Many view dandelions as pesky, undesirable weeds that spoil the beauty of a well-manicured lawn with their glaring yellow heads. For the folks at Dandelion Forest Farm in Nottingham, they’re a versatile ingredient that can be roasted for tea, tossed in a salad or used to make a sweet, rich wine. 

On a mission to grow and harvest edible perennials that thrive with minimal care, such as chestnuts, elderberries and mulberries, Linh Aven and her husband, Brian Fluharty, chose to name their operation, an agroforestry farm situated on a 31-acre plot of conservation land in Nottingham, after this common variety.

“There are so many ingredients around us already that are so good for us, and a lot of them taste good too,” Aven said from a stump-turned-stool overlooking the farm, the fresh greenery of late spring popping in the sunshine following several days of heavy rain. “I hope this place becomes somewhere where people can come and be inspired to grow their own food.” 

Aven and Fluharty, a chef and scientist respectively, were not experienced farmers when they found their way to this location from Boston in April of 2022. They spent years searching for a place to call home prior to and amid the chaos of the pandemic before settling in Nottingham.

“This is not what we were looking for in career or location,” Aven said. “But it’s one of those things where, once you’re here, you know it’s the right thing to do.” 

At first glance, Dandelion Forest Farm might not seem like the average farm: Crops aren’t planted in straight rows in singular plots, vegetation seems to cover much of the soil and there’s no heavy machinery stationed out in the field. 

This is because for Aven and her team — a small group she says are “missionally aligned kindred spirits with compatible gifts and strengths” — farming is about finding practices that offer better ways to grow food naturally.  

Korean natural farming is one such practice, which involves creating pesticides and fertilizers through the process of fermentation. Fermented tomato leaves, for example, contain a compound that repels insects. The practice might also involve collecting bacterial and fungal organisms in the surrounding forest, promoting soil health.

One of the most ambitious farm projects to note are the hundred or so chestnut saplings scattered across the property. Since it will take years before the trees bear fruit, the team will grow a variety of vegetables and herbs in a practice known as alley cropping, where crops are grown in the intervening “alleys” surrounding the trees’ base. 

Many of the practices are observational. The use of mulch, for example, attracts voles and slugs, so a flock of ducks manage the slugs (“Oh, boy, do they love slugs!” Aven said), and two cats deter the vole populations, a solution that proved successful after a failed potato crop in their first season. 

“It’s not a perfect system, but we’re always trying to find simple solutions like that,” Aven said.

While the crew at Dandelion Forest Farm can certainly do the work themselves, they’ve valued the community groups who’ve joined them on the land to help with planting projects. This past spring, a group of local high school students helped plant a bed of honeyberry bushes — plants that bear large, sweet fruit similar to blueberries — which will be part of a pick-your-own fruit and berry orchard for visitors once the plants mature. 

“I feel like what we’re creating is just so much bigger than us, not just for the work, but for the connection and the relationships that we have with each other,” Aven said. “It quickly becomes more than the food.”

Farmer’s Table, seasonal communal dinners hosted on the farm, embodies Aven’s vision for reconnecting consumers with their food and with one another. Curated by Aven and co-chef Elizabeth Haskett, the six-course, vegetable-forward meal highlights the best of what’s in season at that moment in time. 

“A lot of people ask us, ‘When do you start your menu planning?’ ” Aven said. “But we don’t even talk about the menu until the week before, because we don’t know what is going to be in season on the farm, let alone the foraging side of things, where those seasons are so short. We’re just kind of figuring things out as we go along.”

At these events, guests arrive to welcome drinks and a board of local cheese, pickles and foraged items. Before the meal, Aven leads guests on a farm tour, noting where many of the ingredients in the meal are grown and explaining some of the farming practices. 

The meal is served out in the field underneath a canopy tent lined with twinkling white lights. Tiki torches — used to ward off pesky mosquitos — surround the long, communal table where diners convene to relish the summer’s bounty.

Most of the food served is sourced on site, but some of the ingredients, like meat products, come from local farmers. “We make sure to highlight all the farmers and treat them like celebrities here, and it’s such a wonderful thing to show all the people who are at this table, ‘Hey, these are the hands that made your food,’ ” Aven said. 

About 500 people attend the Farmer’s Table dinners throughout the summer, but Aven and her team also curate weekly vegetable box pickups, more commonly known as CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture), for 30 families throughout the growing season. “I’m helping shape what they’re eating for dinner, and they put their trust in me.” 

“Farming is a funny thing,” Aven said, a spotted guinea hen feather, tied into her long, black braid, fluttering in the breeze as she spoke. “We are growing food to feed the people around us. It’s a very nurturing position to be in.”

Dandelion Forest Farm is located at 311 Stage Road in Nottingham. Check out their website for more information — dandelionforestfarm.com