In Search of a Hearth and Home of their Own
By amanda Cather
Rows of towering tomato plants , expertly staked and laden with ripening fruit . A rainbow of healthy sweet and hot peppers . Shiny deep-purple eggplant hanging like jewels from strong stalks . A newly disked field prepared for summer cover crops followed by late season veggies . This early-summer abundance makes one thing clear to any July visitor to Fireside Farm : farmers Stacey Carlberg and Casey Gustowarow know their stuff .
Carlberg and Gustowarow have been farming for a combined three decades . The knowledge they possess as a team — not only about vegetable production , which Carlberg calls “ the easy part ,” but also about cover crops , soil health , small grain growing , crew management , business development , equipment purchase , and more — could fill several volumes . They have managed some of Virginia ’ s best-known vegetable farms , including the Farm at Sunnyside in Rappahannock County and Loudoun ’ s venerable Potomac Vegetable Farms , putting a variety of successful systems in place that showcased their range of abilities and experience .
Deeply rooted in the Loudoun
County farming community , Carlberg and Gustowarow are equally committed to supporting other startup food and farming businesses . A farmers ’ market they helped to start at Wheatland Spring Farm and Brewery , now in its second year , features Fireside ’ s veggies alongside like-minded producers of cheese , bread , fruits , meats , flowers , eggs , and beer . Fireside ’ s produce helps round out the offerings of other local CSA farms while
Farmers Stacey Carlberg and Casey Gustowaro .
also supplying select DC restaurants . Once a month , Casey makes pizzas featuring his own whole wheat alongside local vegetables , cheese , and meat , serving them to registered guests at the Waterford Corner Store . Woven throughout Fireside ’ s business plan and production methods are the twin threads of community and excellent food . They ’ re very , very good farmers — and also just good folks .
Yet this experienced and wellconnected farming couple has had difficulty finding a farm of their own . During the pandemic , Stacey and Casey decided that after a decade of managing farms for others , it was time to start their own business .
“ When we started thinking about building equity ,” Gusto-
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