We planted over 1,000 lavender plants last year, and they were all in bloom this past June, and into July. It was a spectacular! View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dixon Family Farm (@dixon_family_farm)

We tend to jump into the deep end when starting new adventures, and farming has been no exception. When we moved back to the States after living overseas, I was literally Googling “how to be a farmer” on the flight to Maryland. We had a vineyard in mind from the beginning, but along the way…

It’s cold and gray, and winter feels especially chilly in our old farmhouse. We bundle up in sweatshirts and spend most evenings gathered around the wood stove, soaking in the warmth. I’ve also spent an impressive amount of time buying flower seeds for next spring—soooo many flower seeds. Somewhere between talking things through with Jeff…

We moved home in late October 2019, and the barn and farm were in rough shape. Here are some before and after pics. Before After In November we finally got the permits from the county to clear our first acre of brush, very exciting!

Spring 2020 is one we won’t soon forget. As the global pandemic brought the world to a sudden standstill, we hunkered down at home—masking up, washing our hands, and getting to know our UPS and FedEx drivers on a first-name basis. With travel paused and plans on hold, we focused our energy close to home….

We spent a brisk Veterans Day weekend clearing brush on the farm, putting our new power tools to good use mowing, chipping, and shredding an impressive collection of spiky, scratchy, and downright itchy branches and vines. Somewhere between the brush piles and the chipper, we decided to add “worm farmers” to the ever-growing list of…

The results are in for the nematode assay on our prospective first vineyard… we are infected with the dreaded Dagger Nematode. What are nematodes? Glad you asked. They are a parasitic non-segmented pin worm that live in soil. When present in large numbers, they attach themselves to root systems, suck the life out of the…

We walked the farm fields Friday afternoon with Ben Beale, our extension agent from the Univ. of Maryland and St. Mary’s County, to discuss the viability of our soil for growing grapes. Thumbs up from Ben! We have some of the best agriculture soil there is in the county, and some soggy areas as well….

Jeff makes another trip from Germany to the farm following Hurricane Dorian. Some trees down, and so much clean up to do. He is also on a mission to locate the Dairy barn that we found on old satellite images. Mission accomplished! Dairy barn found collapsed in a heap inside dense brush. Hope we can…