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6310 Georgetown Pike • McLean, VA 22101 • 703-442-7557 |
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Your visit to the Farm can take many forms -- pick the one that suits you best! Visit with your school group for a hands-on educational program Experience the fun of a free-wheeling Market Fair Stay the weekend in period costume Bring your school or camp group for an 18th century weekend Shop at the farm's GateHouse Gift Shop General Visit Information Hours, Admission, and Contact Information When you visit you will encounter the farm family as they go about the tasks necessary to make their living from the land. Although they do not actually live here, park staff and volunteers dressed in period clothing portray the tenant farm family and work the land as if it were their own. Please ask questions, and in keeping with the spirit of recreating the past, you will be answered as if you were visiting in the 18th century. Visitors are also welcomed and encouraged to help the farm family with their chores; the family is grateful for all the help they can get! When you arrive, you will receive a brochure map to help you find your way around the farm. Click here for Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) If you are coming as part of a group, please download this 1-page Word document; it contains essential information about your visit: Groupself.doc (28 KB) Come see the 1771 farm in all seasons...
April • May This season finds the farm family busy with tilling the ground, planting, and pulling up early weeds. Planting their crops on time in the spring will increase their chances of a good harvest later in the year. Beans, peas, various greens and other cool-weather crops are planted in the garden. Both the farm family and their animals are glad to see green growing things after a long winter! The tobacco is planted in a special seed bed and transplanted into the fields when it grows large enough. Later in the spring, the tobacco must be primed (the lower leaves removed). The corn is planted in a field as well, with squash and beans planted around it once the corn grows to a certain size. In the orchard, the apple trees are in blossom, promising a good crop of apples later in the year. Here is what you can expect on a Spring day: Morning: The farm wife cooks the family's mid-day meal, while the rest of the family is hard at work with their hoeing, planting, weeding and other seasonal chores (see above). Noon: The family comes together for a hard-earned meal. They would be happy to show you what kinds of food they eat, and would certainly welcome your help in cleaning up afterwards! Afternoon: It is back to the fields and garden for most of the family; work on a farm is never done! See what Special Events are happening in the Spring Find out more about the Farm's Animals and Crops
June • July • August The growing season is in full swing by June... both for the crops and the weeds. The family must work hard to keep ahead of the weeds while ensuring that their crops and vegetables thrive. This is a big chore, and they need all the help they can get! Vegetables are eaten while they are fresh, and some are pickled and kept for winter. Melons, squash and okra are some of the kinds of foods grown in the garden at this time. The tobacco must be suckered and topped (this involves pinching off the side shoots and the flowers that the plant tries to produce), and the turkeys are turned loose in the fields in a constant hunt for the tobacco worms that could destroy the crop. Wheat is harvested in June, the flax in July and the tobacco in August. The summer heat makes outdoor work difficult; in this season the family is particularly grateful that their spring water stays cold all year round. Here is what you can expect on a Summer day: Morning: The farm wife cooks the family's mid-day meal, while the rest of the family is hard at work in the fields and garden with their hoeing, planting, weeding and other seasonal chores (see above). Noon: The family comes together for a hard-earned meal. They would be happy to show you what kinds of food they eat, and would certainly welcome your help in cleaning up afterwards! Afternoon: It is back to the fields and garden for most of the family; work on a farm is never done! See what Special Events are happening in the Summer Find out more about the Farm's Animals and Crops
September • October Farm work starts shifting to autumn chores around September. Most of the garden is planted with fall greens: kale, spinach, turnips, mustard and the like. They will continue to bear edible leaves throughout the fall, become dormant in the winter, and come back early next spring to provide the family with much-needed fresh food. The tobacco crop has been hanging in the tobacco house and will be packed into a hogshead and rolled to the warehouse when it is cured. Next year's crops of winter rye and wheat are sown in September so that they can be harvested in June. The family's chores become more oriented to preparing for winter: splitting more fire wood, clearing away brush, and splitting new rails for fences that need repair. Here is what you can expect on an Autumn day: Morning: The farm wife cooks the family's mid-day meal, while the rest of the family works on their seasonal chores (see above). Noon: The family comes together for a hard-earned meal. They would be happy to show you what kinds of food they eat, and would certainly welcome your help in cleaning up afterwards! Afternoon: The family returns to their chores; work on a farm is never done! See what Special Events are happening in the Autumn Find out more about the Farm's Animals and Crops
November • December Winter is when the family can work on all the chores they did not have time for during the growing season. The farmer has wood to split, fences to mend, and new land to clear for fields. Winter finds the farm wife indoors more than usual, as she mends the family's clothing and knits them warm stockings, caps and mitts out of sheep's wool. With the sun setting much earlier this time of year, the family must make use of as much of the daylight as they can. Here is what you can expect on a Winter day: Morning: The farm wife cooks the family's mid-day meal, while the rest of the family goes about their winter chores (see above). Noon: The family comes together for a hard-earned meal. They would be happy to show you what kinds of food they eat, and would certainly welcome your help in cleaning up afterwards! Afternoon: The family returns to their chores; work on a farm is never done! See what Special Events are happening in the Winter Find out more about the Farm's Animals and Crops
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