
Confreda's Greenhouses and Farms
Confreda History
The Confreda family began farming in 1922. Vinny, Sr. (3rd generation)
and his son Vinny (4th generation) now manage the family business. They farm
just over 400 acres of land; most of which is in Cranston and the balance
is in the City of Warwick. Their operations represent one of oldest commercial
vegetable farms in the state of Rhode Island.
Their primary crops are summer and zucchini squash, peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, and pumpkins with their #1 crop being corn. They feature silver queen corn; a rare super sweet specialty corn known as Mirae; and the traditional butter & sugar corn. Also grown is cow corn, which is used to cut for corn stalks and Indian corn for decoration.
During the 1970s, Vinny (the son) created their bedding plant division. He now grows over 160 varieties of annuals, 90 varieties of vegetables, 75 varieties of hanging plants and over 90 varieties of four inch material. This division services garden centers from all over RI and as north as the New Hampshire border to the end of Cape Cod.
The Confreda Family found the agricultural industry to be rewarding yet
challenging since so much of their livelihood fell solely in the hands of
Mother Nature. Confreda saw this as an opportunity to expand and built a
facility that could enrich the community and also continue to employee those
who have dedicated their careers to farming.
In 1997 Confreda opened a retail garden center and farmers market. This facility
is open April through December and embodies the atmosphere of country living.
A bakery, ice cream shop and playground compliment Confredas home grown
vegetables and plant material. Spring features Confredas locally grown
bedding plants; summer brings Confredas own home-grown veggies. And
as for fall, Confreda has become part of many Rhode Islanders autumn traditions
featuring free weekend wagon rides, pumpkin picking, fall crafts and amusements.
Confredas daytime scare free corn maze is a lot of fun.
The farm also hosts an educational program for pre-school and elementary
school children; a place where thousands of young minds are introduced to
the a-Maz-ing world of agriculture! If your more into the daunting
side of fall, there Confredas nighttime haunted corn maze and haunted
hayride known as Scary Acres. As the year winds down, winter is dedicated
to poinsettias, Christmas trees and decorating for the holidays. Now the
farm is a place for all seasons!
The bottom line is the total commitment that the Confreda family has made to ensure that there farm is here for generations to come.