By Toby Brissett
It is the great Wendell Berry who said: “The good life is one in which we can be grateful for what we have, take pleasure in what we do, and live in peaceful partnership with the land.”
That sums up Sandra and Daniel Mays and their beautiful Frith Farm. I was fortunate enough to be invited for a visit on a recent afternoon. I arrived at the hour when the landscape had started to take on that dusky blue hue, but the treetops were still glazed with the warmest golden sunlight. Magic enough, but Frith Farm went on to present itself in the most picturesque ways possible.
A drift of smoke from the chimney pointed me towards the Mays’ home, while the fields and grow tunnels slept, waiting for the spring. As I wandered towards the building that housed their home and the farm’s shop, I realized one thing. No equipment – no tractors, clanging wagons, spiky rotary hoe or cultivator, no disc harrow…nothing that relied on machinery to operate. Well, maybe tucked out of sight for the winter in one of the other tidy barns?
Iona, the lively and golden-eyed cat greeted me as I reached the door and ushered me inside. Potted plants and the welcoming aromas of homemade food surrounded me at once, and I sat down to find out everything I could about the Mays and Frith Farm. And most importantly, where were the tractors?
Cutting Edge: The Old-Fashioned Way
To say that Frith Farm is run with all the advanced knowledge that centuries of farming and agricultural advancements provide is accurate. After all, both Sandra and Daniel have backgrounds and formal training in everything from environmental engineering to horticulture.
And yet, Frith Farm is also a place where farming is done in the simplest, most straightforward ways possible. Quite plainly, it is a place where farming is done with intention, dirt is treated like treasure, and humans are considered just as much a part of the ecosystem as the soil microbes.
In our current era, farming is often defined by heavy machinery, monocrops, and enough pesticides to make a bumblebee cry. Frith Farm has opted for a different path – one that prioritizes community, regenerative agriculture, and the idea that farming should add life back to the land, not extract every last nutrient from it.
At Frith, every decision – from soil management to growing methods – comes back to one big question: How do we leave this place better than we found it?
Daniel summed it up: “There’s no other road to thriving and surviving. We’re not just sustaining – we’re generating new life, giving back.”
And that road means everything is done (mostly) by hand.
No-Till: Because the Soil Knows What It’s Doing, Honestly
So, what exactly does no-till look like? Well, picture a farm. You’re probably imagining those big green tractors I noted were missing. You probably think of them plowing up fields and leaving freshly churned rows ready to plant. Now, just erase that image. Frith Farm is a no-till operation, meaning they don’t turn over the soil every season like an overworked bread dough.
Why? Because every time you flip the soil over, you disrupt the intricate underground world of fungi, microbes, and insects that actually keep everything growing. Frith Farm takes a different approach – one that lets nature do what it does best.
Instead of plowing, they add nutrient-rich compost, use cover crops, and let their soil stay put. The result? A thriving, biodiverse ecosystem where food grows in harmony with the land. As Daniel said: “Our model is no-till. We are a ‘never-see-the-soil’ farm – constantly mulching and trying to get as much life and diversity into the beds and into the farm as possible.”
And both Sandra and Daniel emphasize that all of that diversity and care bringing life to the farm includes the humans that tackle all of the work. Humans, it turns out, are a key part of the farm’s success. As Sandra, said, “This place has been shaped by all the people. That’s one of the most beautiful parts of it.”
They employ a team of roughly ten each season. Their 2025 team is full already and those interested can apply for the 2026 season. I asked if they employ mostly students and Daniel chuckled and answered, “Students of life…mostly post-college. It takes a certain kind of character to choose this work.”
Sandra adds that she has seen some of the employees be so inspired as to go on and start their own farms and their website’s alumni page shines a light on those endeavors. “I want them to stay here,” she adds, “That’s my dream: to have people living here. Hopefully, we can employ people longer term. We’re trying to build some more housing to encourage long term.”
Not only that, but the Mays’ also “nurture the nurturers” by providing that housing and feeding their staff two of their three meals every day. They said that one of the little victories of this past season was the ability to hire a chef friend, Sabra, to make lunch for their work crew every day. For the upcoming season, Sandra’s mom, Shannon, will prepare breakfasts. “We all get together (at mealtimes), and we give back in that way to the people working hard to grow the food.”
