The Special
This week we are pleased to feature chicken and seasonal vegetables from Chandler Pond Farm of South Wheelock, Vermont. All this week, Chef Casey Graham will use locally-grown organic Chandler Pond Farm veggies and meat in main dishes, appetizers, soups, and salads. Be sure to ask your server about tonight’s Chandler Pond Farm Special!
The Farm
Chandler Pond Farm is a certified organic vegetable farm in South Wheelock, located just outside of Lyndonville in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. They are a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), providing weekly shares of vegetables, meat and eggs to around 30 local members, are regulars at the Lyndonville and St. Johnsbury Farmers’ Markets (Fridays from 3-7pm and Saturdays from 9am-1pm respectively), provide meat and produce to several fine Vermont restaurants, and have a farm stand not far from the Wildflower Inn.
The Farm
As we have now gotten to know Chandler Pond I thought it would be nice to get to know some of their partners. The movement for sustainable farming practices is a grassroots endeavor, requiring a lot of help from local and national organizations, as well as our community. Sustainability is self reliance but no farm is an island.
- Vermont Land Trust
Chandler Pond Farm is conserved under Vermont Land Trust. This organization helps to preserve farms for future generations. - NOFA-VT
Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont. A driving force in Vermont's organic agriculture movement. Our products are certified through this organization. - Lyndon Farmers Market
Our home town farmers market. We hope to see you there Friday afternoons throughout the growing season. - Lauren Stagnitti Photography
Our wonderful photographer, Lauren loves to visit our farm from her home in Morrisville. - Juniper's at the Wildflower Inn
An exciting Vermont eatery in Lyndonville featuring a localvore menu! - Center for Sustainable Agriculture
You can also find Chandler Pond Farm at our two local Farmer's Markets...
Lyndon Farmer's Market
Every Friday from mid-May to mid-October, 3-7 at Bandstand Park in downtown Lyndonville.
Lyndon Winter Market
Second Saturday of every month, November to May, 10-2 at the Breslin Center on Main Street in Lyndonville.
St. Johnsbury Farmers Market
Every Saturday from May to October, 9am-1pm in the parking lot behind Anthony's Diner in downtown St. Johnsbury.
St. Johnsbury Winter Market
First Saturday of every Month, November to April, 10-1 and is held at the St. Johnsbury Welcome Center.
Contact Information:
Chandler Pond Farm
528 Burroughs Rd.
South Wheelock, VT 05851
www.chandlerpondfarm.com
info@chandlerpondfarm.com
On a glorious Wednesday morning in late May, Chandler Pond Farm in South Wheelock is gearing up for what looks to be a great summer season. Orderly rows of radishes and assorted greens bask in the spring sunshine, and Rob and Tamara Martin direct their summer interns in a variety of projects. It’s their third year as organic farmers in the Northeast Kingdom, and they have big plans in the works - new blueberry and asparagus patches overlook the pond, the farm stand is almost ready, and expectant Devon cows are due to calve any day.
The Martins lease 200 acres in South Wheelock and have about five acres in crop rotation, producing tomatoes, strawberries, sweet corn and a variety of other vegetables. They also raise one thousand chickens for meat each year, have a small flock of laying hens, several pigs, and a small herd of Devon and Jersey cows from which they get raw milk and meat. They plan to make maple syrup in the spring and they host visitors for oxen rides and tours of the farm.
It’s a huge amount of work for the Martins, who have three children under five years old, even with the help of their four farm interns and a retired neighbor, but there is no doubt it is a labor of love. “With all the things we do, Rob says sometimes he feels like the conductor of an orchestra,” Tamara says. They are certainly making beautiful music. The farm is orderly, productive and serene. A walk up the road to the property’s second farmhouse reveals a lovely view of Chandler Pond, where the family and their helpers enjoy canoeing, fishing and swimming. Their days are filled with hard work and the enjoyment of good food, family, and the natural splendor of the Northeast Kingdom.
Rob Martin is a fifth generation Vermont farmer from Bradford, Vermont. An avid sailor, Rob met Tamara in her hometown of Cordova, Alaska, famous for its salmon fishing, where he was stationed as a member of the Coast Guard. After a wonderful year of sailing around the Bahamas together and four years working on an organic farm in southern Vermont, Rob and Tamara settled their family in the Northeast Kingdom and began making their dream of building an organic family farm together a reality.
Tamara says that growing up she knew a lot about salmon and not a thing about farming, but she has taken to it like a fish to water. She is excited about the future of small-scale organic agriculture and local food systems, and she sees great potential in Vermont for the production of staple crops as well as specialty food items. As a mother of three, the well-being of her children drives her commitment to farming. “The more I learn about the food system,” she says, “the more I’m convinced that small-scale agriculture is necessary. A big reason we decided to farm and do so in a sustainable and chemical-free way was for the health of our children. I want my kids to be able to eat the dirt – and they do!”
