Our
Story
Welcome to Morning Glory Farm, a haven of fresh and sustainable agriculture on Martha's Vineyard since 1975. Founded by James and Deborah Athearn, the farm is now run by the next generation of Athearns - Simon, Robyn, Meeghan, and Daniel. Now open year round, our farmstand offers an array of homegrown vegetables, fruits, and pasture-raised meats. We're committed to ethical farming, using natural fertilizers and minimal pesticides to protect both the land and your health. Join us in celebrating the richness of nature's bounty—visit us today for produce that's as good for you as it is for the Earth.
We grow about 70 acres of vegetables and small fruits. Crops include sweet corn, lettuce, carrots, beets, tomatoes, melons, potatoes, beans, squash, pumpkins, and more. Our herb garden supplies a full assortment of culinary herbs. We also raise four acres of cut flowers, and small plantings of strawberries, grapes, peaches, and beach plums.
The Athearn Family
THE SPIRIT OF WORKING TOGETHER FOR WORTHWHILE GOALS
In 1975, Jim and Debbie Athearn moved back to the Island where numerous generations of their respective families had called home. In the first years, they cleared a small vegetable plot and room for a barn and pasture for milking cows. The yields of the small plot were sold at the farmhouse in a small shed, and at the Farmers Market in West Tisbury. In 1981 opened their farm stand, a 20 by 18-foot structure on Meshacket Road. There have been several additions since then: more greenhouses, an employee residence, the vegetable barn with its farm kitchen and bakery and an equipment maintenance building, a windmill, and a solar array among other improvements. The fields and crops grew and flourished, and the Athearns now are actively working more than 250 acres with a staff of more than 100 employees in high season. In 2010 a larger post and beam barn replaced the original Farmstand and stands proudly today.
The name "Morning Glory" grew from the vision of the sun rising over lush, green fields, cows with udders full of milk ambling past bountiful gardens, and hedgerows lively with honeybees: a true wealth of nature’s glory. It evokes the fulfilling feeling of setting out to the day with a full days promise ahead of you. It was precisely this sense of possibility that led Jim and Debbie Athearn to start what has become the largest farming operation on Martha's Vineyard.
Morning Glory is active in conservation and farmland preservation. We have over 250 acres of Vineyard Farmland under our care. It is our firm belief that we are temporary caretakers of these soils. Therefore, we must deliver them to the next generation in good health. Twenty-five acres of our vegetable fields are farmed using only natural fertilizers and no synthetic pesticides, and we try to manage the rest of our land with a minimum of pesticides utilizing sound soil management techniques and with attention to the long-term health of the soil.
In addition to growing a tremendous breadth of produce, the Farm also raises beef, pork, and chicken - both laying hens and meat. Our beef cattle graze on pastures with a water view and are regularly rotated to fresh pasture May-November. In the winter they feed on hay baled from our 40 acres in Chilmark, West Tisbury, and Katama. They receive no grain. Our pork pigs are regularly rotated to new pasture. In the fall and winter they enjoy winter squash and pumpkins.
Each year we meet a new crew of farmers, bakers, cooks and farmstand staff who join our talented year-round staff to become part of the farm family. The farm has benefited from a variety of wonderful people who have endowed Morning Glory with their own special contributions. With the younger generation involved and 8 grandchildren and many cousins, there is the expectation that the farm will continue to provide quality fruits and vegetables to the community and provide people with meaningful employment and memorable island experiences for decades to come.
Our Community
The extended farm family is a large one. Not only have many Athearn relatives have been part of the farm in different ways, but also many employees over the years have brought in their siblings, parents, daughters, sons, in-laws, and so forth.
The Athearns are now actively producing crops on more than 250 acres with a staff of over 100 employees in high season.
There has been tremendous expansion since the farm's founding, however our ethos has always stayed the same: provide fresh food for the community and bring people together at the table.
Have Questions?
Discover our family farm on Martha's Vineyard! We're more than just a farm; we have a bustling farmstand, bakery, and kitchen. Morning Glory Farm grows fresh food and flowers for our entire Island community. We're open year-round, so come on over and say hello!