Our Farm
Our farm is located just north of Delavan, in the southeastern corner of Wisconsin.
We use about 20 acres of our 100-acre farm for organic vegetable and crop production. Of the remaining acreage, we maintain approximately 60 acres as pasture for hogs and beef cattle.
Our name was inspired by local geographical features: Turtle Creek (meandering to the east), Turtle Creek State Wildlife Area, Turtle Valley Conservation Area, and Turtle Lake (just north of us).
Our Growing Spaces:
In addition to pasture, vegetable and hemp fields, we also have a greenhouse where we grow transplants for our farm, do custom growing work for other farmers and retailers, and produce seedlings for our Annual Plant Sale each May, which is open to the public. In addition, we have two season-extension house for growing early spring greens and tomatoes. Our fruit production includes a small orchard with peaches and pears plus currant and aronia bushes.
Bee Hives:
TCG strives to create a pollinator-friendly environment, both for native insects as well as honey bees. Our longtime friend and beekeeper, Dan O'Leary of Honey Valley Apiary, monitors our hives throughout the season. Dan extracts and bottles our honey, keeping it separate from honey he collects from other farms in the area. Honey we sell comes directly from the hives at Turtle Creek Gardens.
Meet Your Farmers
Janet Gamble, Farm Manager:
No matter how many times she witnesses the transformation of seed to vegetable, the mystery and beauty of the process never grows old or ceases to amaze Janet. She loves seeing people benefit health-wise through the food grown at TCG and finds great joy in sharing farm experiences with her two very young grandchildren.
Janet didn’t grow up on a farm, but as a kid, she spent a lot of time on her grandparents’ farm. From an early age, she found a calling and deep purpose in growing food and being a steward for the land. Throughout her journey from gardener to farmer and farm educator, she’s been motivated by the vision of people coming together to share food with a common mind.
Janet has served on the board of directors for The National Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association and Angelic Organics Learning Center, and is a founding board member for the Midwest Organic Sustainable Education Services (MOSES). Janet has also provided educational and advisory support for numerous other non-profits, government agencies, and farmers over the years. In the early 2000s, she developed and led a nationally recognized farmer training program and continues to provide learning and mentoring to farm interns each year.
Our Farm Crew:
Feet on the ground, hands in the soil: the Farm Crew plants, cultivates, monitors, weeds, and harvests our crops. They also clean produce, and pack our CSA boxes, wholesale orders, and Farmer’s Market offerings.