News
The Last Seed Planted...
John W. Hugron |
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| Born in Canterbury, NH on Apr. 8, 1931 Departed on Jun. 1, 2010 and resided in Canterbury, NH. |
When you meet someone wise and genuine you can’t help but to want to be in their company. In his door yard John Huron stood just over 6 feet tall, wide shoulders, and almost always wearing his baseball cap. His strong hands where always outstretched for a hand shake and his face full of happiness. His daily fatigues were denim blue Dickies pants and matching long-sleeved shirt, never shorts. Just the sights of him made you want to grab a hoe and start working. He was always prepared for a day’s work.
He was a consistent man with a warm heart and a smile that would send any sour mood straight away. He was a man with little words, words that often left you thinking all day long. Most of all John was a true bona fide farmer that knew fertilizer rates, seed populations, and harvest intervals like the back of his hand. He was a walking encyclopedia any time day or night.
I remember one rain morning in 2009 I called him up complaining about my day. 2009 was a cold rainy spring, my fields where under water and my corn was looking weak. I explained how the corn was going to be late and my planting schedule was going to fall behind. I got done my spiel and on the other side of the phone was silence. What was John thinking? He was unpredictable and always made statements that blew you away. He was as cool as a cucumber and never rushed to make a decision. As I anticipated his answer I couldn’t help but think to myself what he looked like as he was thinking;
A pause to think, a slight hmmm…, then a nod, one hand raised, and of course the non-confrontational and indifferent “ what ya aut ta do, but I am sayin, what I would do if I waz you, is….
His answers where never faked, or forged, they where tried, true, and tested. They where the answers that when you think about it made the only sense, and often left you feeling humbled and quiet. John was the master of listening, he always listened no matter how archaic or shroud the idea. John knew that every idea had potential for harvest, all you had to do is plant it in nice loamy soil, fertilize it, sprinkle it with water, give it lots of sun, and most importantly listen to it, because it will tell you exactly what it needs.
John you are the smartest man alive, you have humbled us and taught us the deepest knowledge known to man. For this we are forever indebted, we will miss you and think of your few words always. May you shine down upon us with happiness and grace from the heavens. John guide us through the challenging times ahead.
Love Dimond Hill Farm Family
Dimond Hill Farm, A NH Farm of Distinction 2009 Award Winner
This honor recognizes the outstanding appearance of Dimond Hill Farm and its contributions to building a favorable image of agriculture in the state. Dimond Hill is one of eight chosen this year to represent agriculture and join a list of past and current Farm of Distinction Award recipients. This award was given to eight farms state wide and chosen by committee based on farm quality and commitment. This year Dimond Hill will be presented a Farm of Distinction sign and will be introduced to members and leaders of the New Hampshire agriculture and forestry industries who will be attending.
Congratulations Jane Presby and Donald Grandmaison for all your hard work, planning, and dedication to a self-sufficient community farm. This is not only a symbolic recognition of unseen deeds, but encouraging motivator to pursue a difficult path in the hardest of times. Thanks to all the patrons of Dimond Hill Farm, their undying support and patience through the years has humbled us and helped us succeed. Thanks to all the farm hands from local communities like Bow, Concord, Hopkinton, Weare, and Deerfield. Here at Dimond Hill Farm we pride ourselves in being a team, with each member sharing a large portion of responsibility. Like busy bees our team works hours completing daily tasks and achieving an overall goal of efficiency and high productivity. Without this effort the work would go undone.
Dimond Hill Farm will accept this award only as a community, for if no one plants the crops, then no one can pick the crops, and without crops there are no farm patrons to taste the delicacies of the earth. It is our community who has won the Farm of Distinction, we have all put in the effort to keep this unique, historic, and beautifully restored farm working forever.
We are exited to be coming to Dimond Hill Farm !
Spring is here and so are the new animals. This year the farm will be adding 6 baby pigs to the list of farm friends. The yorkshire cross piglets can be accessed easily and food will be provided to visitors for feeding. This addition extends the farm's plan of becoming a community oriented location where small scale agricultural diversity thrives. Exciting addition for all!
