It was a very Happy New Year at Hidden Blossom Farm this year! We welcomed our first calf of the season on New Years Day - a healthy bull calf - and two healthy heifer calves just a few days later. As we reflect on our growth this past year, building the infrastructure needed to start our farm business, we are excited to start sharing our farm with the community and have big plans for the coming year.
We successfully grew and harvested delicious fruits and vegetables for our own consumption this past summer and fall and plan to join the Sturbridge Farmers Market this spring through fall 2020 (application pending). In addition to participating in the market, we plan to build a small farm stand either by our field on Barrows Road or at the end of Old Barrows Road and will also accept online orders for pick-up or delivery in the Union area and certain locations in Boston and New Haven. We will also be hoping to connect with local restaurants and will have our first price lists and market lists published on our website in the coming months. In the meantime, feel free to contact us directly for this information.
We’ve really enjoyed meeting many of our neighbors in Union and hearing from all of you who have taken the time to write us a note/email. We know that our property has had a long and interesting history, and we are eager to share our progress with those who have expressed interest in knowing what’s “going on on top of the hill”. Our hope is to have our first community gathering this coming spring or fall, 2020. We are still in the process of building our home and have been prioritizing that before we can really focus on the farm business. That being said, we hope to hit the ground running this spring!
In addition to our 2020 goals, we wanted to share our vision for the future. Whether this is our 2 or 10 year plan - we’re not quite sure, but one day we hope to make our vision a reality. First and foremost, we've already begun growing really great food in a sustainable way that we can't wait to share with the community. But we don't plan on stopping there! We want to open our farm to the community and make it a gathering space for people to learn about sustainable agriculture and maple sugaring or just kick back and watch a movie on the lawn at outdoor movie night. Joe has already started research projects on the farm (more on that in the future), hosted eight student groups and a Silovpasture101 event last year, and will also be hosting a soils workshop this coming April. We plan to host events every season that will bring our small community together, and we envision our small farm becoming more than just a business!
To make this all a reality, we are going to need more infrastructure. With Joe preferring to build things himself, this may take some time! BUT we do hope to build a sugarhouse, a new barn, and a small farm store in the next 3-5 years. Through grants and our day jobs, we hope to make this all a reality sooner rather than later.
Stay tuned for our next post which will include our 2020 Market Update, Produce/Beef List and Pricing for 2020, and Bulk Price List for restaurants. Also, Follow Us on Facebook and Sign-Up for our Email Lists (emails starting this April) on our homepage.
Lindsay and Joe
