Emma: Ten years ago my husband Ed and I moved into the intentional community we now call Stowe Farm Community. We retired early and wanted to share our gardening skills with others because our children were grown and we needed to downsize. My mother taught me to garden and “put by ” vegetables when I was a teenager.
Then when Ed and I got married 50 years ago we discovered that we both loved to garden and put by the extra food for winter. Now we still love having plenty of space for field crops, berry patches and some fruit trees. For the first time we have a greenhouse to extend the garden season and we no longer have to do all the work and eating ourselves.
At Stowe Farm we can share the work and produce with our neighbors as well as our married children and granchildren when we visit them in nearby Brattleboro, VT and Northampton,MA. Instead of becoming couch potatoes, we grow potatoes and much more!
We all love to eat fresh, organic produce and receive the health benefits of it, too. My mom is almost 96 and still in excellent health and our daughter had her healthy baby at age 40 thanks to homegrown, organic veggies and fruits, regular exercise, and living in a supportive community environment.