The name Mumford has been synonymous with good eating for over 30 years at the Jersey Shore. Any foodie will be well familiar with the excellent restaurants and food-related enterprises to which it has been attached. From the first eponymous eatery on Ocean Avenue in North Long Branch to Mumford’s Culinary Center on Apple Street in Tinton Falls, Chris Mumford and his wife Debbie have been providing savory, creative dishes and delicious baked goods to hungry diners on a full-time basis.
What many folks may not know is that each of these locations had a fair amount of open land adjacent to the restaurants, where Chef Chris dedicated himself to growing a wide variety of vegetables and herbs which he then used in his cooking.
From the time he was a small child, his love of gardening was inspired and nurtured by his father. Chris was an early advocate of farm to table, locally sourced ingredients and organic gardening practices, long before these concepts became as well-known as they are today. He loved picking what he grew and then creating dishes based on what was ripe in his garden. After 20 years at the Tinton Falls location, he said he felt he had “done everything he wanted to accomplish,” so he sold the business and moved toward fulfilling his quest to have a farm-type operation which would encompass the new direction he wanted to follow. He wanted to grow vegetables in a healthy and ecologically-conscious environment and provide the plants and seeds to local gardeners as well as chefs who were interested in doing the growing and harvesting themselves. Of late, he has been able to use a good portion of the land of his Vermont second home property, and as much of the yard of his Ocean Township home as possible, to launch this dream.
This newest pursuit, the attainment of his passion, is called Hay Mumford. On the website are myriad plants for sale which have all been started with organic fertilizers and Mumford’s own farm-produced compost and worm castings, in a pesticide and chemical-free setting. They offer a staggering 65 varieties of heirloom tomatoes alone! Available in all sizes, many of these are rarely seen in this area. Cherry and grape size include Chocolate Pear, Black Opal, White Cherry and Brad’s Atomic, to name but a few. Offerings of beefsteak tomatoes include Prairie Fire, Indigo Apple, Pink Boar and Dad’s Sunset, Rebelski, Hillbilly, Midnight Sun and many more. There is also a broad selection of basil plants, including Sweet Thai, Purple Amethyst and Lime; garlic including the exotically aromatic black variety; an interesting variety of red, yellow and green peppers; various lettuces, a number of herbs, as well as 40 varieties of interesting flowers. Both seeds and plants are offered.
Hay Mumford is also available to do everything from installing new gardens or renovating existing ones using organic fertilizer, compost and top soil, to even planting the vegetables and flowers for the homeowners if they desire. It is truly a gardener’s paradise – an online store for “backyard farmers” who want to grow their own produce in an environmentally sound way.
They will also offer produce they have grown. In their Vermont location, they are growing 4,000 heads of garlic, asparagus, lettuce, cilantro, kale, leeks, raspberries, blueberries and beets, all of which will be available here in New Jersey. Prepared items they have available include Organic Tomato Coulis; blends of various spices; homemade stocks of vegetable, chicken, turkey and beef; honey from their own hive; and maple syrup from neighbors in Vermont. Debbie, a superb pastry chef, also offers some seasonal baked goods.
In order to make their inventory as easy as possible to obtain, in addition to being able to pick up plants in Ocean Township, home delivery is available; and they will have a booth at Asbury Fresh Farmers Market in Asbury Park and at the Bell Works Farmers Market in Holmdel.
For folks who love to grow their own veggies in their backyard, Hay Mumford is truly a one-stop-shop. You can buy the plants, get great advice on planting, feeding and growing them and, of course, even get some good recipe ideas from Chef Chris, too. This appears to be a win-win situation. He is following his lifelong passion to grow fresh, tasty produce in an environmentally sound way that protects our planet and raises our awareness of healthy gardening practices, and we have the satisfaction of picking that perfectly ripe, luscious tomato and eating it for dinner! Truly, something for everyone!
Hay Mumford Farms
haymumford.com
Bob Sacks, longtime food and wine buff, writes about food, wine and restaurants in this column. Follow him on Instagram @dinnerwithbob.
The article originally appeared in the April 28 – May 4, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
