Paffenroth Gardens

What began as a small onion farm has grown into a spectacular showcase of some of the most fertile soil in America, tended by Alex Paffenroth — dubbed "The King of Black Dirt." The land was drained by Polish immigrants roughly a century ago, exposing rich, peat-like soil built up over millennia and packed with nutrients often lost to runoff in ordinary farmland. This farm benefits from some of the best soil in the country, with topsoil reaching depths of up to twenty feet. Known as "black dirt" for its rich, chocolate cake-like appearance, this soil is so soft that building structures on it isn’t feasible. Thankfully, that has helped preserve it from development, allowing it to remain home to some of the state’s most nutrient dense farms, just over an hour north of the city.