Marolda Farms expanding with summer and fall crops
Marolda Farms expanding with summer and fall crops
Marolda Farms, a family-owned operation based in Vineland, NJ, specializes in growing both conventional and organic leafy greens and herbs. The farm spans 250 acres for conventional crops and 130 acres for organic produce.
Leading the farm are Rich and Sherry Marolda, a husband-and-wife team who have been farming together for more than 25 years. Their son, Richard Marolda Jr., is the production manager and oversees the farm’s organic program, which is marketed under the Rock & Roll Organics brand through the company Sweetvine.
Fall is an important season for Marolda Farms as it’s predominantly a wet-veg farm.
“It’s like our mini-spring season and we get another crack at our wet-veg line,” Marolda Jr. said. “This spring was very disappointing; the market was weak, sales volume was weak, so we see fall being pretty important, and we’re looking forward to seeing some good movement to close the gap from the spring.”
On the conventional side, the farm’s fall products include beets, parsley, cilantro, dill and more.
“Last fall was pretty decent, and we were happy; it definitely helped a lot. Our summer crops went deep into the fall season, which really helped a lot,” Marolda Jr. said. “The spring of 2024 was challenging as well, though not as bad as 2025.”
Another thing about last fall season was the weather stayed warmer than usual all the way through November, and that’s not expected for this year.
“As for trends, it’s been pretty much the same in the fall; there hasn’t been a big shift in what people are looking for,” Marolda Jr. said.
On the organic side, the spinach business has improved — doing well in the spring and carrying over to the fall season.
“For my little operation, that was pretty helpful,” Marolda Jr. said. “The spinach season was very consistent. As long as I have it, people want it. I’m optimistic it will be strong again this year.”
Marolda Farms is looking into expanding its summer crops in the year ahead both with conventional and organic product.
“I think that will help carry us through our whole New Jersey season and help fill the gaps,” Marolda Jr. said. “I believe our immediate future will be expansion with the summer crops.”
Expanding crops is something that has been top-of-mind for the company lately and it’s already seeing success from some recent changes.
“I started doing organic zucchini this year, and it’s worked out well,” Marolda Jr. said. “I’m going to move that to the fall this year for as late as I can. There are opportunities to grow some other items going into next summer as well.”
On the conventional side, Marolda Farms increased acreage for its hot chili program and that trend is also expected to continue in the year ahead.
“The best way to success is being accommodating to your customers, this year, we have gotten a lot more requests for specialized packs, so we have been doing that,” Marolda Jr. said. “The organic zucchini was a request from one of our customers. That made them happy and made me happy.”
