When Jeremy Mayne’s family purchased land for a personal garden, they never expected the outcome–an overwhelming amount of vegetables.  As a solution, they decided to sell their excess produce at an on-site farm stand. Today, Mayneland Farm, a fully functional farmstead, sits at the same location and is open approximately six months a year, selling all kinds of crops.

Mayneland Farm was opened in 1976 by the Mayne family and friends, with Jeremy, its current owner, managing since 1980. The farm stretches 15 acres from West Bauer Road to Mill Street Elementary School. This spring, the farm will be opening for its 40th year of operation.

Since starting in the business, Mayne has gotten into the yearly process of growing. In a typical season, the farm stand opens during the first week of May, selling asparagus and strawberries. In the early summer months, the farm stand is only open three or four days a week. Come the middle of July, Mayneland Farm offers radishes, spinach, lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, beans, tomatoes and more, seven days a week.

On a busy summer day, the farm can have anywhere from 8 to 12 workers on duty in the fields and at the farm stand. The farm employs anyone from high school students to adults that have a love for gardening. Keeping the farm functional is no small task–no one knows that better than the people who work there.

Junior Kris Heinz said he chose to work at Mayneland Farm because he loves the outdoors and working with his hands. As an employee, he has learned how to drive a tractor, perform maintenance on crops, take care of chickens and other basic farming tasks.

Heinz spoke to the welcoming atmosphere of the farm and its genuine customer service.

“You feel a lot more confident in what you’re buying because you see the people picking it back in the fields,” Heinz said. “The people at the farm stand are very personable and answer any questions you have.”

The team works at the farm through the spring, summer and autumn until early November when the leaves start to fall. At this point, the farm closes down for the year and Mayne is able to take a break. In the months that he’s not overseeing the operations on his farm, Mayne spends his time traveling the world (last year’s trip was to Japan) or playing piano duets with his wife.

In a suburb where grocery stores occupy every corner, one might ask “what’s the big difference between Jewel and the farm stand down the street?”

According to Mayne, the answer is undoubtedly “taste.”

“If you have a vegetable that’s been sitting in a store for even three or four days, the taste is completely different than vegetables that are picked the very same morning and offered for sale [that day.]”

Running strong for 40 years, Mayneland farm has become a family-favorite location for Napervillians. Mayne said he feels he has expanded and renovated the farm to the best of his ability, and he doesn’t plan to stop running the operations of the farm anytime soon.

“Every year I try to do it better,” Mayne said.

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Jeremy Mayne moved to Naperville with his parents from Evanston in 1949. He took over managing Mayneland Farm in 1980 and has been doing so ever since.