Ten years ago a massive hail storm arrived just after we had completed the harvest for the first week of our CSA share pick up. Prospects for week two of our year-round, full diet, free choice farmshare were in peril.
But neighbors helped us rake inches of hail accumulation away from tender plants and Chip from Pebble Brook farm sent over heads of lettuce and some replacement seedlings. While some crops rebounded the more significant finding was that our farm already had a community of supporters.
A decade later we are humbled to still feed these same neighbors the majority of their calories as well as more and more folks interested in wellness and regenerative practices. And the network of farmers who share knowledge and with whom we collaborate is generous and inspiring.
And what a difference 10 years has made in the farm ecosystem!
Spindly bare root apple, pear, plum, hazelnut and cherry trees now branch out to photosynthesize gregariously and host an array of wildlife and produce bushels of fruit.
pH, organic matter percentages, grey hair and community connections have increased and we’ve watched so many kids grow bigger and all of us wiser.
Our livestock are thriving and our plants are photosynthesizing more gregariously than ever.
Righteous cycles have been set in motion. Healthy plants are nourishing soil life, satiating pollinators, drawing down and cycling carbon and nitrogen, all the while increasing the below ground fungal connectivity – wealth upon which more nourishment and goodness can grow!
And our community of supporters – folks preoccupied with wellness, social fairness and ecological regeneration, show us the possibilities not only for our farm but for a regenerative movement with global implications.
Forget the 10-year horizons!
Pull out your calendar and see if you can join us to enjoy August’s abundance and any or all of a sequence of celebratory events designed to nourish and inspire us all so together we restore balance, connection and hope to influence larger movements creating systemic change.
And if you can’t come in person to soak up the scents of herbs being crushed underfoot and listen to the soundscape where domestic poultry and songbirds join one chorus, know that feedback gained from sharing our farm’s breakthroughs and vulnerability via our e-newsletters and social media has been central to our progress. So send us your ideas, concerns, questions and aspirations and also, please encourage your friends to connect with Green Mountain Girls Farm on social media or better yet, come visit the our farm or another farm near you.
And most of all, we want to share our deepest gratitude to all of the members, shoppers, farmstay guests, neighbors, mentors, friends, family, farmers emeriti (staff and wise contractors) and current farm team members that have traveled this journey with us, sharing the joys, challenges and so many wonderful meals.
10th Anniversary Events
Click on the individual events below for more information and you can make reservations for all on our Anniversary Reservation Site.
During Open Farm Week
- Compose and Play! Regenerative Farm Supper, Tour and Concert: August 9th 5:30-7:00 dinner & tour; 7:30- 9 Concert
- Renew and Restore! Regenerative Farm Pick Your Own Herbs Tour: August 15th
- Abundance to Go…or stay August 15th Link the herb tour and the movie with a farmstand meal! Our farmstand will be stocked with more than average ready to eat options.
- Free Community Film Screening: Secret Ingredients Movie: August 15th 7:00 pm Free
Chef & Mixologist-on-Farm Weekend, with Specials Guests Lee Duberman & Richard Fink
They spoiled us when they owned Ariels’ Restaurant in Brookfield and now own Casa Papaya in Mexico and are coming back to Vermont to celebrate with us for a weekend of events.
- Lean In & Learn! Cooking Class & Demonstration with Chef Lee Duberman and Renaissance Mixologist Richard Fink August 22nd
- Savor & Stretch! Field to Table Dinner with Guest Chef Lee Duberman & Richard Fink, August 23rd
- Relish & Reach! Farm Tour with sampling in the Field and Farm Lunch with Guest Chef Lee Duberman & Richard Fink, August 25th
If you are curious about our early years or the learning adventure in between then and now, you can see Stories from the Farm from almost every week of the last ten years on our website and in 2013 Penelope did a great visual & statistical summary.