About Allen Farm
Martha’s Vineyard’s oldest continuously working family farm, the Allen Farm in Chilmark consists of 100 acres of rolling pastures and meadows bounded by historic stonewalls, upper Chilmark Pond and the Atlantic Ocean beyond. Jonathan Allen originally purchased the farm in 1762, and eight years later his oldest son, Tristram, built the timber-framed farmhouse, which still sits just off of South Road in Chilmark. The family restored the house in 1998, incorporating grey water and Clivus Multrum composting systems into the ancient fabric of the historic structure. The farmhouse and all its attendant outbuildings are very representative of the heritage of traditional New England farmsteads.
In 1975 Clarissa Allen, then in her early twenties, inherited the farm and together with her husband Mitchell Posin, they began the difficult and challenging task of revitalizing the farm, and bringing to fruition their vision for a viable and sustainable working farm. Today, Nathaniel and his wife Kaila, along with their three children - Tavira, Arlo and Florence - are continuing the legacy, rooted in our strongly held beliefs in farming organically and biodynamically, and with a willingness to try innovative agricultural methods.
HISTORY
Over the years we’ve built two large post and beam barns to house all of the activities of a busy working farm: machinery maintenance, our 16-shaft loom for weaving our blankets, space for sheep shearing, compost tea brewing, and organic soil amendment distribution. An ancient corncrib and a stone peat house, no longer used for their original purposes, are currently gardening sheds. The farm’s horses and donkey live in a beautiful slate-roofed barn framed in white oak timber from our woodlands. Throughout the winter, with only the benefit of the sun, we grow a variety of lettuces and hearty leafy greens in a nearby unheated hoop greenhouse. In the spring and early summer, an assortment of heirloom tomatoes get an early start in the greenhouse. Under the ridge at the back of the farm we have a larger 30 x 48 hoop greenhouse which offers cozy winter protection for the sheep, and is used for early spring lambing.
STRUCTURES
LAND
From the reclaiming of overgrown pastures to the rebuilding of tumbledown stonewalls, we’ve researched and implemented regenerative practices including grass-based rotational grazing, mob grazing, and New Zealand fencing techniques. We make our own compost tea guided by the principles and preparations of biodynamic agriculture to feed the microbial life of the soil. We have practiced no-till agriculture for almost two decades, dedicated to protecting the health and vitality of the earth. These farming practices weave together to create consciously-raised meats and vegetables, and superior chickens and eggs. Our farm’s wool is shorn on the farm, and then woven into throws in our barn, and also knitted into hats and sweaters. This cyclical process encourages a truly thriving and sustainable environment for all to enjoy.
