![]() ![]() Herbs that grow wild around the property include raspberry leaf, St. One herbal tea blend dubbed Rosy Cheeks contains rose petals, rose hips, rose geranium, lemon balm, calendula and marshmallow root (an anti-inflammatory and antitussive plant that has no relation to the puffy confection roasted over campfires). Benefits of the teamwork were immediately clear: More Vermont herbs meant a larger Vermont apothecary.īut Free Verse Farm's herbal reach alone is vast for a seemingly small operation, with around 70 foraged and cultivated plant varietals in their repertoire. With the Carpenters' guidance, the Free Verse farmers expanded their knowledge of Vermont-specific herb growing, which eventually led to a partnership between them for trading supplementary herbs. In May 2015, the Carpenters published the tome on medicinal herb farming, The Organic Medicinal Herb Farmer: The Ultimate Guide to Producing High-Quality Herbs on a Market Scale. Soon after contacting her, Katz and Johnson began collaborating with her daughter and son-in-law, Melanie and Jeff Carpenter, owners for nearly 15 years of Zack Woods Herb Farm in Hyde Park. The Vermont resident is widely considered "the fairy godmother" of modern Western herbalism. He and Katz sought further instruction at the Sage Mountain Herbal Education Center in East Barre under Rosemary Gladstar. By 2015, Free Verse Farm was registered as an LLC. "We transferred all our plants, built a dehydrator and started seriously growing," Johnson says. After two years of planting in backyard garden boxes, the couple found the plot on Baraw Hill Road in Chelsea, a hillside property with 20 acres of uncultivated fields and 20 acres of woodland for foraging. The pair moved to Norwich, Johnson's hometown, in 2013 and began planting the herbs that had captured his attention in his studies. "But we were curious about what else we could tap into," says Johnson. ![]() In college, Johnson was particularly interested in ethnobotany - in his words, "the study of how people use and relate to plants across the globe." Work in the college gardens, an internship with a biodynamic farm in Costa Rica and a few years' experience at two organic farms in San Diego gave the couple the foundation for growing and consuming plants. The two hit it off and together began the learning curve that would eventually result in an herb farm in Chelsea (with a name alluding to Katz's literary passion). She studied poetry he studied environmental science. Johnson and Katz met during freshman year at Connecticut College. More commonly, it is bulk-shipped to the United States from places as far as Egypt.Īnd, like numerous farmers, beer and wine makers, and spirits distillers before them, Katz and Johnson say they "want to give our products that inherent Vermont terroir." "There's no reason things like peppermint, chamomile and calendula can't be grown in Vermont." Indeed, chamomile, a daisy-like plant known for its calming and anti-inflammatory effects, grows on the fringes of Free Verse Farm. We focus on growing what's natural to this environment," says Johnson. "The spectrum of Western herbalism focuses on what's native to Europe and North America. ![]()
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