Fuller Mountain Farm

This snow cover is so important for all of the slumbering plants…yet here it is, February, and this snow has melted off almost completely. The ground is definitely still frozen, though, and we’re hoping that the coming weeks will see fluffy white snow returning. Truthfully, we’re not ready for spring yet! We’re still enjoying planning for the coming growing season!

Strawflowers in bloom…and their amazing seeds with built-in wings for disbursement with the wind!

Nigella, also known as Love-in-a-Mist, and their incredible seed pods and tiny black seeds…which are known as Black Cumin in the culinary world!

As Michael Pollan puts it in his book, Second Nature – A Gardener’s Education, “Winter in the garden is the season of speculation, a time when the snow on the ground is an empty canvas that invites the idle planting and replanting of countless hypothetical gardens between now and spring.” Further, “In a few months, summer will pass judgment on the merit, or folly, of our January schemes, but right now anything seems possible!”

Oh so true! Not only are we perusing seed catalogs, ordering tree seedlings, and laying out exactly where we intend/hope to plant everything…we’re also busy harvesting seeds from the many dried pods and flowers that we saved in the late summer and early Fall as many of our flowers were going to seed. And that is a grand adventure, albeit a sometimes tedious one, when seeds are teeny tiny.

For now, we’ll hope for more snow and more time to harvest seeds and plan and dream of the growing season ahead.

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Happy Fall, ya’ll! 

I think it’s safe to say that we’ve started that gradual cooling from summer to fall…with morning temperatures even dipping into the high 40’s in the coming week.  For farmers, our eyes will be on the First Frost date, usually in mid-October…with big implications for getting last crops harvested and overwintering crops planted.

For the next few weeks, we’ll all be enjoying the glorious colors of Fall and the abundance of late summer – tomatoes, basil, sunflowers, zinnias, Dahlias, onions, potatoes, and kale.  Coming soon, Delicata squash, pumpkins, butternut squash, and leeks.

The Farm Store is now open every Friday through Sunday, 9-6.  Hope to see you soon!

So far, summer is sizzling!  The tomatoes, cucumbers, sunflowers, basil, squash, beans, calendula, sunflowers, zinnias, cosmos…all love it and are soaking up every ray of sunshine!  The farmers, on the other hand, are feeling a bit…wilted! Haha!   We have so many delicious things in the Farm Store.  We hope you’ll stop by soon!  We’re open every day, 9-6. Snow peas!  Sugar snap peas!  Fresh pea season is here.  Snow peas are delicious eaten tender pod and all, uncooked or quickly stir-fried.  Sugar snap peas can be popped open and eaten uncooked, or stir-fried and eaten pod and all!  Shell peas can also be popped open and eaten – cooked or uncooked!  So many yummy options!  We have all three in the Farm Store for you! This week, we’re embracing summer and everything it has to offer!  How about a trip to Cape Cod?  Wouldn’t that be lovely?  If not, how about a taste of their signature Soft Molasses Cookies?  We’ve got them and they’re delicious! Warm temperatures, afternoon thunderstorms, fireflies dancing among the flowers at dusk…it sounds like a tropical paradise, doesn’t it?  If only we had a refreshing ocean breeze…Even though we don’t, we can embrace the tropical paradise theme with…coconut cupcakes!  A real summer treat! One of the best parts of a summer garden is growing basil.  We’ve just harvested the first of our Genovese Basil, and have made a delicious Garlic Scape Basil Pesto with almonds.  It is probably my favorite pesto yet!  You’ll find it in the Store fridge…ready to put on warm pasta or freshly baked bread!  Oh my! Summer is all about fresh greens…and we have just harvested our green radicchio.  It’s a wonderful addition to fresh salads, but it can also be grilled, or chopped and added to pasta…recipes will be in the Farm Store along with that delicious radicchio! Lavender loves heat…so it has loved our weather this past week!  It is so beautiful!  We’re harvesting daily and recruiting help from visitors, too!  We dry it to make Lavender Skin Cream and Lavender Lotion, and you’ll also find it bundled in the Store so you can add that lovely lavender scent to your home, too! Stunning summer bouquets are in the store to brighten your home!

