“If there’s a heaven for peppers, it’s Thunderhead Farms. I’ve never known another grower to pamper his plants as Farmer Jon does. He does everything by hand – seed starting, seedlings, transplanting, watering, and nourishing an entire lifecycle, with a constant eye on the intricacies of growing specialty peppers. Thunderhead Farms is not just about peppers – it’s about changing the way we grow and eat and think about food. And we are rewarded with astounding flavor. Taste a fresh pepper or a pinch of paprika, and there is no doubt the level of love and sunshine, sweat and care that goes into Thunderhead Farms.”
Our Journey…
…continues. We are Jonathan and Valerie Ashe, owners, growers, beekeepers, Airbnb hosts, and playthings to a rambunctious child here at Thunderhead Farms. With little experience, we started growing vegetables and fruits more than ten years ago and launched Thunderhead Farms in 2012. We focus on specialty peppers of Spanish and other worldly varieties and dry them to make unique, fresh spices and rubs. Starting in 2020, we will also offer inventive sauces based on our varieties. We look forward to sharing our passion with you!
Practices
While we grow our peppers with a whole-hearted commitment to the health of our customers and the environment, our farm is not USDA certified organic. The organic label is a pledge to feed the soil in natural ways. The label is also a marketing tool used to provide trust for buyers who do not know the farm that grows their food. We believe in full transparency to build this trust with you, our customers. In the Spring, when our seedlings are small and just developing, we spray organic horticulture oil to keep aphid numbers in check. That’s it—no other treatments through the rest of the growing season. We feed our soil with our own animal manure that has been properly cured for food safety. If you have questions, please ask. If you want to visit, come stay in our Airbnb casita for a good nights’ sleep and locally roasted coffee!
From Our Farm to You
The entire growing-to-delivery cycle stays with Thunderhead Farms. Our spices, rubs—and soon, sauces—that enhance your favorite dishes remain with Thunderhead Farms until shipped or delivered to you! We start our seeds in greenhouses and grow our seedlings during the Spring months. We transplant seedlings in our raised beds at Thunderhead Farms and care for and harvest our plants through the growing season. We do our own dehydrating and sifting for spices and rubs, then package them ourselves to ship to you. No middle-men (or women) or distribution channels, just a small family farm to keep our products high-quality.