Feb. 21: A busy off-season day at Holcomb Farm

A couple of months ago, Farmer O’Grady talked about all the work that has to be done in the winter months on a big farm such as Holcomb Farm in West Granby. These photos capture the Farm on a single day, Feb. 21, which happened to be a 50+ degree day, so the crew could work without the usual layers of cold weather protection typical for mid-winter.

Community garden plot

It doesn’t seem like it now but spring will be here before you know it. If you love to garden, but don’t have a garden spot at home, the Granby Community Garden might be just the place for you.

Friends of Holcomb Farm

As I write this, the thermometer is having trouble reaching 20 after dipping close to zero last night. The ice throughout the woods and trails makes hikes without micro-spikes downright dangerous. But, spring springs eternal! By the time you read this, a drive around Granby will reveal the buckets hung and sap tanks filling, and maybe steam rising from a sugar house or two.

Granby Land Trust

GLT Member Mark Kennedy, joined by his sons Thomas and Sean, relocated the Nuckols Family Preserve sign to the Nuckols Preserve trailhead entrance during the Work Day, making the property’s intended access point clearer. Photo by Dave Emery

The foggy view from Mary’s Rock on the GLT’s Mary Edward Mountain Property in North Granby on Dec.

Why winter is a great time to take action on invasive plants

It’s tempting to take winter out of the relentless calendar of invasive plant removal. But invasive plants have become incredibly well-established since we brought them to our shores during the last two centuries and restoring our native balance is going to take a long time.

Happy 2022 from the Friends of Holcomb Farm

February is hunker-down, tend the fire, bundle up, and order the seeds time for most of us in New England, and the Friends of Holcomb Farm are no exception. Still, there is much to be done to assure that this place will continue to serve the people of Granby, and its region, once the frost is gone.

Test your Holcomb Farm knowledge

The Friends have adopted a strategic plan built around sustainability, and to inform our work, some of us have recently been knee-deep in Holcomb Farm history. To that end, we thought a little history quiz might get Drummer readers’ juices flowing.