Alm Hill Gardens – The Mother Farm

In 2007, Alm Hill Gardens became Growing Washington’s biggest farming endeavor yet. Just 5 miles from the Canadian border near Everson, Washington, the farm sprawls across just under 50 acres of beautiful, fertile land.

Ben Craft and Gretchen Hoyt planted their first field of raspberries on Alm Hill in the early 1970s when most farms in the area were selling all of their crops to large food processors and distributors and when Pike Place Market was the only well-known farmers market in the state. With the help of a hardworking and agriculturally talented group of Latino farm workers, Ben and Gretchen quickly turned Alm Hill Gardens into one of the very first year-round, direct-selling farms in Western Washington. Over the next three decades, the team carefully perfected a delicious and expansive variety of organic berries, vegetables and flowers and earned a stellar reputation amongst local consumers and producers alike.

In 2004, Ben and Gretchen were faced with a dilemma- after over 35 years of long days filled with hard labor, they were ready to retire (except from the winter tulip craze) but not ready to give up their land. Director Clayton Burrows, who had just moved to Washington, began working on the farm with the intent to take it over in cooperation with the family and crew. In 2007 Growing Washington officially took over the farm’s operations! As a worker-managed cooperative, Growing Washington now leases the land and manages the day to day production of the farm, growing the farms operations while simultaneously producing dozens of new successful farmers. Many of the same employees that began working with Ben and Gretchen years ago are part of the cooperative, carrying with them a wealth of invaluable Alm Hill know-how. And with additional continued guidance from Ben and Gretchen and their two talented off-spring (Joshua and Katie Craft), Alm Hill still uses the same labor intensive, environmentally sustainable growing practices to produce a beautiful and delicious assortment of top-notch organic fruits and vegetables including world famous berries, awesome salad mixes, and extra ordinary juicy tomatoes! These irresistible edibles and countless others can be found at several Western Washington farmers markets, restaurants, schools, grocers and in the Growing Whatcom cooperative CSA.

If you want to visit the farm or want some additional information, contact Clayton at or Jay Dennison at (360) 927-4845 or
Alm Hill Gardens - 3550 Alm Hill Rd - Everson, WA 98247