Here is a list of atricutlture opportunities you’ll find in the Target Range and Orchard Homes area!

Green Bench Orchard is Missoula’s premier apple and raspberry U-Pick orchard. It is located near the end of South Avenue at 4701. Fred and Geri Stewart had their fourth U-Pick harvest in 2019. About half of the trees are the Honeycrisp variety, with the remaining split among Liberty, Spartan, Goodland, Goodmac, Haralson, Kerr Crab and Wealthy varieties. You’ll find something for almost any taste or use, from eating fresh to pies, sauce or cider. Apple harvest begins about the middle of August and lasts until the middle of October. The trees are all semi-dwarf size for easy picking on your family outing. No ladders needed, they supply the bags and containers and you pick the freshest organic fruit available.

2019 was the fourth year for their U-Pick raspberries, with Boyne and Nova summer red varieties. Harvest usually begins early-July until August. Due to the increased demand for raspberries, we expanded our beds by 50% in 2018 and those new plants should be coming into full production by Summer 2020.

Green Bench Orchard is USDA Certified Organic, and does not use chemicals in the orchard, keeping you and the environment healthy. Find them on Facebook for their hours and availability @Green Bench Orchard. Visit GreenBenchOrchard.com for picking hours and events at the orchard.

Red Hen Farm and Orchard is located at 3803 Spurgin Road. Julianna Engh Peters, Greg Peters, and their sons Everett and Soren are the farmers who operate Red Hen Farm. The farm includes a CSA and self-serve farm stand. Contact info: 240-3813 or find us online at RedHenFarm.net or on Facebook @MontanaRedHenFarm.

Taylor’s Organics Peppers plus Tomatoes is run by Ed and Laura Taylor. They have been growing organic tomatoes and peppers (both hot and sweet) for some 40+ years. Look for them at farmers’ markets in Target Range and downtown Missoula for hardy starts for home gardens and later in the season when they sell produce. You will also find their starter plants at The Olde Dairy on Clements. Contact info: 721-1205.

Tower Gardens is located on the corner of Tower and & 7th Streets and is always abuzz with activity busy getting ready for the next growing season. The high-tunnel greenhouse will be delivered in April 2020. The pollinator planting of native fruiting shrubs were planted in 2019. The FARM Stand will be finished this spring offering a cornucopia of bounties harvested from the gardens. Community Garden Spaces are available in the community garden. Call 370-0375 for details.

Turner Farms is a local organic vegetable farm in the Orchard Homes neighborhood. With the diminishing of farms in Missoula, the Turners have made it their mission to open their farm to the community so kids know what local food tastes like and what a farm looks (and smells) like! You will find local schools and youth organizations visiting the farm often for educational tours.

The Turners offer a CSA Share Program where members pick up a freshly harvested bag of produce each week. The TURNER FARM STORE is a renovated 1930’s barn (original to the property) featuring fresh produce daily during the growing season, fresh eggs and lots of other farm items. The store is set up as a self-serve stand allowing it to be open every day from dawn to dusk! Swing in and enjoy a little nostalgic trip back to the days of the ol’ country stores!

In October, Turner Farms hosts an annual Pumpkin Festival selling pumpkins grown on their farm by local school children! The festival brings lots of families from the Missoula community allowing them a fun day on a local farm during the beautiful fall season.

Along with their vegetables, the Turners also raise chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, peacocks, lots of goats, pigs, cows and sheep. With 3 boys in 4-H and FFA, there’s always a variety of animals running around. Please call 544-6600 or email: turnerfarms406@gmail.com. Learn more about our farm at www.turnerfarms406.com

Harts Garden and Nursery (George and Marcia Hart) grows a wide assortment of cut flowers and foliage at 4405 North Avenue W. They have been growing and selling flowers since 2006. Weddings and other special events enjoy great prices for fresh flowers.

Some crops are grown year round in their heated greenhouse. Lilies, tulips and peonies are still important crops, but they have dahlias, hydrangeas and zinnias into October, along with a variety of non-GMO produce and organic culinary herbs. Granddaughter Aidan Stevens sells some products on Friday afternoons on North Avenue. Stop in if you are driving past.

George has recently become a peony broker, buying and selling peonies regionally. See them at the Missoula Valley Winter Market (Senior Center on Higgins) or at the Clark Fork River Market, or call 396-8245 to learn about their flower CSA program or other available flowers, herbs and produce.

Full Bushel Farm is Aimee Miklovic’s seed-to-stem farm specializing in flowers for every occasion. Aimee is a farmer florist who uses local, ethically- grown, and sustainably-harvested flowers. This also includes growing a variety of herbal, medicinal, and edible flowers!

Aimee is passionate about supporting local, and conserving resources. Growing seasonally in Montana can present unique challenges, but she is thrilled to not only be restoring farmland in this historic community, but to also be building community through helping promote the Orchard Homes Farmers Market.

In the summer on Thursdays 4:30-7, or January through March on Saturdays 9-1,s Aimee and her blooms are at the Orchard Homes Farmers Market. Farm shares and floral subscriptions are available year round. For more information, to sign up for a subscription, or to order flowers for an event, please email aimee@fullbushelfarm.com or call/text 406-599-9496.