Time for our pups’ first haircuts!  Don’t they look cute?  And definitely ready for warm weather!  Thank you to Wag-on-Inn in Vergennes for a sweet experience!Here are some of the items you’ll find in the Farm Store this weekend: Cape Cod Molasses cookies Garlic Scape Basil Pesto Snow Peas Sugar Snap and Shell peas Garlic Scapes Green Radicchio Salad Mix Summer Flower bouquets Strawberry Rhubarb Jam Lemon Poppyseed Muffin Mix Cornbread Mix Champlain Valley Apiary Honey Farmstead Cheddar Cheese Pickled garlic scapes Maple Vinaigrette Salad Dressing Mediterranean Vinaigrette Salad Dressing Paradiso Coffee Lawson’s Alehouse Cheddar Cheese Cheddy Topper Cheese Potter’s Crackers Castleton’s Salted Maple Crackers Butterfly Bakery Hot Sauce Herb Teas Tuscan Herb Salt Rosemary Herb Salt Farm Fresh Garlic Salt and Garlic Powder Dried Herbs – Dill, Basil, Coriander Bath Salts Floral Candles – Sweet Pea and Lilac! Provence Lavender Buds Lavender Skin Lotion Lavender Skin Cream Calendula Skin Lotion Calendula Skin Cream Calendula Night Face Cream Maple Zucchini Relish Dill Pickle Relish Floral Photo Cards Lamb Sausage (in the freezer)

Wrapping up the growing season and getting prepared for winter is a busy time on the farm. By the beginning of November, Plants that will be overwintering in the greenhouses are covered in frost cloth…an extra blanket to keep them alive over the cold winter. All of the hoses are rolled up and stored, so these plants will go dormant until Spring.

By early December, all of the tulips and ranunculi are planted in the hoop houses and covered with a thick bed of straw. They’ll enjoy the cold temperatures until early spring when they’ll pop up and be wonderful to behold after the long, white winter.

Then…a hush settles over everything as temperatures start to drop and the snow starts to fall. We take some time to reflect on the season past, and start to dream and plan for the seasons ahead.

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This is the time when we add warming lights and heated water to the chicken coop. We give them extra grain in the morning and evening so that they’ll stay warm during the cold nights. And on shockingly cold days and nights, such as our recent -45 degree nights!, we give them warm oatmeal, lentils, and rice to help them stay warm and happy.

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And happy they are…they continue to lay eggs all winter long. These are the best eggs you’ve ever tasted! Because we have a variety of heritage breed hens, their eggs are all different colors and sizes…really large to more petite, blue-green, light and dark brown, and speckled!

During the growing season, you can find our eggs right in our Farm Store. During the winter, they can be ordered through our web site for pick up directly on the farm. You can also find them at Gilfeather’s Market on Highway 7 in Ferrisburgh!

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In January, we inventory our seeds – many collected from our own plants, and we browse through seed catalogs and then get our seed orders sent in. Then, it’s time to update the seeding schedule…quite an impressive spread sheet that guides us on what and when we’ll be starting seeds for many of the things we grow here on the farm. We also plot out where we’ll be planting everything, and what companion plantings and succession plantings we’ll do.

We place our tree orders in late December. These will be picked up for planting in late April. Every year, we’re adding more fruit, nut, and evergreen trees to the farm. Many are planted along the swales on the hillside…along shallow ditches that have been dug on contour with the hillside in order to capture spring and summer rain water, which will be the only source of irrigation for the trees. This is an important concept in permaculture…working with the land in every possible way.

Seed starting begins near the end of February…greenhouse tulips will start emerging in March, the Japanese Magnolia tree will burst into bloom in April…then lilacs, daffodils, and early spring greens in the greenhouse. Another growing season will be off and running!

