Snow Springs Farm: Conserving A Slice of Tomato Heaven

There is truly nothing better than a BLT sandwich, made with fresh garden tomatoes, in the hot summer months. Peg Davis, an Augusta County farmer, claims she makes the best around with her dozens of heirloom tomato varieties that she grows on just over 147 acres near Middlebrook, VA.

She bought Snow Spring Farm in the late 1970s with her former husband, George, where they raised their family and immediately began working the land. Over the years, after many farm endeavors, Peg found her calling growing vegetables, with her expertise in heirloom tomatoes. She collects heirloom tomato seeds from around the world with the goal to grow a tomato from every state in the US and every country. Her signature tomato, the Peg O' My Heart, came from a 9th grade student at Wilson Memorial High School. The student's grandparents had grown their own seeds for years in Pennsylvania. Along with her children, Peg created a unique aquaponic growing system that allowed her to enhance quality and yield.

In early 2020, Tori Kennedy, Managing Partner at Conservation Partners, received a phone call from Peg expressing interest in pursuing a conservation easement. As they began to coordinate a site visit, the COVID pandemic hit the United States and the efforts were stalled as social distancing was implemented. Peg resumed her efforts in early 2024 and in March 2026, a conservation easement was recorded in partnership with the Shenandoah Valley Conservancy, permanently protecting the land and legacy that Peg had nurtured since the late 1970s. In addition to conserving prime soils, working forest, spring-fed streams, wildlife habitat, and karst features, the conservation easement also protects a historic 1760s farm house which Peg hopes to restore with the proceeds from her tax credit sales. Peg also received cost assistance through the Valley Green Fund provided by a generous donation to the Shenandoah Valley Conservancy by a private foundation.

"Growing up in the Shenandoah Valley, this one was really special to me. I have many fond memories of summers spent helping my grandparents in their garden. Visiting Snow Springs Farm feels like 'home,'" said Tori Kennedy.

"It's not a big farm, but it is a beloved one. I raised all of my children here, and taught them to love the land as I do. It is my greatest hope that it will stay in the family for generations to come," said Peg.

When asked why she chose to protect her farm with a conservation easement, she reflected, "What matters most to me now is that the farm will go to my children and their children as a place for them to love as I have loved it -- for its forests and fields, for the spring that's full of life, and for the abundant wildlife that finds its home and habitat here.  In my heart I feel that it is an inheritance far more precious than money."

You can visit Peg and shop her produce at the Staunton Farmer's Market. Peg's story is also featured in a Seed Savers Exchange documentary on PBS. Watch "Peg of My Heart" here.