Provident Organic Farm

Meet the Farmer

Farmer Jay Martin has 20 years of organic farming experience. He began gardening organically in 1973 in upstate New York. In 1980 he moved with his family to Bivalve, Maryland, where he worked as a waterman. In 1985 Jay and his wife Kathy started Silver Seed Greenhouses, a major supplier of organic transplants for the mid-Atlantic region. For 16 years Silver Seed supplied farms, market gardens, urban gardening projects, and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs with custom-grown transplants. Silver Seed was the first and only certified organic, wholesale greenhouse operation in Maryland. While running Silver Seed, Jay also cultivated an acre garden for the farmer's market in Salisbury, Maryland. Jay sold Silver Seed Greenhouses in 2001 to create Provident Organic Farm CSA and pursue his dream of a safe, just and sustainable food system for this region. He still serves as a consultant to the present owners of Silver Seed Greenhouses.

Jay Martin is considered a regional expert in organic practices and speaks at numerous conferences on organic transplant growing and facilitates workshops to train growers. He has served on Future Harvest small farm board, evaluating funding requests for small-scale innovative research and enterprises.