Peter's Farm

Every year, Peter Hastings farms a 1-acre plot of land he built at Meadow Ridge, a retirement community and nursing home located in Redding, Conn. Many of the other residents are too frail to help with much farming, but he puts as many to work as he can, even if they can only weed a few feet of soil. The Meadow Ridge Farm, as Peter's is known, seems to be his escape from the confines of his condo, where he moved after retiring as a very successful real estate broker. All of the produce from the farm is sent to the retirement community's kitchen, where its served to every resident at the facility.For most crops, Hastings says he tries to reduce his pull to about 15 of each fruit and vegetable each year. This way, chefs "can make a meal in the dining room and everyone can have a little eggplant," Hastings says.