Vermont + New York Grown Herbs
As part of our mission to nurture ecological health along with individual and social health we source as much as possible from small, organic VT herb farms. Herbs that aren't available locally are purchased organic (with rare exceptions) or ethically wildcrafted from reputable suppliers.
Below are some of the herb farms we work with most.
Below are some of the herb farms we work with most.
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Horsetail Herb Farm
Cortland, NY Farm Name: Horsetail Herb Farm Owner Name: Becky Frye (she/her) How many years have you been growing herbs and how many acres are you cultivating? I have been growing herbs for many years but began cultivating them at a larger scale in 2020 in Maine. I started with about 1/2 acre, and currently cultivate about 1-1.5 acres (now in the Finger Lakes region of NY). How many people work with you? Currently, I work with my partner, Corey McNaughton (he/him), and some dear friends who kindly volunteer their time to help with my fledgling farm. |
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Peaceful Harvest Mushrooms
Worcester, VT Farm Name: Peaceful Harvest Mushrooms Names of farmer(s) & pronouns: Karen (she/her) and Brian (he/him) Wiseman How many years have you been growing herbs? Mushrooms, about 7 years commercially, 15 years total How many acres are you cultivating? two indoor cultivation buildings How many people work with you? 2+ |
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What led you to start growing herbs?
I began growing herbs as a way to care for my own health. At the time, I was a broke and uninsured farm worker and wanted to take matters of my health into my own hands.
What's our favorite herb to grow and why?
My favorite herbs to grow right now are yarrow and nettle, although I enjoy growing and learning about all of them. Nettle and yarrow are two of the first herbs I learned about, and have been aiding my health ever since! I like cultivating them because they're perennial crops and although harvesting nettle is a bit tricky, I find satisfaction in it.
What are you excited about in 2022?
I am excited about the addition of draft horses to my operation this year! They are becoming a crucial part of my farm and are helping me towards my goals of reducing fossil fuels in agriculture and improving soil health. I am also excited to be working towards Organic certification. While I have always grown using Organic practices, this gives me the opportunity to provide certified herbs for those who desire them.
I began growing herbs as a way to care for my own health. At the time, I was a broke and uninsured farm worker and wanted to take matters of my health into my own hands.
What's our favorite herb to grow and why?
My favorite herbs to grow right now are yarrow and nettle, although I enjoy growing and learning about all of them. Nettle and yarrow are two of the first herbs I learned about, and have been aiding my health ever since! I like cultivating them because they're perennial crops and although harvesting nettle is a bit tricky, I find satisfaction in it.
What are you excited about in 2022?
I am excited about the addition of draft horses to my operation this year! They are becoming a crucial part of my farm and are helping me towards my goals of reducing fossil fuels in agriculture and improving soil health. I am also excited to be working towards Organic certification. While I have always grown using Organic practices, this gives me the opportunity to provide certified herbs for those who desire them.
What led you to start growing herbs? Brian decided to teach himself to grow mushrooms when he became a stay-at-home Dad and spent a few years exploring low tech growing methods using very common household items. Soon after, their family moved to Vermont, leaving Karen's career in biopharmaceuticals behind as they embarked on a new journey of showing up in the world, serving the community, and embracing the environment. They began combining a passion for growing mushrooms with their scientific expertise, to produce small-batch medicinal mushroom tinctures and powders. Brian sums up their epiphany, “Along the way we discovered that the mushrooms we grow are not only delicious and gourmet, they’re also highly medicinal. And that’s when it clicked with Karen, who has a background in pharmaceuticals and chemical engineering, that there might be somewhere else we can take this adventure.”
Foster Farm Botanicals
East Calais, VT
"Foster Farm Botanicals produces a diversity of certified organic medicinal herbs on our family farm in East Calais, Vermont."
Photo: Staff farm visit in 2019!
Learn more.
East Calais, VT
"Foster Farm Botanicals produces a diversity of certified organic medicinal herbs on our family farm in East Calais, Vermont."
Photo: Staff farm visit in 2019!
Learn more.
