Happenings on the Farm: February

As I look out the window and see all the snow on the ground it seems safe to say we’ve had a more Vermont winter than in recent years. We are finally hitting temps above freezing but for the last few weeks the snow has been falling and the wind has been whipping. The deep snowfall this past weekend brought some challenges to the farm as we worked to keep roads and greenhouses cleared, animals fed, and water buckets full. With weather like this it’s hard to imagine there will be an abundance of flowers in just a few short months! But, while it’s blustery outside, we’ve been busy inside with all the behind the scenes details. Read on to see what we’ve been up to!

In late January I was able to attend Flowering in the North, a two-day flower farming conference held by the University of Southern Maine. It was a wonderful experience and I learned so much. I got to hear from some amazing New England growers and make new connections with area farmers and am already looking forward to next year’s event.

These last two months have been the big planning months. Much of that time has been spent at the computer, creating an array of spreadsheets, working on our website, and mainly mapping out the entire year. Putting this energy in during the “quieter” months helps us come up with a really detailed game plan for how the year will unfold. There are so many small details and it really helps to think through them ahead of time!

A typical morning of spreadsheets, seed catalogs, and snacks!

In flower news, the first seeds are getting started indoors under lights. We have so many varieties of flowers planned for this year

Experimenting with some new plants this year including eucalyptus. Though they’re one of the first to get seeded, they’re some of the last to get harvested!

Summer Flower CSAs now available!

We are so excited to offer 3 options of CSA shares to the community this year. Sign ups are open now and shares start in mid-June. We will have pickup available on-farm and at Wee Bird Cafe in Randolph (and a special drop at Gifford Health Care for Gifford employees). Head to our website to learn more about our CSAs and Flower Cash, our farm stand bouquet certificates.

Speaking of our website, we’ve been working on updating and adding all of our farm info to the website. If you haven’t visited it lately, it has some great details on all that we’re doing here on the farm. Visit us at www.ravenhillvt.com

Looking ahead….

Maple Syrup - we are in the final planning stages for the 2025 season and it looks like we will be back to boiling soon! We typically tap the trees right around Town Meeting Day and hopefully the snow pack will have settled enough to get the horses in the woods. We will definitely send out an announcement once those first drops of sap are dripping into the buckets!

Farm Stand - the farm stand will be opening in Mid-June, possibly sooner depending on flower availability. There you will be able to purchase mixed bouquets and single variety bunches as well as redeem Flower Cash certificates. We can’t wait to welcome you to the stand!

Farm Stays - we’ve been working on a major renovation project at the farmhouse and are planning on opening it to farm stays this summer! It will make a wonderful vacation spot where you can explore the fields and forests of Raven Hill Farm or venture throughout Vermont. We can’t wait to welcome you to The Red Barn Farmhouse at Raven Hill Farm!

We gutted the entire upstairs of the farmhouse! Here's a before and after of some of the work that's been done on one of the bedrooms. We are nearing the home stretch of this extensive renovation process and have worked with great local craftspeople to get us there!

There are so many things happening on the farm this year and we can't wait to welcome you!

-Katja