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Fuller Mountain Farm  Open Weekends from 9 – 6! Additional days/hours starting in June!   Spring is here!  Whoo hoo!  True, there is still a brisk wind but trees are budding out, grass is greening up, daffodils and tulips are starting to bloom!  And our Japanese Magnolia Tree has burst into lovely pink blossoms…no leaves yet, but lovely blossoms!    Our Farm Store will be open weekends starting tomorrow, April 30, 9-6.  We hope you’ll stop by to see all the new products we have for you to enjoy!  We’re nurturing the grass for awhile as it recovers from winter snows and mud season muck, so please follow the Parking signs to park on our paved circular driveway.  Thank you!   This year, we’ve reached out to make some delicious local Vermont products available to you.  We have Paradiso Coffee, from the Paradiso Farm in Charlotte.  You’ll find Lawson’s Sip of Sunshine Alehouse Cheese and Castleton’s Salted Maple, Simply Wheat, and Alehouse Cheddar crackers.  We have Butterfly Bakery’s Hab Hot Sauce as well as their Maple Peanut Granola.  So many delicious tastes! Our Calendula Lotion and Calendula Cream are favorite natural skin care products.  Made from the beautiful Calendula blossoms that we grow on the farm, both are wonderful for moisturizing and nourishing your skin. New this year is Lavender Lotion and Lavender Peppermint Skin Cream.  Made from our farm’s Provence Lavender, both of these products are soothing and healing with the wonderfully delicate scent of lavender.  A real treat for your skin! We have some special photo cards made by Virginia Erickson, an artist friend in California, using photos of Fuller Mountain Farm dahlias.  With both the card and envelope capturing parts of the flower image, these are unique and breathtaking!  Dahlias won’t be here until later in the summer, but you can enjoy them right now with these special cards! We saved some seeds from some of our favorite flowers grown here on the farm – sweet peas, calendula, hollyhock, sunflowers, and zinnias.  Maybe you’d like to try growing some in your garden! We have a fascinating indoor plant to offer…Mother of Thousands!  A fun plant to grow since it develops lots of tiny baby plants on the tips of its leaves! Just in time for Spring celebrations and summer barbeques, we have “late lamb”/ early mutton available.  Our lambs are raised 100% on sustainably grown pastures, supplemented with fresh vegetables grown here on the farm.  We do not use hormones or antibiotics. It is lean, tender, and delicious!  The butcher does a wonderful job, and all packages come inspected, labeled with cut and weight, and are vacuum-sealed.You’ll find various cuts, including ground lamb, lamb sausage, loin chops, in the store freezer.  Larger cuts, such as bone-in leg roasts, can be ordered for on-farm pick up.  Just place an order by email (info@fullermountainfarm.com) and we’ll confirm with you and arrange payment and pick up.  All meat cuts available can be seen on our website, fullermountainfarm.com.   And for Mother’s Day or for your own well-deserved delight, our tulips and daffodils are starting to bloom., and you’ll find bouquets in the Farm Store this weekend. Most amazingly, the very first tulips to bloom are a variety called World Peace.  They are big and beautiful, and with a name like that, they really make you pause and hope. We have many different varieties and colors of tulips coming in to bloom.  Orders for Mother’s Day bouquets can be emailed to info@fullermountainfarm.com. Rhubarb is coming soon!  And asparagus, too! Here are some of the items you’ll find in the Farm Store this weekend: Fresh herbs – chives and thyme Maple Vinaigrette Salad Dressing Maple Syrup Herb Teas Tuscan Herb Salt Rosemary Herb Salt Dried Herbs – Dill, Basil, Coriander Bath Salts Floral Candles Provence Lavender Buds Lavender Skin Lotion Lavender Peppermint Skin Cream Calendula Skin Lotion Calendula Skin Cream Cornbread Mix Heirloom Bean Mix Strawberry Rhubarb Jam Blueberry Rhubarb Jam Maple Relish Tomato Sauce Border Leicester Wool Yarn Floral Photo Cards Lamb Meat and Sausage Cuts Garlic Mother of Thousands plants Flower Seeds Website:  fullermountainfarm.com Email:  info@fullermountainfarm.com Instagram:  @fullermountainfarmCopyright © 2022 Fuller Mountain Farm, All rights reserved. …

Fuller Mountain Farm

Crocus and daffodils are starting to bloom, and our tulips have popped up, on their way to being beautiful blooms in a very short time!  Everything is greening up and spring is definitely in the air!  Our Farm Store will be open weekends starting April 30.

