 Our Farm History
How we got from there to here.
2011 • 2012 • 2013
2011
Woodsholm Farm Envisioned
 There was a simple yet efficient and affordable house on a 65 acre property, mostly wooded, with a small one and a half acre field. There was a barn with 2 stalls and storage space. There were beautiful, extensive perennial gardens complete with an established medicinal herb garden, roses, blueberry bushes, and a raspberry hedge. And the owners wanted us to live there!
The decision was easy. It was just what we were looking for, a place to put our dreams into motion. To live simply and sustainably. To grow our own food and medicine with enough to share, maybe even sell. We could also heat our house from the land itself. No more paying for fuel!
We moved in in the fall. We had just enough time to begin prepping a garden space before winter settled in.
2012
 That first winter we were invited to join a small local market in Bristol. It was a new market, this would be their second year. We went straight to work, selecting seeds, plotting out the garden, gathering supplies for harvest and for market. We started a few trays of seeds under lights in early March in the small space we had in the house. We sowed some peas, beets, and carrots in mid-April and started more seedlings in a small coldframe that we built.
 We started going to market in June. We had few expectations going into the season. We figured if we brought some produce every week to market we would have been proud. Well, not only did we show up with produce every week, we sold a fair amount of what we brought too. We received enough positive feedback that we felt confident continuing the farm and planned to expand for the next year.
2013
Over the winter we were told by a friend that if we were to apply to the Monday Damariscotta Farmers' Market we would have a good chance of being accepted. And so, our second year farming we expanded the garden to a full acre and brought produce to two markets and a few wholesale accounts that we had found in the area.
We also applied to MOFGA's Journey Person program. Through which we received boatloads of resources including marketing, agricultural, scientific, financial, and logistical advice, a plethora of workshops and a mentor of our choosing.
We bumped into our soon-to-be mentor, Tom Roberts, of Snakeroot Organic Farm, at the Maine Agricultural Trades Show in January. Immediately we were impressed with Tom's ideas and positive energy and his great openness and desire to teach. In a few short meetings and lots of time spent reading Tom's extensive writings on his website we were energized with lots of new ideas that we were itching to try out.
 We completed work on our new/recycled hoophouse in March complete with a borrowed woodstove. This gave us a much bigger and more appropriate space to start seedlings which benefitted us greatly.
We offered a Credit Share CSA which got us off to a great start. With some added fertility and a bit better planning our gardens were better than ever. At market we added potted perennials and seedlings to our offerings. Our displays and setup were much improved due to stealing some ideas from Tom and the purchase of our market van, Betty.
Sales went well and the garden kept producing. We were able to dehydrate a good amount and ferment a whole fridge full of yummy kimchi and sauerkraut. We couldn't sell the ferments yet but we felt like we figured out the process pretty well.
As the market season wound down a fellow vendor invited us to join a new winter market to be held at a local restaurant. We hadn't planned for it but we decided it could be good advertising at least. We brought onions, shallots, squash, potatoes, dried peppers, mushrooms, grape tomatoes, and rose petals! Abby also made some herbal elixirs and infused oils that she used to make some amazing healing salves.
 Our Spring chickens started laying in December and we looked forward to adding eggs to our market array. Our "ladies" are a mixed flock of Barred Rock, Buff Orpington, Rhode Island Red and Aracauna breeds and provide us with endless entertainment, hilarity, and the tastiest of eggs.
The fall was busy with workshops and classes and the realization that due to multiple factors we would have to relocate within the next two years.
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