About Four Springs Farm
Photo by Allison Cleland
Photo by Will Cleland
Photo by Will Cleland
The name Four Springs Farm was chosen for the site because of the year-’round springs here. Jinny began to build on the valuable work begun at Tanyard Farm — where she had served the Vermont and New Hampshire community for two decades — and reach even farther.
What Happens Here • A lot of parts make up the whole on this small Vermont farm:
Vegetables · The central project here on the farm is the raising of a wide variety of vegetables and herbs. They are sold primarily to members through our Community Supported Agriculture program. They are also sold at the Norwich Farmers' Market on Saturdays and a small amount of vegetables are sold at a couple of local stores.
Greenhouses · Pansies are the first crop of the season and do a great job to break the mud season blahs. We sell them through several local food co-ops beginning in April and also at the Norwich Farmers' Market in May. We also grow other flowers, vegetables, and herb plants to sell and plant here on the farm.
Poultry · We sell top quality pasture-raised chicken and turkey to CSA members and local customers. We maintain a laying flock for organic eggs as well.
Buttermilk Bakery · The farm operates a small bakery year-’round in the farm kitchen but when outside work slows down in the winter, lots more cookies and sweet rolls to sell in a couple of nearby stores are produced. Special orders are welcome.
Farm Vacations · Guests are invited to plan a farm vacation with us and camp in our beautiful secluded tentsites or use the rustic cabin which overlooks the farm and valley. We offer fun-filled educational programs for groups reserving the campground facilites. The campground is open seasonally and provides a unique opportunity to learn about life on a small family farm today. Visitors are welcome to do our farm Valley Quest at any time, or come for hikes or picnics.
Events • We invite you to schedule small meetings, celebrations, parties and family gatherings at Four Springs Farm using our simple outdoor picnic pavilion or arrange for a large tent set-up. The camping facilities are also available for events.
Future Plans • Work is never done on a farm. We now have young orchard trees planted which will require good care for several years before producing. The first of several kinds of small fruit are also planted: raspberries, strawberries, currants and elderberries and next year we hope to plant blueberries. Table grapes are planned for the future. The largest project so far will be the building of a Farm Center housing an enlarged farm kitchen for baking, catering and classes, a farm office, root cellar space and housing for the farmers. This is scheduled for completion by the end of 2009. We are also planning more cabins for our campground guests, and next year we plan to plant more raspberries and eventually some table grapes and blueberries.
Because of the good situation and size of the farm Jinny is looking for a young person(s), ready to start their own livestock business, to share the land and take over the management of part of the fruit and vegetable production. She looks forward to including at least a milk cow, a sow and her litter, and some other four-legged friends on the farm. A couple friendly cats live here with us already.
Links
- Norwich Farmers' Market
- Land Link Vermont
- Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) - Vermont
- Hanover Consumer Co-op
- South Royalton Market
- Valley Food and Farm