We’ve welcomed some new baby chicks to our farm!  Little fluffy pieces of sunshine, peeping happily under heat lamps.  Barred Rock, Rhode Island Red, Buff Orpington…when they’re old enough to join the hen house, we’ll have more beautifully colored, yummy eggs!

Just in time for Spring celebrations and summer barbeques, we have “late lamb”/ early mutton available.  Two of our almost-2 year old sheep (considered “late lamb”) were processed at the USDA facility south of Middlebury.  The meat will be available fresh for the next week and then will be available frozen as long as supplies last.Our grass-fed lamb is raised 100% on sustainably grown pastures, supplemented with fresh vegetables grown here on the farm.  We do not use hormones or antibiotics. It is lean, tender, and delicious!  The butcher does a wonderful job, and all packages come inspected, labeled with cut and weight, and are vacuum-sealed. All meat is available for immediate on-farm pick up.  Just place an order by email (info@fullermountainfarm.com) and we’ll confirm with you and arrange payment and pick up.

Bone-in Whole Leg Roast Sizes from 4.6 – 7 lbs.

Bone-in Loin chops Packaged individually, weights ranging from .68 – .74 lbs.

Fancy Riblets Ranging from 5 – 7 lbs.

Sweet Italian or Chorizo Sausage.  Each lends delicious and complex flavors to sauces, curries, risottos and pastas. Four large links, approximately 1 lb per package.

Bone-in Shanks

Ground lamb for kebobs, curry, eggplant moussaka! 1 lb. packages

Guess what else is coming soon?  Beautiful tulips in so many lovely colors!  And delicious fresh spring greens…baby lettuce, tender spinach, crisp chives!  Spring salads are calling our names! Opening Day for the season will be Saturday, April 30.  Watch for more information coming soon! fullermountainfarm.com info@fullermountainfarm.com

Copyright © 2022 Fuller Mountain Farm, All rights reserved.

From snow-covered everything to 54 degrees and lots of melt-off…are we ready for Mud Season?  Well…maybe not…but after that, it’s a quick slide into spring and a jaunty step into summer!  Whoo hoo!

Just as predicted by the Farmer’s Almanac, the last snow storm of February really cloaked us in fluffy whiteness…perfect for skiing, snowshoeing, baking, and drinking warm tea in front of the fire.  For the farmers in the crowd, it was also time to start seeding for the wonderful flowers, vegetables, and herbs that we’ll be growing this spring and summer.  We follow a meticulously detailed spread sheet that guides us over the next couple of months, with information on when to start the seeds of everything we grow.  We keep an eye on “last frost date” – about May 15 – which signals the time to get baby plants in the ground for the launch into our relatively short and intense growing season.  We’ll watch the snow melt away, the ground temperatures warm up, the birds return, and soon the first tulips will be peeking from the ground and we’ll be rolling into a new season.  I think I’m ready!

Over the winter, we’ve been working on our on-line farm store.  You can find it on our web site: fullermountainfarm.com.  We have many products, such as Calendula Cream, and Cornbread Mix, that you may have seen in the farm store – with some bright new labels! You’ll also find our popular herb teas — Calming Tea and Good Mood Tea. We have beautiful yarn from our own Border Leicester sheep wool that was processed by Junction Fiber Mill in White River Junction! And lots more! All of the online store products can be ordered and shipped or picked up here on the farm.  We hope you’ll take a look!

