Her partner, Cecchinelli, had grown up gardening and offered to show her the ropes.
And earlier this year they were named the new operators of the property at Green Meadows Farm in Hamilton, a piece of land steeped in local history.
The pair have big plans for the site’s 20 acres of farmable land, including lots of vegetables, a farmstand, and collaboration with a local sheep farm.
In 2017, he was working at Cedar Rock Gardens in West Gloucester when the owners decided to take a year off from growing vegetables in order to concentrate on launching their nursery business.
At the same time, Apple went into restaurant work after college, landing a job as a prep cook at Craigie on Main.
The farm became one of the few certified organic on the North Shore and a farmstand was built to draw in the community.
When that idea fell through, Greenbelt acquired the parcel and asked local farmers interested in working the land to submit proposals.
The team that assessed the submissions liked Iron Ox’s dedication to organic farming practices and their idea to partner with Boxford’s Lillooet Sheep and Cheesery, bringing grazing sheep to the farm to help regenerate the soil.
This year, Iron Ox will farm their plot in Topsfield for a final season, while, at the same time, they begin planning and developing the land in Hamilton.
Lillooet will pasture its sheep on the rest of the land in rotation, creating naturally healthier soil for Iron Ox when they plant in those fields.
In the next few years, Iron Ox will also open a new farmstand on the land and create a trail, open to the public, that will wind through the farm and connect with the Vineyard Hill Reservation, another Greenbelt property located adjacent to Green Meadows.