The beginnings of a farm
from the slopes of Sugar Loaf on the edge of Mt Greylock, we are slowly creating a farm. Our focus is on small scale production of herbs, fruit and vegetables, while incorporating the bounty of the woodland through using agro-forestry techniques to sustainably harvest and wild-craft other food and medicinal crops.
The farm is 73 Acres, of which three will be cultivated intensively, along with extensive wild-crafting of herbs and fruit in the remaining woodland. Mari and Nathan have been living here since 2007, after building a little "fairy cottage" which we all refer to as Moon Cottage. They bought the land in 2001 and have since been devoted to creating a haven for all kinds of native plants, insect and animal species. Dylan and WindRose have recently moved over from the UK. Where they were farming on the coast of Cornwall. Since arriving they have been a moving force to get more crops of vegetables, fruit, herbs and some livestock on the land. So all told we are a group of people, cats, dog, chickens, guineas and some bees thriving among the green and lush. Our first crop of the year was a gorgeous harvest of ramps... wild garlic. A delicacy round these parts.We were happy to be supplying Guido's Market and Wild Oats. - Spring 2013 |
A another year on the farm
Well, we may be getting a bit more used to all the changes and upheaval that farm life brings. Even the lesser spotted fogies have come out now that the weather is warming up! Ruby, our little red hen, has made it to another spring despite a terrible bout of bumble foot last year.
We have learned loads about Maple Sugaring thanks to the Jennings. We used both lines and buckets this year and managed to make some syrup. Eagerly waiting on our mushroom crops, we are hoping that all the logs we inoculated over the last year will bear fruit for us. Having experimented with crops last year, we are refining what works in our region and our soil. The huge row of rosemary that we planted and then dug and stored under the house for the winter has not made it. Rosemary, a valued herbal ally in Europe, has to be a house plant here. But Corn, a finickity crop for damp cool Cornish summers, just thrives here. Our orchard has more than doubled and we are choosing to focus on fruit a lot more. I am hoping to taste my first Paw-Paw this year, also know as the Northern banana. But we'll have to order it online as no one around here seems to have any and ours need a few more years to produce fruit. So here's to another year of learning and growing at Talus Wood Farm. - Late April 2014 |
