VB: Starview Gardens

Laurenitis Farm stand was built in the 1973 by Robert and Benigna Laurenitis, the fourth generation to farm on the family land in Sunderland. Karina Laurenitis is one of their eight children and now is the owner-operator of the farm. The transition of the farm from fourth to fifth generation brings a new name, Starview Gardens, to the business.

With a full-time career in tech, Karina Laurenitis purchased the property in late 2024 and did some soul-searching about the future of her family’s business. She says, “My father is turning 77 this year. He’s an old farmer and I can’t keep him out of the greenhouses, but he reached a point where he was ready to step back a little bit from daily operations.”

Shortly after the transition, Laurenitis faced questions of whether to take over and run the business herself, find someone else to run the business for her, or close it down. She says, “Actually, with CISA’s (Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture) help, I explored transitioning the daily operations of the garden center to two of our long-term employees.” Conversations ensued. “They weren’t in a position to take over full responsibility of owning and running the business,” explains Laurenitis.

She then considered whether it was viable to bring in someone completely unknown to her. As with many farmers, home and business are comingled. Laurenitis determined, “I wasn’t really comfortable hiring someone, because this is my home and I just didn’t know if I was going to be fully comfortable with someone else in my backyard all the time. The hours are long in farming, so it really would be all the time.”

The third option Laurenitis contemplated was running the business herself and ultimately that became her decision. She says, “That’s what I’m trying to do: I’m trying to do it myself with the help of my really, really awesome team.”

Laurenitis depends on her experienced colleagues plus a few more people for the growing season. “I have a really valuable core team of three people, who have been with me for five and six years, respectively. We’re a pretty lean team, even at the busiest period,” says Laurenitis.

Local gardeners flock to the farm stand each season for traditional veggies and flower starts, especially for unusual varieties that are hard to find. Their stand features heirloom varieties, native plants, perennials and garden supplies. Laurenitis notes, “All of that is going to continue. Nothing is lost during this transition. This year we’re increasing our native plant selection as well as our cut flower selection.” The refreshed business offers new varieties of heirloom plants from Alliance of Native Seed Keepers, including some heritage greens and herbs that are new to Laurenitis.

As owner-operator, Laurenitis tests and uses products before selling them. This season, Starview Gardens will offer a new line of seeds from MI Gardener, a popular website and YouTube vlogger that “makes gardening feel very accessible for everyone, regardless of the scope you’re able to practice it,” says Laurenitis. She adds, “We’re just really excited to be carrying their seeds. They have amazing germination rates. I tested them for a couple years in my own personal garden before signing on as a wholesale partner, so we’re excited to offer those locally.”

True to her family’s roots, Starview Gardens will continue to offer unusual varieties of both edible and decorative plants. She estimates a 60/40 split between decorative and edible plants. Laurentis adds, “Probably 95% of our products are grown from seed in our greenhouse. The other 5% are plants that grow best from cuttings, like our tropical varieties we buy as plugs of passion flowers and Bougainvillea.”

The farm’s growing practices start with sourcing seeds. Laurenitis focuses on buying seeds from small seed growers who are working with the same preservation goals she has in mind. Seed diversity gives plant species resilience to disease and pests, while growing beautiful and delicious specimens. Laurenitis says, “I don’t know who would verify this, but we probably have the largest selection of heirloom vegetables in the area.”

Heirloom choices support Starview Garden’s sustainability goals as well. Laurenitis notes, “I’ve been choosing heirlooms from different parts of the world that may fit our changing climate here…Things that do well with less water—a little hotter spring and still hotter summer—things that just grow better despite changes.” Adaptation to climate concern involves growing practices too. With a mix of wet and dry fields, Laurenitis has worked with CISA to come up with a water and ditch management plan to distribute water more evenly among her fields to address weather changes.

With a business background, Laurenitis has a full five-year plan for her business. While sustainability is a significant goal, increasing charitable giving is part of the vision for Starview Gardens. The family farm has long contributed to the Amherst Survival Farmer Fighting Hunger Network.

The farm grows crops for food as well as decoration. They sell a small selection of vegetables at their farm stand, and then the rest is grown for the wholesale market. Last fall, when SNAP benefits were suspended for November, Laurenitis reports, “We gave way over a thousand pounds of food from our front yard over a one-week period…I was happy to do it.” Last fall, gleaners from Rachel’s Table collected over 7000 pounds of squash, cabbage, broccoli, kale, and other fall crops to benefit the Survival Centers in Amherst and Northampton, Stone Soup, and food pantries.

Laurenitis concludes that backyard growers are important in the work of feeding our communities and responding to climate change. “As a farmer, I feel it’s critically important to connect people with the reality of growing food. Struggling to get a crop of tomatoes in your backyard makes it easier to understand the impacts of weather or fertilizer pricing on local farmers, and those impacts on food prices at the grocery store.” She adds, “I want to empower people to grow food themselves for easier access to fresh vegetables right out their door, and also to reduce grocery costs.”

To explore Starview Gardens, see starviewgardens.com and social media. The farm stand is located at 475 Amherst Rd, Sunderland, with hours currently 10am to 5pm, Friday through Tuesday, closed Wednesdays and Thursdays. See Google and Facebook as hours adjust throughout the season.

Lisa Goodrich is a Communications Coordinator for Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA). To find Local Hero garden centers and farm stands near you, check CISA’s online guide at buylocalfood.org.

All photos by Paul Franz, courtesy of the Greenfield Recorder.