moments – especially in the fields, with the colors of the tomatoes, or when working on label designs – where it all overlaps.

Some of that creative impulse comes through at the farmstand, too. There’s beauty in the vegetables, the way things grow and morph. You can’t always script it. Sometimes it just happens.

Inside Tip

If you stop by the farmstand, look closely. The layout, the colors, the charm – it’s can be natural, intentional, or both.

Contact

Marilee's Farmstand

About

This card was written by Marilee Foster, a sixth-generation farmer, artist, and author, deeply connected to the soil and the environs of Sagaponack, New York. She runs Marilee’s Farmstand and co-owns Foster Farm and the Sagaponack Farm Distillery with her brother Dean.

Images

Marilee's Farmstand / Instagram; Last Back of Card Image - By @musnicki_photography