Granby Drummer (https://granbydrummer.com/author/shirley-murtha/)
When Mark Fiorentino heard about the Fresh Access program at Holcomb Farm, he knew that he wanted to get involved. In fact, the Farm was one of the selling points offered by their realtor when he and his wife were looking to move here in 2009 from Las Vegas.
Last month we profiled Jenny Emery, the new executive director of Holcomb Farm. In this issue, and each upcoming one, we will feature other members of the Friends of Holcomb Farm and the staff.
Not one to sit around doing nothing, Granby resident and Hartford school teacher Sean Wynne was not content with building just a fire pit in his back yard—he decided to design and execute a compass rose around it.
In the absence of a true executive director, the Friends of Holcomb Farm board president Bob Bystrowski saw the need for a person to bridge the goals of the board with community and financial resources.
How did two young people with no history of farming come to set up a pretty mind-boggling farm on Wells Road? Well, it wasn’t a direct path.
When the pandemic hit, Michelle Niedermeyer knew she couldn’t host the annual seasonal farmers’ markets at Lost Acres Vineyard, so she and the Granby Agricultural Commission came up with a plan that makes it possible for residents of Granby, East Granby, East Hartland and Simsbury to obtain vegetables, cheese, wine and specialty meats without leaving their homes: the Virtual Farmers’ Market.
Long idle since Dr. Forrest Davis’s death, the large farm on the corner of Rte. 189 and Wells Road is now in capable hands that will keep the farming tradition going, although not with cattle.
While 2020 has not been a very good year for most people, Gary Cirullo at The Garlic Farm is thankful for the record harvest of his title crop. About three- and one-half acres planted last fall survived the winter, leading to a harvest of about 15,000 pounds.
Summer started a lot earlier for Georgia McDougall than she had anticipated—in March, as a matter of fact. Sent home from her freshman year at the University of Vermont thanks to COVID-19, she was able to start working at Holcomb Farm while finishing her courses online.
It was masked and socially distant, but the annual meeting of the Friends of Holcomb Farm was held on Aug. 16 in a spot with a beautiful view on the Tree Trail across the road from the main campus of the farm.