Evergreen Berry Farm, featured in Connecticut Farmer & Feast

  

 Email Article  

Tweet  

  

  

 delicious  

  

  

Buy Local Connecticut!

Evergreen Berry Farm is a featured farmer in Connecticut Farmer & Feast, a revolutionary new cookbook by Emily Brooks.

Evergreen Berry Farm was established July 13^th, 1979 by current owners Bob and Cathee Alex.  Originally part of Watertown's Hiram French Farm dating back to the 1800's, the 28 acre parcel was purchased as an abandoned corn field, woodlot and wetland that had been left untended for nearly a decade.

The inspirations for growing blueberries came from Bob's fond memories of childhood outings picking blueberries with his mom, as well as an idyllic excursion in an old model A Ford through Great Mountain Forrest of Norfolk to a secluded patch owned by his mentor Mr. Edward C Childs. Mr. Child's confidence in a young man's dream to build a berry patch for future generations of families to visit would be the catalyst for the birth of Evergreen Berry Farm in a time when farms were, and still are, fast disappearing.

The first summer of ownership was spent removing a thousand feet of treed hedge row along a stone wall that had cut the field into two sections. Now an open twelve acre field was ready for soil conditioning. Blueberries like acidic soil, so the limey ph needed for corn crops had to be reversed to an acidic ph with the application of sulfur. (Homeowners can do this for their blueberry bushes with Hollytone or similar).  The field was also plowed and harrowed in preparation for a cover crop of red fescue grass that would eventually lie between the rows of blueberries, making it easy for visitors to stroll along in search of the sweetest berries!

The following spring, two weeks before Bob and Cathee's wedding in May of 1980, seven thousand two-year-old blueberry whips arrived and were placed in nursery beds. Over the next three springs the bushes were individually laid out in neatly contoured rows with meticulous thought to spacing for optimum growth, farmer and visitor access. Each bush was planted in a carefully prepared two foot diameter augured hole mulched and watered. Also during this time the flower buds were removed by hand to prevent berry production and force the plants energy into strong root growth which would ultimately create higher yields.

• Connecticut Farmer & Feast!
• FREE WHITEPAPER:  The Definitive Guide to Connecticut's Local Food