We are planning to have a couple of our 2-year old sheep processed by the USDA facility in Benson, VT at the beginning of April.  We’ll have various cuts of meat available as well as sausage – including Chorizo and Sweet Italian.  If you’re interested, please send us an email for dates and details – info@fullermountainfarm These will be fresh in April, and then frozen and available through our online store and in the Farm Store when it’s open later in the spring.

I am quite sure that the chickens are ready for spring!  They’ve hunkered down in the hen house under warming lights during the coldest winter days, and occasionally ventured out warily into the snow for treats of fresh greens every now and then.  They have been nothing short of joyful during our periods of snow melt off…and they are hoping that a new, warmer season is coming soon!

Guess what else is coming soon?  Beautiful tulips!  Planted in early December, they’ve nestled under covers of straw through the cold winter (in the greenhouse) but soon, they’ll be peeking up out of the ground and by April or early May, they’ll be ready to brighten our homes!  Watch for updates!

As beautiful as winter is, I’m eagerly anticipating the warm days of spring.  There’ll be lots to do around the farm…lots to look forward to!  Lilacs, tulips, peonies…baby chicks!  Then, fresh vegetables, sweet peas, and tomatoes!  Oh my!  Happy thoughts!   Take a look at our online store:  http://fullermountainfarm.com Email us if you’re interested in fresh sausage or other mutton cuts in April:  info@fullermountainfarm See you soon!

Copyright © 2022 Fuller Mountain Farm, All rights reserved.

Unbelievably, we’re on the fast count down to Thanksgiving!  Cold…very cold…temperatures have settled in, though we’re still awaiting that glistening white snow that will make everything so pretty.  And, we are still dealing with mud, so just a reminder that  in order to steer clear of that mud, we’ve moved our entrance and parking area to the paved driveway.  Just follow the repositioned signs! How can we help with Thanksgiving?  We have lots of things in the store to help make your holiday special and wonderfully flavorful!  We hope you’ll stop by to take a look.

Vermont cranberries and farm fresh slow-roasted butternut squash have come together in a spectacular bread!  The tang of the cranberries, delightful spices, maple-roasted butternut.  Wow!  A perfect combination.  Pick one up to treat yourself or your family and friends.

Brussels sprouts are another crop that really appreciates cold temperatures.  We’ve just harvested ours and they are so good!  When roasted, the nutty sweetness emerges and keeps them crisp and crunchy around the edges.  I’ll toss mine with walnuts and pomegranate seeds and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.  My oh my! They’ll be so yummy that no one will remember how good they are for us to eat!

We grow some wonderful herbs on our farm including the favorite ones for Fall dishes…sage, rosemary, and thyme.  Just picked for unbeatable freshness and flavor.  We have them in bundles in the store for you!

Cold temperatures have a wonderful effect on kale…it just keeps getting sweeter and sweeter!  It’s not a big fan of snow, however, so we’re taking advantage of this slow slide into winter to enjoy it while we can.  You’ll find it in the farm store…and you’ll also find maple roasted pumpkin seeds that you can toss in with the kale to really make your salad pop!  Add some goat cheese and dried cranberries…and you’ve got a whole meal!

All of the lovely herbs that are grown here on the farm…thyme, savory, sage, rosemary, parsley, cilantro, dill, mustard, oregano are available as dried spices in the farm store.   Our two herb salts – Tuscan Herb Salt, made with a blend of herbs and sea salt, and Rosemary Herb Salt  both make excellent rubs for roasted poultry.

Red, yellow, and white onions…big, flavorful garlic bulbs, butternut squash, and Delicata squash…everything you need for delicious cold weather cooking!

Our Cornbread mix is a favorite!  We’ve improved it by adding organic dehydrated buttermilk…making it a very easy, very delicious mix.  Perfect with any meal – butternut squash soup, roasted delicata squash, or turkey!

As we move into the cold, skin-zapping winter, we have two wonderful lotions that draw on the healing powers in herbs to help you.  Calendula Cream and Lotion and our new Lavender Lotion are all made especially to nourish and moisturize our skin.  All three are creamy and easily absorbed, and have the gentle fragrance of calendula and lavender…bringing back memories of sweet summer days. Available at the Farm Store and at the Middlebury Coop in Middlebury.