Yet, there are unseen or little seen inhabitants who also shape the farm and its surrounding fields and woods. This includes the birds, bugs, and even microscopic residents of the area.
Pesticides? Nope. Frith Farm Trusts Nature Instead.
At Frith, they don’t just farm without plows – they also farm without pesticides. Even the ones labeled “organic-approved” don’t make the cut.
Instead of chemical warfare on pests, Frith Farm lets biodiversity take the reins. Good bugs eat bad bugs, strong plants fend off disease, and the entire system works like a well-balanced neighborhood where everyone mostly minds their own business.
When speaking about the many little victories and wins they might recall over the past season, both said “birds.” As Sandra explained, “We used an app on the front deck and captured 20 to 30 different bird calls. It was magical.”
Daniel went on to explain that it hasn’t always been that populated by birds and that planting more trees and shrubs is helping. He smiled and added, “We put up birdhouses and instantly bluebirds showed up.”
So, in addition to the human team helping with pest control, the birds are doing their share of the work, too.
And what do they get from so much effort? Thousands of pounds of food, and roughly 60% is available for sale through a few different channels.
CSA: Your Ticket to Farm-Fresh Goodness
One of the best ways to experience Frith Farm’s bounty is through their Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. Think of it as a farm subscription box – except instead of a pile of energy bars you’ll forget about in a drawer, you get actual, straight-from-the-earth food.
And unlike some CSAs, where you get a surprise assortment of vegetables you may or may not know how to cook, Frith gives members choice.
“You come each week of the season, June through October, so it’s 20 weeks, and you pick up whatever vegetables you want,” Daniel explains, “It’s not a prepackaged box. So, if you have a half share, you choose any six items. You have a whole share, any twelve items. You can double, triple down on the same item. You can pick whatever you want. Because one thing that keeps people away from CSA is getting food they don’t want or know how to use.”
Sandra adds, that “As part of their CSA membership, they get to bring the kids, play on the playground, pick their own flowers. That’s a big perk!”
Sandra chooses a diversity of flowers and herbs and members are welcome to help themselves during their visit.
“The people who are CSA members tend to be more than just customers. It feels like a little bit of their farm, too.”
With almost 300 members, they see living proof that their method works well. Not only can they meet the demands of the CSA, but they also sell to local markets and even donated around 12,000 pounds of food last year!
Beyond the CSA: Frith Farm’s Future is Delicious
Frith Farm isn’t just a farm – it’s a living, evolving project, constantly finding new ways to connect with the community. What’s next? Pizza nights: Starting this summer, Frith will host monthly pizza nights using naturally leavened sourdough, farm-grown toppings, and of course, live music. Bakery and ferments: Frith has already launched a small bakery and fermentation project, selling kraut, kimchi, and sourdough made from locally sourced flour.
Frith Farm is proof that farming can be something better—better for the land, better for the people who work it, and better for the community that eats from it.
Again, I’ll quote Wendell Berry: “A proper community, we should remember, is a commonwealth: a place, a resource, an economy. It answers the needs, practical as well as social and spiritual, of its members—among them the need to need one another.”
At the heart of it all, Frith is about connection—to the soil, to the people who grow the food, and to the families who eat it. Frith is an Old English word meaning sanctuary, but also kinship. And Daniel has noted that they hope, “people feel a little bit of that when they come here – stepping outside the busyness of Route 1, of 9-to-5 jobs. And hopefully, they take some of that home in the form of food that nourishes them and their families.”
So, if you’re in Scarborough and craving fresh produce, a deeper connection to your food, or just a break from the usual grocery store routine, take a trip to Frith Farm. It’s a small but mighty example of how we can grow food and keep the planet happy – one no-till row at a time.
Toby Brissett is a freelance writer with over 25 years of experience. Learn more at http://www.wordsandideas.com
Top photo: Sandra and Daniel Mays of Frith Farm on Ash Swamp Road in Scarborough photo by Amanda Huebner Photography
