Tucked into the foothills of Santa Clara County, Spade & Plow is a family-run organic farm rooted in regenerative agriculture. Founded in 2015 by Mike Thorp and his sons Sam and Nick, the farm builds on decades of organic farming experience that go back to Mike’s earliest days as a certified organic grower.

Today, the Thorps farm 100 acres at the historic Van Dyke Ranch in Gilroy, where they hold a long-term lease on land first farmed organically by the trailblazing grower Betty Van Dyke. Much of the former orchard has been transitioned into diverse vegetable production, while heritage Blenheim apricot trees remain a connection to the ranch’s history. Certified organic by CCOF and the Real Organic Project, the farm’s focus is soil health, biodiversity, and ecological balance. The Thorps rotate vegetables alongside orchard blocks, plant cover crops year-round, apply generous amounts of compost, and continuously experiment with practices that build healthier soil systems.

A flock of chickens roams the farm, flowers provide habitat for pollinators, and the team seeks out unique and flavorful varieties not commonly grown at scale.  Their fields produce artichokes, root vegetables, bunching greens, radicchio, sunchokes, winter squash, tomatoes, peppers, herbs, melons, apricots, and cut flowers.

Spade & Plow employs 20 full-time staff year-round and continues to grow with  plans for a farm stand, farm dinners, and a U-pick program. For Sam, one of the most rewarding parts of farming is discovering new varieties and sharing them with the people who eat them.