Our Mission
Our mission at Hatchet Creek Farm is to provide the most fresh, attractive, best-tasting produce that can be found anywhere. We grow everything chemical free. Weeds are removed mechanically with hoes or by tilling. No chemicals are ever sprayed on the vegetables. Customers can be confident they are enjoying a healthy, home-grown product right out of the garden. Our comprehensive approach also includes planting flowers and herbs that attract beneficial insects, and we even have honey bees to aid in pollination of the crops. Unlike most products found at the store, our produce is harvested very close to a stage of ripeness. There’s nothing like the taste of a tomato picked ripe from the vine!
In The Beginning…
Hatchet Creek Farm is located in the beautiful Yellowstone River valley of eastern Montana, roughly half-way in between Miles City and Glendive. David Graham was inspired to launch a new farm business in the early months of 2016. After living in Billings, MT for a number of years, David moved in April of 2016, to a small farmhouse in far eastern Montana, and broke ground on a plot of wind-swept prairie that he affectionately came to call Hatchet Creek Farm.
The first year was certainly an adventure. Taking a barren sagebrush and Crested Wheatgrass pasture, and converting it into a 3 acre market garden was a tall feat. In the first year, David built a greenhouse for starting transplants, constructed a deer-proof fence around the perimeter, and set up an elaborate irrigation system which supplys Yellowstone River water from a nearby canal. The first season was full of challenges and teachable moments. But over the years, the joy of seeing a plot of ground transformed into a highly productive vegetable and fruit farm has been more than worth it.
Continuing to Grow
Today, Hatchet Creek Farm grows many vegetable crops including tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, potatoes, slicing cucumbers, zucchini, beets, and carrots. Also, tomatoes are grown under high-tunnel protection. In recent years, fruit-bearing trees and shrubs have also been added to the farm. Among those are apples, raspberries, pie cherries, plums, elderberries, gooseberries, currants, aronia, and serviceberries. To find out more about the fruit grown at Hatchet Creek, please visit “The Fruit and Trees” link on the menu. Over 40 varieties of apple trees have been tested on the farm, along with countless rootstock varieties. Many of them are cider apples. David looks forward to evaluating the hardiness of each variety and how it holds up to the tough eastern Montana climate.
Hatchet Creek Farm sells it’s goods weekly during July-October at the farmer’s market in Miles City, along with weekly trips to Baker, MT and through a stand at the 4-Corner’s Convenience Store in Terry, MT. Orders can be picked up at the farm by appointment. Please see the contact page to send the farm a message, and to find directions to the farm. If you’d like to see the farm, please make an appointment!
A Family Affair
David couldn’t do it without the help of his family: his parents and sister and her family. His mother has especially devoted so much time and work to the farm. She also has such a love for growing and providing fresh veggies to the community. Everyone has put in countless hours picking and cleaning produce and helping operate the booth at market. It’s truly a family farm.
Hatchet Creek Blog!
Here’s a message from David:
“The book of Genesis tells us that everything began in a garden. There’s something that being connected to the land does to us. It “grounds” us in more ways than just the literal part of getting our fingers in the dirt. There’s so many lessons to be gleaned, wisdom to be known, and truths to be discovered–all through the simple (but not so simple) process of putting a seed in the ground and nurturing it until it bears a harvest.
In an effort to share all of these experiences with you, I am starting a blog about my life on Hatchet Creek Farm. My hope is to educate, entertain, and above all, inspire. Inspire you to a deeper level of faith, and a deeper connection to the land.
Thank you to everyone who has supported my small farm and who inspire me everyday to do what I do! Thanks for being a fan of Hatchet Creek Farm!” -David