Tuesday, August 28, 2012
"We don't anticipate any other issues with the apples," says Susan Butler, of Butler’s Orchard.
Delayed by a landowner dispute, apple-picking season has officially begun at Butler’s Orchard. Butler's opened its apple orchard Saturday for pick-your-own gala apples, Susan Butler confirmed. The family farm announced the news to its 462 Twitter followers during the weekend. Apple season was supposed to begin Aug. 21 but was suspended due to a dispute between the family farm's operators and the person who actually owns the land, Patch has reported. The Butler family would not comment on the nature of the dispute. Susan Butler said the current lease needed to be "renegotiated." Her brother, the late Todd Butler, had owned apple orchard's four acres of land. He passed away in 2010. “Everything's all been settled,” Susan Butler said. “…
39.218962
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Butler's Orchard
22200 Davis Mill Rd, Germantown, MD
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Wednesday, August 22, 2012
September fundraiser includes community dedication ceremony for new building, greenhouse
The million-dollar additions to Red Wiggler Community Farm have provided workers an air-conditioned building to gather in, the ability to extend growing seasons in a temperate greenhouse and, importantly, has meant bye-bye to the Port-a-Johns. All are reasons to celebrate, according to founder Woody Woodroof, as the farm recently announced plans to host a community dedication ceremony at its annual Harvest Celebration on Sept. 15. Red Wiggler, a farming nonprofit that leases 15 acres of park land from the county, operates a community-supported agriculture program (CSA) and distributes USDA certified organic produce to group homes and local food banks. The farm also hires people with disabilities as part of its social mission. Red Wiggler …
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Students help technologist Peter James build a robotic farm in Montgomery County's agricultural reserve.
Some interns fetch coffee. Others shadow mentors. Alonzo Montgomery is building a robotic farmer. “It's exactly what I imagined to be,” said Montgomery, an 18-year-old Gaithersburg resident studying computer engineering at Montgomery College. "Parts everywhere," Montgomery continued, looking at the scattered gears, motherboards and computer chips that would be used to make the robo farmers come to life. Montgomery is one of eight student interns helping Germantown technologist Peter James build a robotic farm off Brink road. When Patch visited the workspace — the garage to James’s townhome — Montgomery and fellow intern, Pranav Pranakkal, 19, of Clarksburg, were working on a steel beam for a gantry, which the robots will use to zip through…
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
New Farmer Pilot Project would train young farmers, match them with private landowners in Montgomery County.
Montgomery County officials hope a new program for fledgling farmers will grow a new crop of entrepreneurs. County Executive Isiah Leggett unveiled on Monday an initiative known as the New Farmer Pilot Project, which would train and place farmers on private farms for five years or more. “So that they can put down roots right here in Montgomery County,” Leggett said. The program was funded through a $120,000 grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration. There is also a training partnership with the University of Maryland Extension. Landowners and participants would negotiate how to pay for the land, county officials said. About a third of the land in Montgomery County is designated for farming. Though the overall number of farms in …
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Local organic, CSA is part of 15-stop farm tour this weekend
Ahead of a late morning tour of Red Wiggler Community Farm, and after the “growers” had dispersed to complete their duties, the farm’s chief steward and founder Woody Woodroof explained why he named the 15-acre farmstead after a worm. “Red wiggler worms create fertile soil, where plants are likely to be successful,” Woodroof said. “We're a place where we hope our community is successful. We create the conditions to nourish a healthy and inclusive community through fertile ground.” Established in 1996, Red Wiggler Community Farm comprises part of the 300-acre Ovid Hazen Wells Recreational Park in Clarksburg. The farm is part of the 15-stop Farm Tour and Harvest Sale the county’s agricultural services division has scheduled for Saturday and …
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Germantown man is building an open-source, robotic farm from salvaged junk
The Future Farmers of America would be automatons, or at least that would be the case for a rural plot in Germantown, if an open-source robotic farm under development turns out to be a success. Germantown technologist Peter James is building a hydroponic robo farm off Brink Road. The agribots would be built from recycled junk. “Part of being sustainable and scalable was to try to drop the cost of production,” said James. “Around here that's labor and energy cost.” Under the shelter of a greenhouse, robots would tend to and harvest an array of greens planted inside rows of water-filled PVC pipes. The temperature inside would be controlled, in part, by a yard waste and coffee ground-fueled composting system. James plans to donate some of the…
Monday, April 16, 2012
A Germantown family posts the final photos of the baby chickens they rented from Rocklands Farm, which offered families the chance to "rent" chicks to raise through spring and return them later in the year.
For the Hill family, it's almost time to say good bye. The chicks they've been raising from Rocklands Farm are almost ready to head home. Rockland Farm's expirmental chick-rental program nears an end, having started around Easter time to get people interested in farming and draw interest in the farm near Darnestown, farm worker AJ Minite told Potomac Patch. The Hill family — Mom Kelly Hill, a 3-year-old daughter, a 18-month-old daughter and a little boy on the way — have been tracking the progress of thier rented baby chickens from their Germantown home. They posted the final update at Potomac Patch on Monday. Kelly Hill wrote: "We absolutely loved this experience!" Kelly wrote in to Patch after uploading her final pictures. "We were …
Peter James
6:55 am on Thursday, June 7, 2012
To find out more about our Just Money farm notes and which local merchants accept them for purchases, go to www.justmoneymd.com. To see more pictures and videos of the robots and renewable energy systems, go to www.facebook.com/robogrow more ›