Every Tuesday from 3 to 6 p.m., Nubi River Farm sets up a pop-up market cart in front of the West Peterborough post office.
Elsbeth Pendleton-Wheeler and Jasen Woodworth have grown the fresh vegetables they sell there less than a mile down the road. They have been farming the land owned by the Nubanusit Neighborhood together since February and despite the wet summer and the challenge of growing on land that hadn’t been fully farmed last year, they have been very successful. They grow their crops on about ¾ of an acre of the 100-acre property including in three hoophouses, otherwise known as high tunnel greenhouses, which help to extend the growing season.
The farm runs a CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture), a subscription-based service that allows community members to buy shares of crops that they can then pick up every Tuesday at the farm over the 16-week summer season. This year the CSA has been extended four weeks for a fall season starting Oct. 5, and it’s not too late to buy in.
Pendleton-Wheeler said there will be plenty of carrots, beets, root veggies, winter squash, lettuce, kale, chard, onion, potatoes, and fennel to look forward to. In addition to the share of produce, the couple sends out email newsletters with recipe ideas and farm information to help connect people with their food.
Pendleton-Wheeler and Woodworth are conscious of keeping the farm sustainable and the soil healthy.
“We’re trying to reduce plastic all around on the farm,” Woodworth said, pulling up a silage tarp to expose a bed that they said had been full of grass just two weeks ago.
Pendleton-Wheeler explained, “When the crop is done we harvest all the veggies, weed whack, and cover the plot with the silage tarp.”
Woodworth said the tarp can be reused for years if taken care of and it can sometimes be used instead of tilling the land. “Tilling brings up weed seeds,” he said, which will cause more weeds to grow, adding that the soil stays healthier when it is not tilled.
The hoophouses are full of towering tomato plants, spinach, peppers, perennial flowers to attract pollinators, and a variety of other sheltered crops. The sides roll down to keep rain, wind, and snow out, and natural light keeps the inside warm and protected. Woodworth said the hoophouses “extend the season about a month on each end.”
The couple makes their own compost on the farm using food scraps from the community, horse manure, and woodchips. This works as a great fertilizer produced super locally. The pair has also experimented with “lasagna gardening” this year.
This involves placing cardboard over the garden beds with the plants sticking through. Then the compost is put over the top of the cardboard. The cardboard is good for the soil as it breaks down and keeps the weeds down.
Next year Pendleton-Wheeler and Woodworth hope to expand the CSA and add new members. They are also in the process of certifying the farm as organic, which requires carefully documenting their farming process including everything they use to fertilize the soil. Even though they are already using organic methods, this would allow them to label their produce officially organic and sell more vegetables to the Green Grocer and other organic retailers.
Those who are interested in buying into this fall’s or next season’s CSA or would like more information about the farm and farm produce should contact Pendleton-Wheeler at (603) 716-1814 or email nubiriverfarm@gmail.com. The Nubi River Farm keeps the community updated on Facebook and Instagram as well.