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The Regenerative Farmer Program at Sandown is a 3-year (renewable) term incubator model which includes land access, mentorship, and shared tools and infrastructure. The program supports new-entrant farmers, with less than five years of farming experience, to gain regenerative farming skills and launch their farm businesses.  

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Farmers in the program are expected to learn and adhere to regenerative land management practices, which include:

1. Keep the soil covered;

2. Minimize soil disturbance;

3. Maximize crop diversity;

4. Integrate livestock;

5. Maintain a living root year round;

6. Understand the context of your farm operation.

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Additionally, 

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• Synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides are not allowed.

• We are not certified organic but expect that organic standards are followed.

• We practice minimal tilling, and work to support farmers to learn how to apply regenerative practices to their farm plan.

• We encourage crop diversity, interplanting and hedgerows, and require farmers to cover-crop when possible. We expect participants to be involved and engaged in the community and the  wider movement at Sandown as they grow their farm business. 

 

About the Land 

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The Sandown Centre is located on the former site of the Sandown Horse Race Track, which included a racing ring, grandstand, accessory buildings, parking area, and gravel roads. The legacy of this use remains today, in the form of compacted soil, limited biodiversity, invasive species pressure, loss of topsoil, and an excess of rock and gravel. The former gravel parking lot was not completely removed and many of the farm plots have 2 or 3 x 10’ wide strips of discontinued road running through them.

 

Farming here is not easy. But it can be done! What's more, we have seen incredible improvement in the soil and biodiversity since we began in 2021. We are demonstrating that farming on marginalized land is possible, and that soil restoration can happen while growing food. The implications of this research are incredibly significant, and meaningful to participate in. 

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By farming at Sandown, you will learn how to restore soil. You will learn how to address the many challenges that come along with it, and that knowledge and skill will become invaluable as you grow as a farmer.  One of our farmers said that ‘farming at Sandown gave [her] the confidence and skill to know that [she] can farm anywhere’. That is no small thing, and it’s a message to keep close to your heart as you contend with thistle or pick rocks from your plot. 

 

About the Available Plots

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​Plot One - 1/2 Acre

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• Has been in cultivation since 2021. 

• The first farmer (Oloron Farm) utilized the southern half of the area to grow vegetable crops.

• In 2022, Fairweather Gardens took over and has been growing a diversity of annual vegetables, flowers, medicinal herbs, and dye plants.

• The previous farmers have made significant improvements to the land, through countless hours of rock picking, weeding, breaking up compaction,  and a lot of compost. However, there is still work to be done. 

• The total plot dimensions are 100’ x 200’, with 100’ beds running east-west in the southern half of the plot. The northern half has been opened up fall 2023 and cover cropped, but has not seen crop cultivation.