Paul and Raynette Mock
Berkeley Springs, WV Windber, PA
Hydroponic, high tunnel and garden vegetables and fruits Seasonal Greenhouses and Christmas Trees
Paul has been in farming all his life starting out with his father growing and selling field grown vegetables in Windber, PA. In 2005, after 2 years of research and attending a hydroponic workshop at Crop King, we started the construction of 3 hydroponic greenhouses in Berkeley Springs, WV, 1 freestanding to grow hydroponic lettuce and one 2-bay to grow hydroponic tomatoes. In 2006, we had our first crop production and started marketing our produce to brokers in the Washington, DC and Baltimore area.The number of greenhouses has now grown to 14 with the addition of a high tunnel early in 2011 for raspberries and blackberries. Seven more greenhouses are planned to be in production by fall of 2011 allowing for year-round production of tomatoes and cucumbers.
We are one of only a few GAP (Good Agriculture Practices) certified hydroponic growers on the east
coast. The bulk of our produce is bibb lettuce and watercress. We also grow tomatoes - traditional red, heirloom and 3 varieties of cherry. We also grow basil, arugula, dandelion greens, cilantro and red lettuce and have added a new crop, ginger root.
Ninety-seven percent of our produce is sold to Whole Foods, Wegmans and several other brokers in the Washington DC and Baltimore area which service the specialty markets. Three local restaurants in Berkeley Springs, Panaroma at the Peak, Lot 12 and The Country Inn also purchase our produce. Our retail sales come from year-round farmers markets in Berkeley Springs, Bethesda, Silver Spring and Leesburg.
We have received several recognitions and awards for farm conservation practices, contributions to West Virginia's economic development and our good agricultural practices program. Paul has also spoken at several different functions and meetings on these same topics.
