Oak Shade Farm.net

Summer is over, Fall is gone, and Christmas is upon us.  We have spent November getting the farm ready, and now we are looking forward to greeting many old friends and making new ones.  Here are the details of what we have to offer.

       We have a large selection of hand-sheared White Pines this year, some up to 10’ tall, and Norway Spruces up to 7’, to choose from. 

       We will be open from 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. from Tuesdays to Sundays; we are closed Mondays.  We open the day after Thanksgiving and close on Christmas Eve.  (Directions to the farm are given below) 

       Our greenhouse will be warm, and full of gift items made by us and our neighbors.  Feel free to bring young and old for a family outing.  Remember to wear sturdy shoes or boots, and warm clothing.  Cider and cookies will be served, and we will have bunnies to hold and chickens to visit.  And you are invited to walk our signed forest paths. 

Here is the list of the items we will have for sale:

White Pine and Norway Spruce Christmas Trees

Christmas Wreaths  

White Pine Roping and red-berry Holly bouquets

Our own Jams, Honey and Beeswax Candles

One of a kind Hooked Rugs and Handwoven Items

 Soaps, Pottery, Gift Baskets and other hand-crafted items

        Our White Pines are priced at $37.00  for any tree, and the Norway Spruces are $42.00.  We provide free netting and tying-on for easy transport home.

       We realize that Christmas is a busy time, but we hope that you will come to relax and enjoy the out-of-doors, the beautiful blue mountain views, and some respite from the hustle and bustle of the season.  We look forward to seeing you.                             

                                               What you will find here

       First you will find us, Jim and Sally Mello, owners of Oak Shade Farm.  We have 23 acres, 9 of which are in Christmas trees and vegetable garden.  We use organic methods in growing our vegetables, and in growing our Christmas trees as well.  No insecticides or artificial fertilizers.  You might think that this would set the table for destructive insects, but we have a marvelous army of hungry predators to keep them under control.  On a dewy morning you can see thousands of spider webs glistening in the trees; there are paper wasps in abundance in the summer, looking for a meal; birds of many kinds are always looking for bugs; and the praying mantises are busy all summer.  Look for their egg cases, about the size and shape of a walnut, on the trees.  If you find one you can take it home and tie it to a shrub in your yard. The young will hatch in the Spring.  We try to work with nature and use our energy and the land to grow good things and nourish our spirits.  We hope you will find some of that nourishment for yourself when you visit.

          Here is where the things we have for sale in our greenhouse come from:

          Sally and daughter Jeanne Day make the hooked rugs

          Jim harvests the honey, makes the candles and roping, and does the weaving.

          Sally makes homemade cookies and catnip bags

          Sally, granddaughters Laura and Caroline, and sister Judy make the jams

          Diana Wright makes the soap and Joan Beard creates the bead jewelry

                                                 Directions

From Warrenton…Take Route 211 west for about 8 miles to the intersection with Route 229.  Turn left on 229 and travel about 6 miles to Route 611, Waterford Road.  Go right on 611 for 1 mile to Waterford Run Lane on the right and come up the drive.

 From Culpeper…Take Route 229 north through Rixeyville and across the Hazel River.  Take a left on Route 611, Waterford Road, and proceed 1 mile to Waterford Run Lane, and come up the drive. 

 Jim and Sally Mello

 14455 Waterford Run Lane, Rixeyville, Va.  22737 

 Phone: 540 937-5062;  Email: Oakshadefarm@gmail.com

Fall is the season when many farms go into maintenance mode as they prepare to hibernate through the cold months. Repairs are made, brush is cleared, and things are put away. We do our share of that, but with our primary crops being evergreens, Fall is a time of great activity as we ready the farm for visitors and the trees for sale. Though we change very little around here, it does take a lot of work for our small group to get the place in order.

Even so, we still have several Saturday and Sunday farmer’s markets remaining! Our shiitake mushroom crop is doing well and we still have squash, beans, potatoes and onions from the garden. Free range eggs, a wide variety of jams, local honey, beeswax candles and catnip toys can also be found on our table. Look for us on Fifth St. in Warrenton on Saturday mornings (7-12) and at Clevenger’s Corner on Rte. 211 on Sunday afternoon (1-5).

Also, if you have questions about the farm or something we produce, don’t hesitate to send an email to oakshadefarm@gmail.com. Short of coming to see us at market, this is the surest and fastest way to get a response!

The Mello and Day family of Oak Shade Farm would like to thank everyone who came out to Rixeyville to see us this season. It was a pleasure to see old and new faces enjoying the farm that is our home the rest of the year.

To that end, we would also like to say thank you for respecting the grounds. We are very grateful to have such kind and considerate visitors, which is probably the greatest perk of operating a small business like ours. Our policy continues to be: if you visited us in the past 2 years, you will receive a flyer or email invitation the following winter. Otherwise, good luck finding us! We cherish our smallness and the people who make the annual pilgrimage to our bonfire and bunnies. Of course, we welcome drop-ins and new guests but we do not advertise, except for this website. Speaking of which…

We will be updating content on the website much more regularly this year and we will be reworking some features and trimming some others. We hope for this site to be a window to our friends and guests into the seasons of our small farm, primarily in the form of informational posts but with the occasional sprinkle of farm philosophy. We have some great things planned for the year ahead, so we hope you will check back in with us, either through this site or at the farmer’s market.

Also, if you have a question for Jim or Sally, the best way to reach them is through email. Their address is oakshadefarm@gmail.com.

So, thank you, again, on behalf of everyone here. We hope one of our trees brightened your home this winter.

The Mellos and the Days