Hi! I am Garen Heller
We have recently joined forces with Schoodic Hollow farm in Franklin in an effort to revamp and learn new skills from old friends. Before I ever thought I would be a farmer Becka from Schoodic Hollow Farm was working at a Berry Farm in Stratham New Hampshire and she urged me to try to get work at a farm in Neighboring Kensington. I started working at Shaws Hill Farm in April 1995 and got an excellent education from the Tuthill Family. By 1998 it seemed apparent that I had to make a go of it on my own. My Good friend John Munson was leaving Back River Farm in Dover and he turned the fields over to me in October of that year. I began putting in Garlic for the 1999 season and cover cropping as well. I worked these fields for a good solid 11 years through thick and thin. I learned a lot how to and how not to treat clay soils through a lot of trial and error and sheer impatience. This first farm of mine was a great lesson in a lot of aspects not only of farming but life itself. The most important and longest lasting crop that I grew and nurtured were the relationships that came from working that land. At the end of the day relationships and community and food are all intertwined and very important by products of farming. Fast forward to 2010 I then embarked across the river to a new Farm.. this one had a lot of the infrastructure that I needed and knowledge to give me a leg up and help boost my business. I landed at Riverside Farmstand and Greenhouse in North Berwick Maine. The Tuttle family has been working that land for very nearly 280 years and the dedication and tenaciousness to getting the best quality food to their customers is but one of the things I was struck by during my time there. It is hard to sum up my experiences over the past 25 years in print but every single person and every single event over this time has had an enormous effect me. I look forward to continuing this trajectory in new and exciting ways with the possibilities endless.