For Francesco DeBaggio, the days of the spring season do not just start early and end late, they run together.
"It never ends," he joked. "It is just one big, whole long day for the whole season."
At 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 5, DeBaggio's Herb Farm and Nursery had only been open for two hours, customers filtering in to look among the plants, but DeBaggio had been hard at work for hours.
"I was on the roof putting out the shade cloth for the tomatoes," he said. "And I was just making signs and labels for the plants."
DeBaggio moved around his 4.7-acre farm at a rapid pace, moving from task to task with the certainty of a man who has grown up on the farm.
"We grow everything here," he said. "So there's transplanting everything from the ground to pots. Watering. Restocking. There is always something to do."
To prepare for the spring season, DeBaggio starts the seedlings in January.
"It takes about four to six weeks to take a plant from seedling until its ready to sell," he said. "There's constantly the greenhouse shuffle."
OPENED IN 1975 in Arlington by DeBaggio's father, the farm moved to its Chantilly location 10 years ago. The farm has more than 900 varieties, including approximately 300 different vegetables, almost 400 different herbs and flowers
"There's not just one kind of rosemary; there's not just one kind of thyme," DeBaggio said. "And we try to carry them all. Or as many as possible."
DeBaggio's Herb Farm and Nursery is one of the 24 farms being featured on this year's Spring Farm Tour, which will be held May 19 and 20, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Besides DeBaggio's there are several nurseries and greenhouses, animal farms and six wineries.
"We try to have as many parts of the agricultural industry in Loudoun as possible," Gary Hornbaker, rural resources coordinator for the Office of Rural Economic Development, said. "We like to have animal farms, horticulture farms. We really try to show the county's diversity."
Held twice every year, in the spring and in the fall, the farm tour gives residents the chance to experience the county's rural economy.
"It really showcases the industry," Hornbaker said. "The farmers get the opportunity to sell their product. It allows the farmers to open up their farms, to let people have a greater appreciation of farming."
DEBAGGIO SAID there is more to farming than what people see when they come to his farm on a Saturday.
"It's not all sitting in the garden, smelling roses," he said. "It is 14- to 16-hour days for a couple of months here. There are no days off. You've got paperwork to do, bills to pay. You're at the mercy of the weather."
In addition to the day-to-day work of the farm, DeBaggio oversees every aspect of the plant's life on his property and works constantly to improve his farm, trying to add new varieties of plants every year.
"There's not just one source for everything," he said.
DeBaggio said it is important for him to be conscious of where he gets his seedlings because some varieties can be very hard to tell apart.
"Lavender and rosemary are very difficult to tell apart," he said. "So I need to know that they are the right thing. The differences between some varieties is very small and can only be detected through chemical analysis."
Saturday, DeBaggio watered and checked on Genoa green seedlings, a type of basil he got directly from Italy.
"The place that grew it, went out of business," he said. "We grew a couple dozen of their plants and collected the seeds to propagate the plant."
WHILE DEBAGGIO does not have the opportunity to do specialized projects for residents looking to create their own garden, he said people should remember it is not too late to get started.
"We have a few 80 degree days and people think it's too late," he said. "But it's not too late to plant."