Following a long, harsh winter, signs of spring are sprouting at Silverbrook Farm.

The farm on 529 Chase Road has an origin stretching back to 1690, but when Andy Pollock, 51, grew up, he knew it as his parents’ horse farm. When he took over the property in 2000, his father had long since passed and his mother was ailing. The fields were overgrown and required hard work to clear.

“It felt like farming in the 1700s, totally by hand. Planting, digging without much equipment,” said Pollock.

Initially, Pollock had planned for a career in business. After graduating Penn State with a business degree, he got his MBA from the University of Maine. He eventually found himself working on the business side of medicine, landing a partnership in a medical service company. After five years, he left and returned to his parents' farm.

Today, Silverbrook Farm is a thriving vegetable and chicken farm stretched across four parcels of land totaling nearly 60 acres. The overgrowth was cleared to make way for 13 greenhouses, rows of coops, an area to grow mushrooms, a wind turbine and solar panels.

While not a USDA certified organic farm, Silverbrook uses sustainable, earth-friendly methods of farm production. This includes ensuring any pesticides used on the farm are certified through the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) and using organic composted chicken manure as their primary fertilizer.

The farm is also home to one of the South Coast’s largest CSA (consumer supported agriculture) shares with 750 members located as far as Boston and Cape Cod. The farm acts as a “conduit” between other local farms in the area, pooling together a wide array of fresh produce and products for customers — all grown and crafted in Dartmouth.

“For the CSA business, you need to have the basics with a little bit of unique things, so there’s a surprise for them,” said Pollock.

The success of the CSAs has seen the farm branch out. Starting this July, following a lengthy application process, Silverbrook was accepted at The Boston Public Market, a new year-round indoor market located near Faneuil Hall Marketplace in downtown Boston.

The Boston Public Market will house 30 vendors selling food, fish, wine, cheeses and other products locally sourced throughout Massachusetts. Silverbrook Farm will be one of five farms featured at the venue.

On a local level, the farm is preparing its spring CSA, featuring eggs, jam, pickles and greens.

With a busy year ahead, the biggest set back has been the weather. “Everyone is about two or three weeks behind,” Pollock said, adding that harrowing and planting only began in mid-April.

Despite the slow start, the group plans to experiment with how their shares are distributed. In the past, customers would sign up for a pre-designed CSA. This year, they want to try to allow for more customization, allowing consumers to go online and select what they want from a list of available options.

This trial will remain on a small scale this season, but and if successful, they hope to launch the new feature in 2016.

With increased interest in organically grown, locally sourced foods, Silverbrook offers an apprenticeship program for those willing to try their hand at farming. Interns will spend nine months learning everything from the financial side of the business to learning how to grow multiple crops for an urban market.

While Pollock understands the occupation has become somewhat romanticized in recent years, the reality is that it remains hard work, especially “when it’s stinking hot and you’re sweating into your boots and you still have peas to pick.”

Still, the farm has drawn apprentices who stay the course and have gone on to work at other farms. Some even return as employees.

Determination is key. “Those who have knuckled down have done well,” said Pollock.

For more information, visit: http://silverbrookdartmouth.com.