Plainville Farm

Stop by Plainville Farm any morning and you’ll be offered a cup of coffee and a pickle. “We take our pickles seriously,” says Wally Czajkowski, owner and founder of Plainville Farm, “and who doesn’t like a good pickle?” It is this enthusiasm for food and generosity towards friends and visitors that makes Plainville Farm a hub of the agricultural community. Wally and the Czajkowski family have been a part of the agricultural community in the Pioneer Valley since 1914, when his grandfather, a Polish immigrant, started a small tobacco farm. Over the years, the farm has grown and diversified, eventually splitting in two when Wally and his brother, Joe decided to each try their own hand at farming. The brothers still help each other out and turn to one another for advice before trying a new crop or new practice. Today Plainville Farm offers a mix of conventional and organic produce, including broccoli, green beans, cucumbers, asparagus and winter squash. Wally takes the quality of his crops and his role as steward of the land seriously, meticulously working with each crop and field to make sure they are perfect. Wally was one of the first farmers in the Pioneer Valley to take up zone tilling, a method that minimizes disturbance to the soil and encourages high levels of soil organic matter. He hosts seminars and field days for other interested farmers to share his experience. And there are always pickles at these events, because who doesn’t like a good pickle?