Two Mountains Farm

On the cold and very windy afternoon of October 24th, our APES class visited Kat Darlin, a Proctor Alumni who was running the Two Mountains Farm, who agreed to show us around and teach us about her style of farming. She is an organic farmer but her system is not permaculture (not a closed circle) and she grew crops, had 8 lambs (only 3 now) and about 150 chickens. The property the farm is on is 55 acres and, although she does not own it, Kat has been living and working there for 8 years.

On our tour of the farm, Kat pointed out many things to us and told us about the ways she ran her farm. When she brought us by the farmhouse, she described it as the "gateway of the farm." She uses it to bring produce and animals in and out of the farm. She uses the animals as partners in the farm, for example the sheep were like lawn mowers for her. She would let them loose and they would eat all the grass that was covering her planting areas. She didn't use petroleum machinery because as an organic farmer, she believed in using the land and the animals on it to maintain the land. She also grew rhubarb, spinach and oats, all of which do not take too much away from the ground.

The hill that the farm is on is a very challenging area in which to farm. The land is in conservation easement. She mows free every crop 1 time a year so that wildlife (insects, birds) to keep the pressure down on her crops. A huge threat to the crops are the flea beetles who chew up crops, destroying the buds. To fight them off, Kat uses remay, a fabric barrier, to cover it instead of using chemicals. But a few years she did not lay down the remay fast enough and this made it so the beetles were able to get to the crops.

Like many organic farms, Kat has to manage both the wildlife and the crops that she wants to cultivate. It was very difficult and Kat never had anyone working with her full time. This caused her to burn out and she is now moving.

The hoop houses on the lot are unheated and used for seedlings. The houses keep the area inside warmer as it keeps the weather out. Apart from this, Kat has a green house and covers her crops so that they are protected from the frost, which will kill the crops if left without protection. She also has to keep a tab on all abiotic factors, like the seasons, and know the seasons that the crops grow in and how long they take to grow. In this harsh New Hampshire climate, there are only really 5 months of growing weather.

To maintain soil health, Kat makes sure not to use crops that take too many nutrients out of the ground. By using drip tape, water can be delivered consistently to the plants. The animals' droppings make the soil more fertile and reuses organic matter and tills it back into the soil. She also uses cover crops to give nitrogen back to the land.

The wind is another factor Kat has to take into account. She has to preserve her covers with weights and keep the trash away from the plants. Wind is also not good because it carries germs and bugs that could cause a blight on the crops. It can also carry seeds, which form seed banks, and spores, which create weeds. All of the abiotic challenges pose the biggest threat to a grower, especially weeds. Weeds take the nutrients and space from the crops.