At the Cable Community Farm, we have projects and programs to help us grow food and help our neighbors learn how to do the same.

Community Projects

The Community Chicken Coop began in 2014, with a group of community members calling themselves the “Chicken Tenders” communally caring for a flock of laying hens.  The hens produced 3,915 eggs in 2015!  The Community Coop is starting fresh in 2017 with 25 baby chicks.  It will be a mixed flock with Black Australorps, Rhode Island Reds, Buff Orpingtons, Dominiques, and Auracanas.  These hens will begin laying eggs in the fall of 2017.

Beekeeping is an important part of our farm activity.  Bees pollinate the flowering crops and will eventually produce honey.  In 2017, the beekeeping operation will expand from one hive to five.

The Nature’s Garden Trail is a one-mile trail that goes through the twenty acres of mixed hardwood forest on the Cable Community Farm property.  In 2017, we will be developing written material to help visitors learn about the “wild edibles” through the seasons.  To enjoy this trail, download the Nature’s Garden Trail map.

The Community Seed Library is housed in the Farmhouse at the Cable Community Farm.  This project is supported by the Seed Savers Alliance and is co-sponsored by the Forest Lodge Library.

Community Programs

Biodiversity Tours will be offered at the farm on Saturdays from 2:00 to 3:00 pm from mid-June through mid-September.  Explore the Native Plant Garden, the Theatre Flower Garden, the Community Orchard, Community Vineyard, and beekeeping operation. All of this biodiversity helps us grow food in the Community Garden and the Growing Together Garden.  All ages are welcome.  Tours are free, but donations are gratefully accepted.

Pollinator Parties will be hosted by our interns on Friday afternoons from 3:00 to 4:00 pm from mid-June through mid-September. The parties will be an opportunity for education and stewardship in the native flower gardens planted just for the pollinators.  All ages are welcome.

Little Farmers is a place for parents and their young children to play, explore, and learn about farming, located in and around the old barn at the Cable Community Farm.  Features include a Children’s Garden, Riding Tractors, a Reading Stage, and a Pea Planting Activity Table.  Little Farmers is open on Sunday afternoons from 3:00 to 6:00 pm or by special arrangement.

The Vegetable of the Year campaign began in 2015 as a riff on the “one book, one community” idea with a goal of inspiring people to grow some of their own food. Packets of seed, along with growing instructions, were given away at local businesses and at the Drummond Elementary School.  Artwork created by local artist, Mimi Crandall.

2017 Vegetable of the Year:  Peas!

2015 Vegetable of the Year:  Kale

2016 Vegetable of the Year: Beans