They love visitors at Chandler Pond Farm and host several public events throughout the year, including an Open Farm evening on Wednesday June 16th from 3-6pm, a Farm Play Group for kids of all ages on the first and third Thursdays of the month from 10am to noon during June through August, and a Harvest Potluck on Saturday, October 9th at 3pm. Starting this June, CSA shareholders will be able to pick up their shares from the farm stand for around $18 a week, $345 for the entire season. The Chandler Pond Farm website, www.chandlerpondfarm.com, keeps customers updated on what’s happening at the farm and has several links to organizations that promote sustainable farming practices.
This spring, the Martins are enjoying eating their greens and radishes in salads – “It’s salad season!” beams Tamara – and also in some unconventional ways: cut into slices, Tamara lightly fries or roasts radishes in peanut or olive oil and sprinkles them with soy sauce and toasted sesame seeds. Mmm, simple, fresh, delicious. That’s how to eat like a local.
528 Burroughs Rd.
South Wheelock, VT 05851
www.chandlerpondfarm.com
info@chandlerpondfarm.com
802-626-9460
On a glorious Wednesday morning in late May, Chandler Pond Farm in South Wheelock is gearing up for what looks to be a great summer season. Orderly rows of radishes and assorted greens bask in the spring sunshine, and Rob and Tamara Martin direct their summer interns in a variety of projects. It’s their third year as organic farmers in the Northeast Kingdom, and they have big plans in the works - new blueberry and asparagus patches overlook the pond, the farm stand is almost ready, and expectant Devon cows are due to calve any day.
The Martins lease 200 acres in South Wheelock and have about five acres in crop rotation, producing tomatoes, strawberries, sweet corn and a variety of other vegetables. They also raise one thousand chickens for meat each year, have a small flock of laying hens, several pigs, and a small herd of Devon and Jersey cows from which they get raw milk and meat. They plan to make maple syrup in the spring and they host visitors for oxen rides and tours of the farm.
It’s a huge amount of work for the Martins, who have three children under five years old, even with the help of their four farm interns and a retired neighbor, but there is no doubt it is a labor of love. “With all the things we do, Rob says sometimes he feels like the conductor of an orchestra,” Tamara says. They are certainly making beautiful music. The farm is orderly, productive and serene. A walk up the road to the property’s second farmhouse reveals a lovely view of Chandler Pond, where the family and their helpers enjoy canoeing, fishing and swimming. Their days are filled with hard work and the enjoyment of good food, family, and the natural splendor of the Northeast Kingdom.
Rob Martin is a fifth generation Vermont farmer from Bradford, Vermont. An avid sailor, Rob met Tamara in her hometown of Cordova, Alaska, famous for its salmon fishing, where he was stationed as a member of the Coast Guard. After a wonderful year of sailing around the Bahamas together and four years working on an organic farm in southern Vermont, Rob and Tamara settled their family in the Northeast Kingdom and began making their dream of building an organic family farm together a reality.
Tamara says that growing up she knew a lot about salmon and not a thing about farming, but she has taken to it like a fish to water. She is excited about the future of small-scale organic agriculture and local food systems, and she sees great potential in Vermont for the production of staple crops as well as specialty food items. As a mother of three, the well-being of her children drives her commitment to farming. “The more I learn about the food system,” she says, “the more I’m convinced that small-scale agriculture is necessary. A big reason we decided to farm and do so in a sustainable and chemical-free way was for the health of our children. I want my kids to be able to eat the dirt – and they do!”
They love visitors at Chandler Pond Farm and host several public events throughout the year, including an Open Farm evening on Wednesday June 16th from 3-6pm, a Farm Play Group for kids of all ages on the first and third Thursdays of the month from 10am to noon during June through August, and a Harvest Potluck on Saturday, October 9th at 3pm. Starting this June, CSA shareholders will be able to pick up their shares from the farm stand for around $18 a week, $345 for the entire season. The Chandler Pond Farm website, www.chandlerpondfarm.com, keeps customers updated on what’s happening at the farm and has several links to organizations that promote sustainable farming practices.
This spring, the Martins are enjoying eating their greens and radishes in salads – “It’s salad season!” beams Tamara – and also in some unconventional ways: cut into slices, Tamara lightly fries or roasts radishes in peanut or olive oil and sprinkles them with soy sauce and toasted sesame seeds. Mmm, simple, fresh, delicious. That’s how to eat like a local.
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