Also our new greenhouse has been built standing 21 feet tall and 35 feet wide. We have packed this greenhouse with seedlings ealry spring sale, early beets, radishes, swiss chard, spinach and micro greens. We will open the farm doors in late May once the greens are ready to pick. The tomaotes are in the first blossom set and will be ready to eat in late May early June if the weather holds out. Prices will remain the same, even with price increase of fuel, fertilizer, and supplies for the grrenhouse.
Spring News 2009
Pigs and chicks are home and growing happily, tomatoes are green with hints of red, fresh greens are tall and tasty, and the llamas are resting in the shade chewing their hay. Everything is in order this spring as we have planted 5,000 plants outdoors including heirloom tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, carrots, peas, corn, lettuce, swiss chard, peppers, eggplant, and much more. An aerial view of the farm posted on our about us page shows this work in progress, in the back field you can see a sea of plastic where the plants are growing. In the front of the picture is an acre of plastic for our pumpkins, this year we are going to allow people to pick their own if they so desire. All of our fields are fertilized using our own compost from our llamas, horses, chickens, pigs, and vegetable waste accumulated over the past year. We annually spread 3 tons of compost of our own and another 3 tom from Vermont Compost Company. Since Dimond Hill Farm has Paxton clay, adding compost loosens up our soils and adds a rich balance of soft compost to our stiff rich clay. Farming is a balancing act of taking and giving. So as we head into the summer we hope our community will take the time to walk the land and appreciate the farm beautification project Jane has been working on. The stone walls have been cleared, fields groomed, our animals are healthy, and the environment is cared for. We believe that a healthy life style first starts with a healthy neighborhood, and this is why we try to keep the farm immaculate. If there are any suggestions you may have in making the farm better let us know.
Summer Months News
This summer also offers great incentives for the local community. Jane Presby, owner and operator, has invested much time into researching farm equipment that would require less labor and greater results in planting vegetable crops. This season we have added two such pieces that allow the farm to work more efficiently with time management, which may decrease the cost which you the consumer will have to pay at the register. This means a lot to Jane as she has always made her vegetables affordable, but maintain profit to keep this farm growing. She is hoping to drop the prices of squash, cucurbits, eggplant, zucchini, and winter squash with the addition of the two pieces of equipment. This is critical for the community as we have seen food shortages and weather related crop damage raise the cost of vegetables you purchase in the market place. It is the farms goal to maintain our competitiveness with massive markets, while giving the customer the best quality product. We plan on doing this earlier and then later into the season. This means vegetables from April to November.
If you would like to see pictures of the new equipment we purchased, and how they will benefit the farm click here.
Winter Month News
With winter well under way, the little chicks have decided the cold winter snow isn’t so bad. In fact, the chickens have enjoyed the snow fall which stands 3 feet high beside their outdoor pen. The chickens cluck pleasantly as I scattered scratch feed on the ground. As one is startled, she lays an egg with a thud on the dirt. Both of us are surprised at this exchange--food for food.
Typically during the short days of winter, chickens lay fewer eggs. Our two breeds of chicken typically lay around one egg per day when sunlight is 12 hours or more a day. Since we are getting around 8 hours of sunlight at the present time, you might imagine that our chickens would be laying sporadically and without rhythm. For some strange and unknown reason however, they are laying on average, one egg per chicken per day in the dead of winter. Why would that be? Is it because they live in a clean bright, spacious, deluxe coupe; drink water warmed to room temperature; eat organic feed; or is it simply because laying eggs makes them happy. We may never know, but it has long been the story at Dimond Hill Farm that the animals are given abundant love and willingly give back in kind. Eggs are symbolic of something fragile and new, where all possibilities are endless. In this way, the eggs symbolize the continuous rebirth and limitless potential of Dimond Hill Farm. Through our experiences raising the chickens, we are continuing to learn and striving to be the best stewards of the land, our contribution to a sustainable planet.