Some of the products you’ll find in the Farm Store this week: Fresh ginger root Fresh turmeric root Cranberry butternut squash bread Molasses ginger cookies brussels sprouts Maple roasted pumpkin seeds Fresh Sage, rosemary, thyme bundles Pickled Radishes Curly Kale Maple Vinaigrette Tuscan and Rosemary Herb Salt Dried herbs and spices Herb Tea blends Lavender Lotion Red, Yellow, White Onions Garlic Delicata squash Butternut squash Eggs Cornbread Mix Calendula lotion Calendula cream Lavender eye masks Floral-scented soy candles Macrame plant hangers  Heirloom bean soup mix Floral soaking salts Maple syrup, maple cream, maple fudge Strawberry rhubarb jam Tomato jam Maple zucchini relish Dill pickle relish Tomato Sauce Remember to follow us on Instagram: @fullermountainfarm

September 4 –

In this most extraordinary year, some things are proceeding in a very ordinary way. Thank goodness! We are beginning to see the first signs of Fall…days are getting shorter and temperatures are cooler, some trees are beginning to change colors, we’re picking some of the last green beans and cucumbers and keeping an eye on the Butternut, Delicata, and Blue Hubbard winter squash…and watching the pumpkins get big and bigger!

Our Farm Store days open will change after Labor Day. Beginning September 8, we’ll be open Thursday through Sunday, 9-6. We hope you’ll stop by!

Right now, in the Farm Store, you’ll find these products and more! Pay us a visit and see what’s here! Special requests…for flower bouquets, special herbs… can always be emailed to us. See you soon!

Hello, Summer! We’re now open every day, 9-6.  We hope you’ll stop by soon!

We have wonderful self-care products that you might enjoy for yourself or a friend!  Stop by to see our new hand poured floral soy candles, inspired by flowers grown here on the farm. 

Our hand-made lavender eye masks are the most wonderful way to relax.  Recommended by my eye doctor, and filled with farm-grown lavender, these eye masks can be used warm or cool!  Sit down, put your feet up, turn on your favorite podcast or music selection, and cover your eyes with our lavender mask.  Awww…literally, just what the Doctor ordered!

Are you still washing your hands ALL THE TIME?  Wonderful!  Treat your skin to some of our Calendula lotion and calendula cream – perfect for nourishing clean, but now quite dry, skin! 

Flower bouquets a beautiful part of what we do here on the farm.  Wonderful blossoms are here or coming soon…peonies, yarrow, zinnia, dahlia, sweet peas, sunflowers, cosmos, lavender, hydrangea…they are breathtaking, and are available in the farm store, or by special order (email us at info@fullermountainfarm.com).  Think of us for your special events!

Delicious salad greens, mini-head lettuce, and snow peas…picked every morning and walked right from the greenhouse to the farm store (with a quick, cool wash and spin on the way).  Now, that’s what makes a spring salad taste incredible!  Try it with our new, delicious Maple Vinaigrette salad dressing! Fresh salads are back!  Hip, hip, hooray! 

We wrapped up a busy lambing season…9 new lambs! We learned how to bottle feed a lamb (whose mama was overwhelmed with twins and only wanted to feed one lamb, thank you.)  And I learned that, in a pinch,  I was actually capable of helping a ewe deliver her lamb.  Wow!  Learning never stops!

Our lambs and their Mama Ewes are contentedly playing out on the green pasture, having a great time!  The lambs have decided that the huge round bale of hay that we put there (for extra nourishment) was the PERFECT place to play “king of the hill”…and it is quite remarkable to see them taking turns climbing to the top and jumping off!  Green grass, happy lambs, contented and healthy sheep…now that’s a great spring.

Remember you can follow us on Instagram for regular updates on what’s happening on the farm:   @fullermountainfarm