Orchard Homes Icelandics and Organics on Seventh Street is run by Brooke Martin and Kent Sugden along with their daughter Adelaide. Operating on one of the remaining historic farmsteads, they grow Icelandic sheep and chickens and heritage- and open-pollinated produce from about 3000 square foot irrigated garden and small orchard.

Using stock sourced from Northern Ag Experiment stations as well as Native American varieties, they have spent fifteen years selecting hardy heirloom varieties that flourish in the Missoula Valley. Varieties include the tomatoes “Sugden Gold” and “Sweet Adelaide” as well as “Fourth of July” corn – a variety of painted corn yielding red, white and blue kernels (among other colors!). After experimenting on friends for many years, produce is now seasonally available through Orange St. Food Farm (grass-fed lamb), Joseph’s Coat (wool), Orchard Homes Farmers Market, the Spurgin Farmstand (hours vary) and at the annual Pumpkin Festival at Turner Farms. Like us on facebook @Orchard Homes Icelandics (also the best way to get hold of us!).

Tayer’s Gardens, owned by Dennis Tayer, is located at 2548 River Rd. He owns and operates a lawn service and snow removal business. He currently is selling grass-finished beef, apples, and potatoes. He can be found either in the garden or at one for the following markets: Clark Fork River Farmers Market (May – Oct.), Orchard Homes Farmers Market (June – Sept.), Missoula Valley Winter Market (Nov. – Apr.), and Orchard Homes Winter Market (Jan. – Mar.). Farm produce includes raspberries, rhubarb, carrots, potatoes, kohlrabi, plums, apricots, pears, peaches, pie cherries, squash (winter and summer), peppers (hot and sweet), tomatoes, cabbage, tomatillos, corn, radishes, green onions, beets, leeks, and many other garden vegetables. Dahlias, peonies, and gladioli add color to his garden. Dennis is one of the founding members of the new Blue Mountain Growers Co-op.

Frank’s Little Farm Frank’s Little Farm is an urban farm in Missoula, Montana run by Sean McCoy and Prairie Wolfe. The farm consists of two separate pieces of cultivated ground; one at their home in the River Road neighborhood, and the other in the Target Range area near McCauley Butte.

They are proud to be one of the farms continuing to uphold the agricultural traditions of the Target Range area. An area that has been growing food and hay in the nutrient rich soil along the river for decades. In fact, Prairie’s great-grandfather owned and worked the land in this exact same area decades ago.

A key component of their farm has been forging a working relationship with the landowner, Anita Doyle. This relationship has been crucial to the overall success of their farm. They deeply enjoy cultivating the 1.5 acres at Anita’s for the soil is rich and has a lot to offer, as well as for the relationships they have developed with some of the neighbors.

Frank’s Little Farm strives to offer a wide variety of Homegrown™ produce. You can find them at the Missoula Farmers’ Market near the XXXX’s on Saturdays. They also sell directly to the public through their road-side farm stand located on the corner of Curtis and Wyoming, just off Third Street. The farm stand is open every day of the week beginning in May. For more information about their farm you can visit their website at FranksLittleFarm.com. You can also find them on Instagram or Facebook.

Heron Crossing Farm backs up against the Clark Fork River at the corner of S. 3rd St. and Clements Ave. A farm in the making, our orchard is bearing nicely and the chickens keep pests to a minimum. We have a small herd of Alpine dairy goats and look forward to the bouncing baby goats and fresh milk in spring. We’ve begun the replacement of lawn with vegetable, fruit, herb, and cut flower gardens, as well increasing native habitat for birds and beneficial insects. Eric studies birds as a field biologist, and is a PEAS program graduate. Ali has extensive background as an organic farmer and landscaper emphasizing sustainable, natural applications. Together we look forward to cultivating a diverse and bountiful edible landscape for our greater community, emphasizing organic, heirloom and saved seed and producing the most nutrient-packed, healthy food available. Fresh and local and it tastes like it. Ali Hakala and Eric Rasmusson

Orchard Homes Icelandics and Organics on Seventh Street is run by Brooke and Kent Sugden along with their daughter Adelaide. Operating on one of the remaining historic farmsteads, they grow Icelandic Sheep, chickens, bees and heritage and open pollinated produce from a ~3000 square foot irrigated garden and small orchard.  Being from old Montana homesteading stock, when we moved back in 1999, we understood that Montana weather runs to “unpredictable” and made sure to source stock from Northern Ag Experiment stations as well as Native American varieties.  Since then we have been committed to restoring our small place in a sustainable way, selecting hardy heirloom varieties that flourish in the Missoula Valley. We have rehabilitated our small farm that was overgrazed and introduced cottage farming practices that include – bees to pollinate our plants, chickens to eat the grubs and late-season grasshoppers, and sheep to eat the weeds.  We love the people and community here and have been fortunate to make connections that let us provide extra produce through the little Spurgin Farmstand and Tower Gardens.  Locally – Orange St. Food Farm (grass-fed lamb) has been amazing as well as Joseph’s Coat (wool) and we have really loved being a part of CFAC’s annual bike to barns self-guided tour.  Every year we promise to do more. But we do have day jobs and can be hard to get hold of.  Like us on facebook at Orchard Homes Icelandics (also the best way to get hold of us!) and reach out.  We always answer as soon as we can get to it.