idea of growing good food but had little experience, so he set out to fill that gap. His first full-time farming job was at the respected Eco City Farms in Prince George’ s County, an urban farm focused on training farmers in sustainable methods. Since then he has volunteered on two farms in North Carolina while working at a farm policy nonprofit there, and was a manager at Common Root Farm in Rockville, one of the larger farm-to-table growers in the County. After five years of experience working on other farms, and more than ready to be his own boss, he established Keep Step Farm.
On a large suburban lot off Bowie Mill Road in a rural part of Rockville, Humon, with help from his intrepid and energetic, recently-retired dad, deer-fenced a quarter acre and planted it densely with vegetables. He uses tarping to prepare the soil, avoiding machinery and the soil damage that tilling creates. He finds that the County-produced LeafGro™ product has prepped his soil well, with no need for supplemental fertilizers. He uses Integrated Pest Management( IPM) practices to protect his crops without toxic pesticides. He has adapted“ Sumi Soaker” irrigation equipment, originally created for golf courses, to water efficiently and not overtax his well. He is integrating best practices for regenerative farming learned in his prior farming experience, such as no-till, interplanting, regular crop rotation, and“ companion planting.”
All this hard work rewards his customers with fresh, organic produce. Greens, radishes, other root vegetables, peppers, tomatoes, and more are proof that intensive growing, sustainably managed, on small acreage can produce abundantly. Keep Step Farm sells at the downtown Silver Spring farmers market with help from Humon’ s mom, and offers a“ Veggie Box” subscription( a friendly term also known as a CSA). A significant, dependable revenue source, however, is the nonprofit Community FarmShare( CFS), which purchases food from local farms and distributes it through food assistance programs. Humon contracts for a weekly order from CFS and delivers to their central food storage cooler in mid-County.“ They [ CFS ] are amazing,” he says.“ That weekly order gives me a strong base, and they’ ll buy everything I can provide.” Jennifer Freeman, Founder and Executive Director of CFS, has been a frequent advisor on what vegetables are in demand.
Starting his own vegetable farm was a big step, and Humon is realistic about the challenge. Nevertheless, he’ s taking it on, as he says,“ one step at a time.” It’ s probably no coincidence that in his minimal spare time Humon is a stand-up comedian, and does comedy shows at local venues, with farming providing great comic material. A good sense of humor seems a powerful antidote to the day-to-day challenges of farming.
STELO ACRES: MOTIVATED BY CIVIC AGRICULTURE
As Steven Stup and his brother were working together with their father to eventually take over his commercial flooring business, Steven’ s heart was tugged in another direction— a constant pull toward land and soil. He loved building structures, stacking stone walls, and making things grow at his home in Rockville. At age 34 he made a huge decision. Inspired by Thomas Lyson’ s 2004 book and the movement it created, Civic Agriculture: Reconnecting Farm, Food, and Community, Steven parted with his share in the family business to bring Stelo Acres to life. Like Humon of Keep Step Farm, he was encouraged by Jennifer Freeman of Community FarmShare, who he met at the annual Farmer Forum hosted every February by MoCo Office of Agriculture. After some discussion, Steven decided to focus initially on fruit and berries.
Steven and his parents bought 10.36 acres in Damascus in late 2024 and he immediately began creating the infrastructure to support growing fruits and berries. He first fenced almost five acres to protect from deer, then focused on the irrigation needs of fruit trees, especially as drought conditions are more prevalent. He designed a rainwater catchment system that consists of four huge cribs with rain barrels attached, each 10’ wide and 10’ high, for a total capacity of about 4,600 gallons per year, based on Maryland’ s average annual rainfall.
Steven obtained a grant from MoCo Food Council’ s Climate Sense program to help fund the rain barrel project. He is also working on a solar-powered pump to distribute the water. Eventually he’ ll need to drill a well and would like to create an irrigation pond, and will apply for grants to help fund that major expense. Because“ gravity is your friend” when planning irrigation, Steven was
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