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Zack Woods Herb Farm
Hyde Park, VT Names of farmer(s) & pronouns: Jeff Carpenter (he/him) Melanie Carpenter (she/her) How many years have you been growing herbs? 23 How many people work with you? We have 4 part-time team members - 1 office manager and 3 field crew members What led you to start growing herbs? We began our farm with two clear missions and they continue to be our guiding principles today. Our first priority is to be good stewards and students of the land: to protect and care for the medicinal plants that we cherish as well as the water and land that nourishes them. Our second commitment is to strive to produce the highest quality live, fresh, and dried botanicals and herb teas for our local community and beyond. |
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What’s your favorite herb to grow & why? We have so many favorites that it is hard to pick just one...but if pressed, we would say a favorite would be milky oats (Avena sativa). They grow easily and abundantly and are wonderful to harvest. They nourish the nervous system and as a cover crop and they enrich the soil. Oats also teach us to be flexible and gentle and also to stand tall and well-rooted. Oats are a beloved plant relative.
What are you excited about in 2022? We are excited by the early warm weather--it has been a beautiful start to the season. We are also feeling jazzed about our team with both amazing new folks and returning staff joining us this season. The fields and plants look healthy and vibrant and that makes us very happy! So thankful to be tending to the land and working with the plants for another cycle--it is an honor and privilege.
Learn more.
What are you excited about in 2022? We are excited by the early warm weather--it has been a beautiful start to the season. We are also feeling jazzed about our team with both amazing new folks and returning staff joining us this season. The fields and plants look healthy and vibrant and that makes us very happy! So thankful to be tending to the land and working with the plants for another cycle--it is an honor and privilege.
Learn more.
Hallow Herbs Farm
Intervale, Burlington, VT
"Hallow Herbs Farm is owned and operated by Jeff Phillie. Hallow Herbs focuses on growing certified organic medicinal herbs for sale to a medicinal herb cooperative, small scale manufacturers of herbal supplements, local health food stores, and local herbalists."
Learn more about Hallow Herbs Farm and the Intervale.
Intervale, Burlington, VT
"Hallow Herbs Farm is owned and operated by Jeff Phillie. Hallow Herbs focuses on growing certified organic medicinal herbs for sale to a medicinal herb cooperative, small scale manufacturers of herbal supplements, local health food stores, and local herbalists."
Learn more about Hallow Herbs Farm and the Intervale.
White Dove Herbal Sanctuary
Montpelier, VT
Herbal sanctuary, gardens, course and workshops in Montpelier, VT
Learn more here.
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Spoonful Herbals Farm
Shelburne, VT Farm Name: Spoonful Herbals- educational nonprofit whose mission is to share joyful, hands-on education and wellness through plant medicine while honoring all our herbal traditions. Names of farmer(s) & pronouns Katherine Elmer (she/her) and Kara Buchanan (she/her) How many years have you been gleaning herbs? 7 years How many acres are you cultivating? A large proportion of our herbs are lovingly gleaned/ wild-crafted from our partner organic farms including Shelburne Farms and the Intervale Community Farm |
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How many people work with you? Two seasonal interns and the group of enthusiastic budding herbalists participating in our 6-month Community Herbalism Apprenticeship program
What’s your favorite herb to grow & why? One of our current favorite herbs to glean from the land is Stinging Nettle, believe it or not! The care and intention required to do so is part of the charm, and its abundance on the landscape in fertile soils brings its deep nutrition into all the medicine that is created with it.
What are you excited about in 2022? In 2022, we are excited to deepen our partnerships with community mutual aid networks to continue our work to improve access to high quality local plant medicine in our local community as well as BIPOC communities and activist groups around the world.
What’s your favorite herb to grow & why? One of our current favorite herbs to glean from the land is Stinging Nettle, believe it or not! The care and intention required to do so is part of the charm, and its abundance on the landscape in fertile soils brings its deep nutrition into all the medicine that is created with it.
