Hammock Hollow Herb Company

Chris Eastman didn’t always used to be a farmer. “In my previous life I was an interior designer,” she said. “Life’s different now.” Chris is part of the team at Hammock Hollow Farm, along with her husband Charlie Andrews. Hammock Hollow is a certified organic operation in Island Grove, near Cross Creek. There’s a lot of that goes into organic certification- not only are certified organic farms required to use organic growing methods, but they must source organic seed, use organic pest control and soil amendments, and keep records of all their farm procedures. Hammock Hollow has been a farm since 1985, and it has been certified organic since 1989.

Hammock Hollow has between five and seven acres in cultivation. Most of the farm’s produce goes directly to restaurants in Jacksonville and Orlando. Hammock Hollow specializes in lettuce during the cool season, and during the warm season they grow multiple of varieties of tomatoes.

The farm crew fluctuates throughout the season-- in potato planting season they have a crew of seven. Chris joined the crew three years ago, and she helps harvest and plant. Her job ended, and she found herself sitting at home. “I wasn’t the farming type, but I thought I may as well help out,” she said.