Grow with us in Southwest, VA! – Crooked Porch Farm

Last Updated On: enero 27th, 2025 at 03:24PM MST

Contact information

Farm Address:
805 Cross Creek Rd
Hillsville, Virginia, 24343

Primary Contact: Hailey Sowden
Primary Phone:
    Type: Cell
    Number: 276-233-4283
    Email: farmers@crookedporchfarm.com

Website: https://www.crookedporchfarm.com

Internship information

General Farm Description: We are located 5 minutes from downtown Hillsville, 35 minutes from Mt. Airy, NC, 40 minutes from Floyd, VA and an hour from Blacksburg, VA. We grow between 4 and 6 acres of vegetables for two bustling farmer’s market and our online farm store (pick-ups on the farm). Our crew consists of us (Mike and Hailey—with tagalong kiddos) and 3 full time employees and 1-2 part-time employees. We grow year-round with a focus on storage crops for the winter and harvest greens and other veggies every week of the year. We are more mechanized than some farms our scale and less mechanized than others. Most of our acreage is in tractor cultivation, though we plant by hand using jab transplanters. A small, but not insignificant portion of our farm (2/3 acre) is in no-till production. Our no-till garden is where we grow “high turnover” crops like salad greens and some roots using mostly hand tools. We take a pretty hands-off approach in the garden and use tarps, earthworms, microbiology and time to do a lot of the bed flipping between crops. The hands-on work in the garden includes cultivating, weeding, planting and harvesting. We also have a number of high tunnels where we grow greens in the winter and trellised crops (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant) in the summer.

CRAFT Member Farm? No

Internship Starts: 4/1/25 or 5/1/25
Internship Ends: 11/25/25
Number of Internship Available: 2
Application Deadline: 2/15/25 Apply online at crookedporchfarm.com/jobs
Minimum Length of Stay: 6 months, with 2 week trial period at start of position

Internship Details:

We’re hiring two full time positions on our small farm!  A few activities you might expect to participate in include:

–Seeding in the greenhouse

–Trellising tomatoes or cucumbers in the high tunnel.

–Participating in weekly harvest for the farmer’s market.

–Packing pre-orders for our on-farm pick-up.

–Washing and sanitizing harvest bins

–Hoeing Vegetable crops in our no-till garden

–Moving tarps, row covers, and sand bags.

–Broadforking and ammending beds in our no-till garden.

–Fertilizing and laying plastic mulch with our mechanical bed-layer.

–Planting seedlings with a jab transplanter.

–Playing fetch with our three sweet farm pups, Jo, Sammy, and Molly.

Educational Opportunities: This is a paid position with a standard hourly wage. That being said, one of our favorite things on the farm is sharing knowledge and skills with folks interested in sustainable agriculture. There are ample learning opportunities every day from pest life-cycles and control, seeding strategies, food safety training, and tractor training. We also visit other farms in our area 1-2 times per month.

Skills Desired: Who we're looking for: —Experience working in agriculture or food businesses is preferred, but a positive attitude and willingness to learn is the most important requirement! —Ability to work in a fast-paced environment both independently and with a team. —Focus on quality and attention to detail. —Have reliable transportation and ability to get to work on time. —Physical ability to bend/lift (up to 50 lbs) /stoop or crouch for long periods of time. —A willingness to work in all weather conditions (except lightning!) —A positive attitude!

Meals: We don't provide meals on a schedule, but all living areas have kitchens and we often eat together daily, with farmers preparing a crew lunch 1-2 days a week. Folks working on the farm also have access to all-you-can-eat veggies and some traded/bartered items from other local producers (meat, bread, kombucha, etc).

Stipend: What we offer: —Competitive wages, starting at $16/hour depending on experience —Fulfilling work outside with a dedicated and engaged team —Experience working with organic systems on a dynamic and growing small farm —Opportunities for increased responsibility and year-round employment. —On-farm housing for the right person! —A beautiful working environment and cold creek to splash in after a long hot day! —Because we are a small farm, everyone on the team will at some point participate in all aspects of the vegetable production, from seeding and greenhouse work, to trellising, bed preparation, harvest, cleaning, and maintenance. Every day is a little different—that’s part of what makes our work so fun and interesting!

Housing: Housing is provided in a sweet tiny house or remodeled camper with communal break area, washer/dryer, and bathroom.

Preferred method of Contact: Email