About Us
“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.”
–Frances Hodgson Burnett
Tenderfoot is a seven-acre family farm and garden in Churchville, New York run by Jeff and Stephanie Castle. We grow heirloom vegetables and flowers, and raise pastured chickens and eggs. In the summer, we run a self-serve farm stand selling seedlings, organically grown vegetables, eggs, and flowers. Our dried flower shop is open online from September through January. We have two little boys who are part of everything we do here and a Maremma Sheepdog named Gary who watches over our flocks. Last year, we adopted a Karakachan Shepherd named Gertrude, and this spring we’re getting some heritage Dorset Horn sheep, so our family continues to grow. Everything on the farm is grown without chemicals and we strive to find rare varieties not offered by big box stores. We are making our best effort to raise our boys with a solid sense of hard work and ecological integrity. Nothing on our farm goes to waste- we believe in recycling our nutrients, using regenerative practices, and focusing on creating a rich biological diversity to improve pollinator habitat.
We bought our little seven acre farmette in 2017 and are still working to restore the 1830s farmhouse. The land had been an apple orchard many years ago, but was neglected for some time before we bought it. We’re in the process of beating back the weeds and nurturing the soil back to life. Stephanie is a fifth generation farmer; Jeff is a city boy with a green thumb from outside of Rochester. We are so happy to be putting down roots here in Churchville.
We are a family farm committed to regenerative practices proudly serving the greater Rochester community
Sustainably Sown, Organically Grown
We don’t use chemicals on our farm and grow everything from seed using organic methods. Our heirloom vegetable, herb, and flower seedlings are available at our farm stand in May each year. We grow varieties you can’t find at the big box stores and you can be assured they were grown in healthy soil with no pesticides. We are working hard to build a sustainable, thriving ecosystem the way nature intended.
Ethically Raised Poultry
Our heritage breed flock is free range and provided with local, high quality non-GMO feed. We have beautiful rainbow eggs year round and offer shares of pastured whole chicken in July. Our flock ranges from 30 to 60 birds each year and they are never given added hormones or antibiotics.
Inspired Community Building
When we started Tenderfoot Farm, we were blown away by the support from our local community. It’s our privilege to serve Churchville and the greater Rochester area. Part of our mission is to share the beauty of nature with everyone by creating wild outdoor spaces and inspired botanical art for inside your home. Anyone can benefit from digging a little in the dirt and growing a bit of beauty in their backyard. Our farm will always be a work in progress but we welcome our neighbors to come and learn alongside us with garden tours and workshops.
The seeds we plant today become the flowers of tomorrow
What We Offer
Our Little Farm Stand
We grow all our vegetable, herb, and flower plants organically from seed. Pick up your seedlings through the month of May at our farm stand and feel free to stay and ask us all your gardening questions. Vegetables and berries are offered on weekends through the growing season. Pastured whole chicken and beautiful rainbow eggs are also available seasonally.
Workshops, Garden Tours and Farm Stays
Our farm is open seasonally for garden tours, pick-your-own flowers and special events by request. Want a more immersive stay? Book our Carriage House on Airbnb and see the day-to-day operations of a working regenerative farm.
Flowers, Flowers, Flowers
They say flowers feed the soul. We grow all kinds of flowers for cutting and drying. You can reserve a time to tour the gardens and pick your own bouquet, or take a look at our workshop offerings. Our dried flower studio, Tenderfoot Flora, and online shop is open from August thru January, offering custom services for bespoke dried arrangements, installations, wreaths, and weddings. Dried flowers are nature’s everlasting beauty all year long!