Category: Farm of the Month

Farm of the Month: Boulder Meadow Farm

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By Jan Sevene, Monadnock Localvore Project

Boulder Meadow Farm
Glenn & Lisa Letendre
254 Rhododendron Road
Fitzwilliam, NH 03447
603-585-3461
info@bouldermeadowfarm.com
http://www.bouldermeadowfarm.com

Love lamb? Four years ago Lisa and Glenn Letendre moved to Boulder Meadow Farm. A former horse farm, it is now home to llamas, an alpaca, chickens, and pure-bred Wensleydale sheep, raised for their prized fleece. But along with this line-up, the Letendres raise other types of sheep for meat, and just this year began selling it.

At Boulder Meadow Farm, grass-fed lamb can be purchased on the hoof or packaged and frozen.  If buyers opt not to buy a whole lamb on the hoof, Lisa says: “When the lamb is ready for market weight, they can have me bring it to the butcher. Buyers can also buy cuts out of my freezer.”

Orders for Boulder Meadow’s USDA certified meat are currently picked up at the butcher. “In another month,” Lisa says, “lamb will be sold at the farm. I’ve been raising my lambs here to market weight, now the butcher will do it USDA, to sell right off the farm.” Also, Boulder Meadow chicken can be purchased frozen, whole or in individual pieces, right at the farm.

Boulder Meadow also works with Fitzwilliam’s Steeple Chase Farm (fleece and raising lambs), and Hill Farm, (fleece and offering pigs, chickens and turkeys for meat), as part of a unique support group that helps assure the highest quality products for their customers. “It’s our work. We’re dedicated,” Lisa says.

Support your local farms. Buy local, buy fresh.

Other farm-direct meat:
Country Critters Farm
240 Forest Lake Rd.
Winchester, NH 03470
(603)  239-8657
countrycritterfarm@earthlink.net

East Hill Farm
Dave  Adams
460 Monadnock St.
Troy, NH  03465
(603) 242-6495
info@east-hill-farm.com
http://www.east-hill-farm.com

Pitcher Mountain Farm
Dave Weaver
2110 Rte 123N
Stoddard, NH 03462
(603) 446-3350
charles.faulkner@dartmouth.edu

Porkside Farm
10 French Pond Rd.
Henniker, NH 03242
(603) 748-3767
bobwhyman@mcttelecom.com

Farm of the Month: Barrett’s Greenhouse & Nursery

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Barrett’s Greenhouse & Nursery
Bill and Debbie Barrett
258 Gunn Rd.
Keene, NH 03431
603-352-8665

Just minutes from Keene’s center and you are winding your way up a pleasant country road. Just as enjoyable as the ride, is browsing through the numerous quality plants available once at Barrett’s Greenhouse & Nursery.

Although Bill and Debbie Barrett’s second year at this location — what Debbie describes as “a little piece of heaven” — the Barretts have always farmed. Raised in the Keene area, the Barretts first owned a dairy farm in Maine, returned to Keene, and for years farmed in Swanzey.

“Bill was custom farming,” Debbie says. “He did everything: plowing, rototilling, landscaping, putting in gardens for people. He was a Jack-of-all trades.” Their farming extended to a continuous involvement in the farmers’ market community, an association with the Keene Farmers’ Market beginning at its early stages on Winchester Street.

Barrett’s Greenhouse currently offers many plants. “We have annuals, vegetables, some herbs and perennials,” Debbie says. “There are hanging baskets, bedding plants, tons of lettuce, tomatoes (10 to 15 different varieties, alone), and peppers.” Add to that winter and summer squash, broccoli, cucumbers (pickling and slicing), and more. And, for people who fear buying because they are not the best gardeners, Barrett’s always incorporates a slow-release fertilizer in their plants, keeping them healthy after they leave the greenhouse.

“I think we do a really nice job of growing here. We hold quality to the highest standard. We offer a flowering mixed basket that rivals any basket produced in the area,” Debbie says. “Myself, my sister-in-law Julie and my husband, work together as a team, and I think we’re an unbeatable team. We are actually living on the farm that Bill’s paternal grandmother grew up on.”

“People are doing a lot of gardening. It’s a super thing,” she says.  Visit Barrett’s Greenhouse & Nursery (open 9-5, 7 days), and let them help you chose the plants that will make your gardening experience fun and rewarding.

