By Andra Moss
Spring is an exciting time on any farm, heralding fresh beginnings. Nowhere is the rising energy of new growth more in evidence than at Norfolk’s Husky Meadows Farm, where farm managers Rana Justice and Emily Perron are busy seeding ideas (as well as produce) throughout the property.

Justice, who grew up in Kent and has been gardening for almost 20 years, first came to Husky Meadows in 2018 to help maintain the gardens. After also assisting with mushroom cultivation and trail maintenance, she was invited to take on the operation of the farmland.

Around that time, she met Perron, who recalls “looking for community and a place to plant some roots.” When Justice introduced her to the farm and to owner David Low, something clicked.

Now they are both onsite full-time, helping craft the next iteration of Husky Meadows. A guiding star, they say, is the memory of Dominique Lahaussois, Low’s wife, who passed away three years ago.

In her honor, one of their first efforts inside the two acres of fenced farmland is the creation of a Quincunx garden, designed by Barbara Paca. This ancient plan involves arrangements of five elements (think of a domino, with four corner dots and one in the middle). Justice and Perron, with the help of Paca and Jameson Secco, are planting stone fruit and apple trees as anchoring elements. Paca, a good friend of Lahaussois, is incorporating beautiful perennial flowers, herbs and wildflowers with the trees to provide a serene setting for fruitful conversations. Picnic tables will be situated within the space for outdoor workshops.

In an adjacent plot, they’ve set up the original companion planting system, the “Three Sisters,” by interplanting corn, beans and squash (along with a secret fourth sister, sunflower). The squash shades the ground so corn stalks can grow tall, and beans climb the corn. Explains Justice, “They all work together to benefit each other.”

The nearby greenhouses hold a spring bounty. Some cold weather crops, like lettuce, arugula, asparagus and rhubarb, are already being harvested for use in the prepared foods offered by Steve Archaski out of the Husky Meadows kitchen. Other seedlings, including peppers, melons, squashes and 13 varieties of tomatoes, will make their way outdoors as the weather allows. They will have their debut at the farm stand in a month or two.

It is apparent that Justice and Perron have big plans: by high summer, these acres will yield a multitude of vegetables, herbs, edible flowers and gourds, as well as raspberries, currants and strawberries. Meanwhile, the surrounding property offers cultivated mushrooms—shiitake, oyster and Lion’s Mane—and an historic apple and pear orchard. Luckily, additional farm helpers are due to arrive any day.

As the farmland awakens, Perron and Justice reflect on how best to share the bounty.

The answer, they say, stems from the people who came before. “This place honors the contributions of every person who has been here,” says Justice. “We see it growing in a new direction with their memory in mind.”

Justice points to the founders, saying that “David and Dominique were so giving. If you had a passion, they really supported that.” In that vein, Husky Meadows, they say, is all about people and their passions. The farm’s previous all-weekend stay programs have been paused in favor of more relaxed collaborations with local residents.

Perron and Justice encourage anyone with an idea to get in touch. Whether it is related to cooking, foraging, growing plants or not (perhaps bird watching, weaving, basket making or natural textile dyeing) or simply involves connecting the land and the arts, they would like to find a way to incorporate it at Husky Meadows.

“This town is filled with people who are curious,” says Perron. “That’s the energy that surrounds this space. It is a space to explore. We just want to help connect people to do more of that here.” Justice sees the process as something that will “organically develop on its own. It can be so many things. We’re finding the people who want to talk together, to build an ecosystem. We’re essentially searching for our companion plants.”

One easy way to reach out is to stop by the Husky Meadows Farm Stand, which opens on Saturday, June 14, at 10 a.m. Regular weekend hours will be Fridays from 2 to 6 p.m., and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. “We really want Saturdays to be a relaxing day,” Perron stresses. “We’ll have blankets and books and some sort of activity happening at the farm stand, so come, snack, hang out.”

Other ways to stay in touch: via email (support@huskymeadows.com) or Instagram (@huskymeadowsfarm).

Even with so much already going on, Justice has her eye on the future—and another stretch of land within the fencing. A corn maze? A pumpkin patch? Watch that space.