River Smoke Farm
Maurertown, Virginia
Fresh.
CLEAN.
LOCAL.
DELICIOUS.
About Us
River Smoke Farm is just two people and a dog, supported by family and community. My family has been farming in the Shenandoah Valley since the mid-1800s. I grew up walking the same paths, hunting the same woods, and baling the same hay fields as my dad, grandfather, and great-grandfather.
Alex was raised in Colorado and spent much of her time outdoors also, just in a different manner. She hiked, raced bicycles, and worked as a part-time guide before moving to Virginia to attend college. We met while volunteering in a Search & Rescue group in 2016 and married in 2018. Shortly thereafter we started looking for a house of our own. More importantly we wanted a house with land.
After some career changes, limping it through 2020, and spending over two years on the road looking for property in Colorado, Wyoming, West Virginia, and Virginia, we found what is now River Smoke Farm. After years of talking about what might be, we were more than pleased to find a defunct farm less than 20 miles from my grandparents’ farm. We couldn’t have asked to be anywhere better than back in the Shenandoah Valley.
Pino, our mini schnauzer, forever-child, supervisor, and bestest boy ever, has also adapted well to farm life after spending half of his life on the road. If you see us at a market, you may get to meet him. And he really is the bestest little boy.
-Matt
Where to Find Us
There’s a place in the Shenandoah Valley where the soil is fertile, the air is crisp, and the Shenandoah River drifts lazily by. River Smoke farm is just a small piece down the road from that place, which means our stuff’s pretty good, too.
River Smoke is a small family-owned and -operated farm in Maurertown, Virginia. We can be found online or by phone most days and at local markets on weekends during the harvest season. Follow us on social media to track our market days.
Depending on the week, you can find us at:
We also attend other local events and festivals. Follow us on social media for our schedule:
Offerings
Regional heirloom produce, pickles, heirloom whole-grain cornmeal, sweet corn and green chiles (grown from Hatch Valley seed) are all grown and processed on the farm. Our products are available to neighbors, local restaurants, and at local markets.
We hope to soon be offering Appalachian Heritage Skills and Wilderness Skills courses on the property. Follow us on social media if you are interested in when we offer courses.
Our Process
Our process is simple, not easy. We don’t take exception to planting or harvesting with machines, we just prefer to do things the old way. We save seed or source heirloom varieties from other seed savers and exchanges. We plant, prune, harvest, and wash by hand. We store rain and creek water to get through droughts. Our pantry goods contain the least number of ingredients to achieve the desired product. We only use chemicals we understand and that don’t have lasting effects on our soil or water. In the end, we eat the same product we sell. This list goes on but it doesn’t tell the other side…What we don’t do. We don’t pre-treat for weeds, wax our produce, throw out ugly veggies, or spray indiscriminate insecticides. We don’t use buzz words or tout certificates or virtue signal to market ourselves. Buzz words change with the seasons, politics don’t grow tomatoes, and certifications cost money, lots of money, and that cost gets passed on. Our goal is to raise clean food that is also affordable. We’re a small farm and we don’t need certificates and labels to keep things simple. If you’re curious about any part of how we operate, just ask. We try to provide the same transparency we expect from others.
Community
Running a small farm isn’t about growing, making, and raising everything under the sun. It’s about having the necessities, producing a quality product for market, and being part of a community that works together to make rural life work. A big part of that community is the network of local farms and markets. If we don’t grow it, make it, or raise it, we probably know someone who does. Here’s a list of some other farms and markets in the area. *We are not affiliated with nor endorsed by anyone listed below.