The Intervale has made me paranoid about high water. One of the most often checked bookmarks on my computer is the hydrograph showing if and when we will flood… At the new land we decided to deal with any water drainage needs before we planted crops that were going to be in the ground for 30+ years. Van Wyck Brothers Drainage (a great 4 brother team) came out with their monster machinery to complete the job. These tractors are not the norm on the average vegetable and berry farm. They are huge! 6 foot tires. With their drainage plow they were able to install tiles 4 ft deep with ease. These tiles will lower the seasonal high water table, improve drainage, allow the soils to warm up faster in the spring and minimize root diseases and rot on some of our more sensitive plants such as raspberries. All assets as an organic grower. Tonight, as I listen to the intensity of the rain I am grateful that we made this effort before getting everything planted in the ground.

Well, it has been a busy spring filled with many a sun up to sun down day. I have not found too much time or energy to post lately. For those of you who do not know, in early winter I closed on a new piece of farmland in East Charlotte about 10 miles south of Burlington. We purchased the land with the help of the Vermont Land Trust. Our purchase protects the land from further development and ensures that their will be access to productive farmland in Chittenden County in the future. This was protected by placing an agricultural easement on the land. All very exciting… So, this year the farm is undergoing a major transition. This is all in effort to create farm stability and to support our local food system for years to come. The Intervale has been a wonderful place to be for the last 11 years but repeated flooding and losses have been challenging as a perennial fruit grower. In the beginning of April we began the hurculean task of moving almost 3000 mature blueberry bushes to their new home. Nate and the crew from Green Mountain Treescape were amazing! I will start the spring photo tour there. More will follow of the planting and re-establishment the blueberries and of the other fruits.

Last winter January I traveled to Guatemala to conduct some market research. Thought I would share what I witnessed. Beautiful displays of abundance.

Looking for that perfect holiday gift or stocking stuffer? Why not support a local farm. We have men’s and women’s T-shirts, delicious jams and blueberry and raspberry vinegars for the holidays. Send me an email and we can either ship or arrange local delivery.