Farms selling plants and/or seeds:

Herban Living B&B
Lisa Beaudoin
242 General Miller Hwy
Temple NH 03084
(603) 878-0459
lisa@herbanlivingfarm.org

Hillside Springs Farm & CSA Garden
32 Comerford Rd
Westmoreland, NH 03467
(603) 399-7288

Monadnock Berries
http://www.monadnockberries.com
545 West Hill Road
Troy, NH 03465-2673
(603) 242-6417

Rosaly’s Garden & Farmstand
New Hampshire 123
Peterborough, NH 03458
(603) 924-7774

Tracie’s Community Farm, LLC
72 Jaffrey Rd
Fitzwilliam, NH 03447
(603) 209-1851
farmertracie@hotmail.com

Ruffled Feathers Farm
Karin Asseng
210 Newell Pond Rd
Marlow, NH 03456
(603) 446-9474
jandk3@localnet.com

Stonewall Farm
242 Chesterfield Road
Keene, NH
(603) 357-7278

Sunset Farm
1168 Forest Rd
Alstead, NH
(603) 835-6210

Farm of the Month: Flying Cloud Dairy

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Flying Cloud Dairy
William “Bill” Jahos
426 Hill Road
Alstead, NH 03602
603-835-2519
Email: bjahos@comcast.net

The “Hill” in the address gives away its location. A quintessential New England farm, Flying Cloud Dairy is situated atop one of Alstead’s pleasing rolling hills, making a visit most pleasant.

Here, owner Bill Jahos milks nine cows – eight Jerseys and one Ayrshire. They produce his quality organic raw milk. Sold in half-gallon bottles, it can be picked up at the farm, or at a few chosen drop-off sites.

“The farm does have cream and other farm products available, upon request,” he says. “There is some yogurt and beef.” Jahos encourages customers to inquire about other products. If you know what you want, he will tell you if he can fill the order.

Farming for twelve years, he worked toward converting to organic. Today, the farm’s crops and livestock are all certified organic. But there is more. What makes Flying Cloud Farm really stand out? Jahos eagerly answers, “My cows are 100 percent grass-fed. No grain. That is important to my customers.”

Support another local farmer, who works hard so that his customers can enjoy the benefits of healthy local products. Get to know Bill Jahos. Give him a call, visit the farm, and ask to be included as a regular on his list of well-cared for customers.

Other milk and milk product sources:

Great Brook Farm
Peter Graves
437 County Rd.
Walpole, NH 03608
Farm and store contact number (Cindy): 603-756-3661

Stonewall Farm
242 Chesterfield Road
Keene, NH 03431
(603) 357-7278
http://www.stonewallfarm.org

Boggy Meadow Farm
13 Boggy Meadow Lane
Walpole, NH 03608
(603) 756-3300
http://www.boggymeadowfarm.com

Farm of the Month: Daloz Mill & Farm

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By Jan Sevene, Monadnock Localvores

Daloz Mill & Farm
4 Tannery Hill Road
Hancock, NH
Charles Daloz
603-525-3788
cdaloz(at)myfairpoint.net
Mill info: http://www.dalozcsa.org/millbrochure2008.pdf
CSA: http://www.dalozcsa.org

Water!  We drink it, we bath in it, we swim in it, and we use it for our livestock and to grow our food. And for centuries, man has used it successfully as a natural resource to power industries.  Hancock’s Charles Daloz is trying to revive one of these industries, and take it a step further.

At one time, the New England hills were covered with rushing streams tumbling down rocky slopes dotted with water-powdered mills and filled with scurrying hired hands busy manufacturing everything from wooden clothespins to boxes, pails and barrels. One of those mills is what is now known as the Daloz Mill, in the family since 1958.

Located on Ferguson Brook, according to Daloz it is the last of three known structures on that site. In 1900, the second mill’s beams were incorporated into the current structure, a mill used for the manufacture of boxes and barrels for the apple trade. Water still drives two turbines (a third was removed in the sixties). “A smaller Francis turbine still runs the machinery,” Daloz explains. “A newer 12-inch cross-flow turbine is limited to powering the lights for the building. The mill? It’s still operating. Right now we’re making bushel boxes with water power.”

Because the old building and its aging machinery need attention, keeping its use limited, Daloz has a vision to “give the mill a life of its own.”  His objective: an operating mill for processing wood and agricultural products using hydro-electric power, combined with an educational center to demonstrate and study the use of water-power and alternative energy technologies. Working to create a Friends of the Mill group, he says, “We can use all sorts of skills: mechanics, welders, carpenters, and planning and administrative people for this non-profit venture. For those people who like this kind of stuff, it’s interesting and fun.”

Daloz also practices sustainable farming at the Daloz Farm organic CSA gardens. The CSA is still taking members. Contact Charles Daloz for more information, and to schedule a visit to the CSA and historic mill.

Other Water Ventures in New Hampshire:

Chamberlain Springs LLC
Pure, clean spring water
“Joy Hill”
166 Old Wolfeboro Road
Alton, NH 03809
603-875-7562

Water Barn:
Sunny Slope Farm
118 Old Wolfeboro Rd.
Alton, NH  03089
603-875-2220
info@ChamberlainSpringsNh2o.com
http://ChamberlainSpringsNh2o.com