YGA Gathers for Tour of Linvilla Orchards and Longwood Gardens

The morning started off at Linvilla Orchards, where Eli Linvill and farm manager Norm Schultz provided YGA with a tour of their operation. Their 300-acre farm is in the heart of Media, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, and Linvilla draws a crowd from all around. While they sell a portion of their crop in their retail market, most of their fruit and vegetable sales come from pick-your-own events. The Linvill family has a heavy focus on agri-tainment, which includes hayrides, fishing at Orchard Lake, weekend events, food service, a beer garden, and a petting zoo. They also have a mulching and composting service and a garden center.

Our tour focused primarily on their fruit and vegetable production, which includes tree fruits, grapes, figs, strawberries, vegetables, potatoes, and herbs. Norm estimated they grow around 40 crops on the farm, which also includes cut flowers. As one can imagine, managing all these different crops is complicated, but Norm is passionate about trying new crops and enjoys both providing a diverse selection of products for customers and learning about these crops horticulturally. Family and employees at Linvilla are encouraged to find roles they are passionate about and to try out new ideas that excite them. Norm stated that this is how many of their new ventures came to fruition, and it is likely part of how Linvilla has cultivated a unique experience that has become a destination for visitors.

We finished up the day at Longwood Gardens, where the group explored the conservatory exhibits as well as the fruit and vegetable gardens, old pump room and gallery, and hillside gardens.

We would like to thank Linvilla Orchards for hosting this tour and for graciously providing lunch for the young growers.

Nettie Hurry, YGA Co-Chair