Meet Your Local Farmer: Not Enough Acres Farm, home of the Dennis Conservation Land Trust

Located along a bucolic stretch of Sesuit Neck Road in Dennis, Not Enough Acres Farm is also the headquarters of the Dennis Conservation Land Trust (DCLT). It’s one of the most beautiful landscapes on Cape Cod, and home to a centuries-old farming tradition.

At Not Enough Acres Farm, DCLT promotes sustainable gardening practices and provides the community with fresh, locally grown food. Volunteers maintain the collaborative plots and the public is welcome to drop by and see what’s “growing on.”

You can learn more about Not Enough Acres Farm at the Meet Your Local Farmers event on March 28th, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Cape Cod Regional Technical High School (351 Pleasant Lake Avenue in Harwich). It’s going to be a hootenanny, so save the date!

Fresh produce for food pantries

DCLT acquired the property in 2023, with the gracious assistance of long-time owners Jeff and Beth Deck. For many years, their farm stand was a must-stop for fans of local produce. Then, it was DCLT’s turn to work the land.

“Our pilot year was 2024, so this will be our third year of growing,” said Leeza Barstein, DCLT’s Assistant Director. “We’re growing all sorts of things, like vegetables and cut flowers. We have a great farm committee — a group of really committed volunteers — who serve as advisors as we move forward.”

New volunteers are always welcome, with information available at DCLT’s website. “We’re trying to ramp up production and it takes a lot of hands to make this work,” said Barstein.

DCLT also partners with the Brazilian Resource Center, which maintains a plot at Not Enough Acres Farm. Food grown on the farm is donated to the resource center’s food pantry and the Yarmouth Food Pantry.

‘Caring for the land’

Learning about good gardening practices and creating a connection to the land is also an important part of Not Enough Acres Farm.

“We’re working to turn the farm into an educational hub, where people can come and engage with nature, get their hands dirty, and learn about the environment and the process,” said Barstein. “As a land trust, we’re working to protect land, but we also want to make sure that people have an emotional connection to the land that we’re working so hard to protect. And we think that Not Enough Acres Farm is a place to foster that kind of caring for the land and engagement with it.”

The DCLT crew is looking forward to the Meet Your Local Farmers event on March 28.

“We’re super excited about it,” said Barstein. “It’s such a great way to introduce ourselves to the community. A lot of people are familiar with Not Enough Acres Farm because of the previous owners, and we’re really trying to honor their legacy and make a name for ourselves. and we’re excited to introduce people to all the programs we have coming up and to get to know the community better.”

SAVE THE DATE: The Meet Your Local Farmers event will bloom on March 28th, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Cape Cod Regional Technical High School (351 Pleasant Lake Avenue in Harwich). Hosted by Harwich Conservation Trust and the Orleans Farmers’ Market, the event features over 50 farms and farm-supporting organizations. And farmers will be selling their unique products and foods, so it’s a great opportunity to bring home some Cape-grown goodness. Admission is free and the event is great for all ages. Hope to see you there! We thank our generous event sponsors Agway of Cape Cod, The Cape Cod Chronicle and Cape Cod Five.

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—Your tax-deductible contributions help fulfill the mission of the Harwich Conservation Trust to preserve land that protects woods, water, wildlife and our shared quality of life. And your land-saving financial support helps us preserve beautiful properties that can become stellar trail destinations. Find out how to donate by clicking here.