Hidden Gems

When the sweet showers of April have pierced the drought of March…

Thus did Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales famously begin to describe that delicious first hint of real spring, a time when the earth warms and our thoughts turn to our own private landscapes: gardening and improvements.. West Haven boasts its own very unique set of businesses ready to assist with these tasks.

At Golden Acres Farms in Allingtown. Deb Simone, the current owner, took over the farm from her parents. Her grandparents were farmers in the Westville “flats” section of New Haven when, in 1931, the WPA relocated those farmers so that New Haven could expand. Simone’s grandparents were moved to the gentle valley between Orange Hill and Fairfax Street, and it’s been a federally registered working farm (as Simone laughs, “the real deal”) ever since. Mentioned in “In Touch with the Land”, published in the early 1980s, it is one of twelve farms in the state to be so spotlighted. Nephew Nick Simone works at the farm now, ensuring the next generation will continue the family business.

West Haven resident and frequent customer Vanessa Aube was visiting with her six- year-old daughter Kennedy (busily searching for hidden gnomes on the property) and elucidated the many reasons why Golden Acres is her go-to place for plants. Variety and location lead the list, followed by her preference for the farm’s pesticide-free, organic stock – Golden Acres uses only Ivory dish soap, yellow sticky traps and Peter’s organic fertilizer on its plants. Furthermore, Aube added, it’s a “small family-owned business, something my generation cares about.” Suddenly there’s a happy cry coming from the woods – Kennedy found a gnome!

Speaking of that variety, Golden Acres performs wonders in that department, with, for example, 40 varieties of tomato, 22 varieties of hot peppers and 15 varieties of cucumbers. The farm also has varieties available nowhere else. “We grow for the customer,” Simone says. A Laotian woman came in with seeds for native peppers, mak phut kursi. Golden Acres produced the peppers for the customer and continues to grow them and produce the seed. About 30 years ago, a Russian babushka brought them some heirloom Russian tomato seeds, which they continue to produce. In the 1960s, a Yale professor gave Simone’s father a spicy cherry tomato (the “Zoltan”, after the prof) – another Golden Acres exclusive. Right now, Simone is searching for the original San Marzano Naples tomato. The San Marzano tomato is a hybrid bred for tough skin so that it could be mechanically harvested; Simone wants to find the original, more fragile San Marzano. “It’s a quest,” the former art history professor smiles.

Golden Acres sells perennials, annuals, vegetables and herbs, and the retail business is only open for planting season, from April 1 to June 30. After that, the store is closed so that the family can continue doing what they’ve done for over a century: farm the land.

A not-too-far stone’s throw from from Golden Acres on Industry Drive in Allingtown is Soundview Landscaping. Owner Phil Grande grew up in Allingtown, graduating from West Haven High and Yale. “I like this area,” Grande says. “The people, the climate, the range of topography.”  Grande started landscaping as a whippersnapper, working with his three younger brothers – brother Justin still works with him. In 1997 his in-laws sold Soundview Farm on Meloy Road, and Grande found the current property in Allingtown. “I enjoy working for myself, and working outside,” Grande states.

Soundview comprises Soundview Landscape Supply, Ivy League Landscaping, and the New England Rake Company.

“We’re a one-stop shop for landscapers, and a commercial garden center,” Grande continues. The company does hardscaping, a limited amount of site work, landscape excavation, new lawns, and plantings. Among many recent projects are the excavation of the Hubbard Park Pond and providing the pavers for the Allingtown Green. 

The New England Rake Company is a very unique branch of the business. Grande has the rake components manufactured locally, and the rakes are assembled in West Haven…rakes used by concerns far and wide, including major league baseball groundskeepers (just ask the Kansas City Royals).

Soundview is also a state certified recycling center, so folks can recycle yard waste.

Among the challenges Grande faces in running a business, he laments the fact he is finding it very difficult to find a pool of willing employees for vacant positions – a problem currently seen across the board.

“The past year has been very difficult,” he says. 

But his smile returns as he expounds on the reason Soundview is a city favorite – “It’s the diversity of products and services we offer, which work really well for professionals as well as do-it-yourselfers.”