VB: Dan’s Veggies and Poplar Mountain Maple

Jacquie Boyden is co-owner of Dan’s Veggies and Poplar Mountain Maple in Erving, and she runs the business with her son, Daniel Boyden. The five-acre farm, named for its location at the base of Poplar Mountain in Erving, has two components: a mixed veggie farm and farm stand (Dan’s Veggies) and a small maple sugaring operation (Poplar Mountain Maple).

The farm is a family affair. Jacquie’s late husband, Warren Boyden, was a fourth-generation sugar man from a long line of sugar makers. The family built the farm stand in 2014 with their son, Daniel Boyden, who was fourteen at the time, hence the “Dan’s Veggies” part of the business name.

Warren shared his knowledge of sugaring and growing with his son, who now runs the farm with the intention of teaching his own children. Boyden says, “It’s a labor of love for us. Farming is lots of work with love mixed in. We try to offer a quality product and sell it at a fair price.”

Farming is a cycle that follows the natural seasons, and in New England, the change is visible when driving past farms or shopping at farm stands. In late summer, drivers might notice the fields of sunflowers at Dan’s Veggies before seeing the farm stand. While they do sell sunflowers on their stand, the farm grows sunflowers for bee health as part of a study with the University of Massachusetts.

Boyden says, “A few years ago we participated in a study about bumblebees and how the pollen in the sunflowers helps bumblebees’ gut health. It helps them survive the colony collapse disorder. Sunflowers attract pollinators and they’re really good for bumblebees. We have sunflowers all over the gardens and fields.”

Every season on the farm has its own beauty and iconic imagery. She explains the cycle for their farm and says, “From January through March, you’re sugaring. Then spring comes and you’re madly growing plants and planting seeds, while there’s not enough hours in the day.”

Boyden continues, “Then summer starts. The crops start to come in and you’re into full managing, weeding, planting, picking. The summer goes by in a blur of cucumbers, summer squash, tomatoes, and green beans. Then the colder weather comes, bringing your heartier crops: potatoes, pumpkins, butternut and acorn squash.”

With the turn from green to golds, reds, and oranges, Boyden says, “By fall, you’re

winding down, and you know that the end is in sight. As a farmer, you’re getting your life back. Instead of working 12-to-15 hours a day, you’re only working eight hours. The weather is beautiful, and you know it’s a very brief time before old man winter comes breathing down our back.”

Before winter comes, the autumn harvest season is vibrant and colorful at the farm stand. Dan’s Veggies grows cooking pumpkins, winter squashes (butternut and acorn), potatoes and popcorn. They offer corn stalks, gourds, and large pumpkins for decoration. To make harvest displays last, keep them clean and dry, and cover them for frost.

Boyden reflects, “For me, New England is special. We see the leaves changing. People like to welcome the changing of the season by decorating with bright colors, like a bright pumpkin next to a green corn stock or hay bale. Then someone can look outside and see that bright display as the days get shorter.”

In the shortest days of the year, maple trees rest in preparation for spring, when cold nights and warm days start the sugar flowing. Poplar Mountain Maple has a wood-fired evaporator, which they fuel with soft woods, like spruce, to make all grades of syrup and maple candy. Boyden notes, “We’re small enough that we use a blend of pipeline and buckets.”  The farm has 400 taps to yield 70-to-100 gallons of syrup, depending on the year.

Customers have their favorite seasons and favorite crops, too. Some look forward to spring peas, summer tomatoes or corn, or autumn pumpkins and butternut squash. Boyden notes, “I think it’s taste and memories. People associate a certain crop with a memory and if the memory is happy, you want to bring that back.” She gives an example, “Maybe you made scarecrows as part of the fall decoration, starting when you were a kid. Maybe now you do it with your children, and it brings back memories. I think that is what people remember.”

Even more than the memory, Boyden thinks the taste of fresh, local produce keeps people coming back year after year. She concludes, “It’s the taste of the product really, because we grow the best vegetables in the valley—not us in particular—I mean the Pioneer Valley grows the best vegetables anywhere.”

Dan’s Veggies and Poplar Mountain Maple is located at 151 Northfield Road in Erving. The farm stand is open daily and is self-serve, with maple and popcorn available through winter. They sell at the Great Falls Farmers’ Market on Saturdays, from 9am-1pm through October. Learn more on their Facebook page.

Lisa Goodrich is a Communications Coordinator for Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA). To find fall crops and farm stands near you, see CISA’s online guide at buylocalfood.org.

This article ran in the Daily Hampshire Gazette on 9/27/25. All photos by Paul Franz, courtesy of the Daily Hampshire Gazette.