What are you excited about in 2022? In 2022, we are excited to deepen our partnerships with community mutual aid networks to continue our work to improve access to high quality local plant medicine in our local community as well as BIPOC communities and activist groups around the world.
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Healing Spirits Herb Farm Avoca, NY Farm Name: Healing Spirits Herb Farm Names of farmer(s) & pronouns Matthias and Andrea Reisen How many years have you been growing herbs? 31 years How many acres are you cultivating? 6 acres How many people work with you? total staff between 9-10 What led you to start growing herbs? love of plants, growing, being outside |
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What’s your favorite herb to grow & why? that is not a fair question to ask a grower. That is like asking which is your favorite child. For us, it changes every year, and after all these years we still try out a few new herbs every year. All that being said, for me (Andrea), Ashwagandha has to be one of my all-time favorites. We started out 28 years ago growing from 10 seeds. We now do 1/4 acre.
What are you excited about in 2022? Always excited to see what the weather is going to bring. Some herbs always do better with cool damp weather and others like it a bit drier. You never know at the beginning of the season how it's going to go. Plus we are growing 5 new herbs this year, always fun to see how new herbs do, and how we can improve on our growing.
What are you excited about in 2022? Always excited to see what the weather is going to bring. Some herbs always do better with cool damp weather and others like it a bit drier. You never know at the beginning of the season how it's going to go. Plus we are growing 5 new herbs this year, always fun to see how new herbs do, and how we can improve on our growing.
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Last Resort Farm Monkton, VT Farm Name: Last Resort Farm Names of farmer(s) & pronouns: Silas Doyle-Burr (he/him) Eugenie Doyle (she/her) Sam Burr (he/him) How many years have you been growing herbs: We've been growing ginger and turmeric for about 20 years now How many acres are you cultivating: About 20 acres berries, veggies and cover crops |
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How many people work with you: We typically have a season round crew of about 7-8 ppl
What led you to start growing herbs: Growing ginger and turmeric is fun! More importantly they're both crops that we love to consume ourselves and love sharing it with others
What’s your favorite herb to grow & why: Both ginger and turmeric are fun to grow because they are beautiful plants that are wonderfully fragrant and novel. Just the sight of them evokes a calming tropical feeling, and the opportunity to eat fresh ginger and turmeric is such a luxury.
What are you excited about in 2022: The best part about doing what we do is seeing the smiles our produce/herbs brings to our customers. As we leave the pandemic behind (knock on wood) we're excited to finally get to see faces and all the joy we bring to our community.
What led you to start growing herbs: Growing ginger and turmeric is fun! More importantly they're both crops that we love to consume ourselves and love sharing it with others
What’s your favorite herb to grow & why: Both ginger and turmeric are fun to grow because they are beautiful plants that are wonderfully fragrant and novel. Just the sight of them evokes a calming tropical feeling, and the opportunity to eat fresh ginger and turmeric is such a luxury.
What are you excited about in 2022: The best part about doing what we do is seeing the smiles our produce/herbs brings to our customers. As we leave the pandemic behind (knock on wood) we're excited to finally get to see faces and all the joy we bring to our community.
Spruce Hill Forest Farm
Bennington, VT
Farm Name: Spruce Hill Forest Farm
Names of farmer(s) & pronouns: Joe Comi (he/him)
How many years have you been wild harvesting? 10 years
How many acres are you cultivating? We have about 15 acres on the farm as well as a network of large tracts of land to harvest from.
What led you to start wild harvesting? I have always had a love of the outdoors and of exploring far into the woods in areas that are less traveled. With my background of wildlife biology, it is fascinating to learn about the symbiotic connections found in nature.
What’s your favorite mushroom to wild harvest? For medicinal use, my favorite would have to be chaga (Inonotus obliquus). When I harvest chaga in the winter months, I snowshoe deep into the woods far from roads and houses, scanning the peaceful winter landscape.
What are you excited about in 2022? In 2022 I hope to continue learning new connections in the never-ending realm of wild harvesting. Also lots of fun projects around the farm! Our goal as always remains to foster a relationship of sustainability with our farm and the lands we tend.
