Sarah Crittenden owns Ghost Island Farm in West Tisbury with Rusty Gordon, her partner in life and work.
“We’ve been together since dirt was invented,” she said.
Ghost Island Farm is coming up on its ninth year. The farm stand is a small operation but packed with produce year-round. It is open to everyone but also utilizes a member system where customers pay a lump sum up front and receive a discount. The up-front money is essential for the farmers to plan and plant crops.
Usually, this is a quiet time of year to start seeds and work in the dirt but in recent weeks there were lines out the door, spilling onto the front lawn.
On Friday, the farm stand went to an online ordering model.
“We realized it wasn’t safe anymore to have people in the stand or waiting on a line,” Ms. Crittenden said. “We tried to switch to selling on the porch, with one person coming in at a time, but that turned into a nightmare. We have such a small space.”
Now customers place their orders online and then the staff gathers the produce and calls back to say when it is ready. Although it has been a quick technological learning curve, Sarah, Rusty, Coco Brown and Alison Kisselgoff are finding their way. Usually, customers are called back within 20 to 30 minutes of placing their order.
But of course it’s not the same without the customer interaction. For the moment, even the jazz records playing on the ancient record player are silenced.
“I’m just listening to the hum of the reach-in refrigerator and the hum of the lights over our tomatoes,” Ms. Crittenden said. “We are getting lonely.”
Ghost Island is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday (members only) though Sunday (everyone). To place an order, visit ghostislandfarm.square.site.
—Bill Eville
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