Stay Rooted!

     
              
Oliver smelling flowers                  Stockton at work                         Greens readying for harvest                        
Ever since he could walk, Stockton Hicks has had a love for farming: “Farming has always been an integral part of my life…growing up, we always had a large family garden and just about every farm animal you could think of at one point or another.” It’s no wonder then that his idyllic childhood of running in between vegetable rows and chasing chickens and pigs would lead him to such meaningful work.
 
Stockton was born in Littleton and grew up in Whitefield where he currently resides with his family, Jennifer Brown and their adorable son, Oliver. Together they run Stalbird Brook Greenhouse located on Bailey Road in Jefferson just off of route 116 where they grow a wide variety of annual bedding plants, hanging baskets, perennials and vegetable starts. In addition to the greenhouse in Jefferson, he and Jenn recently built a heated greenhouse on Shirlaw Drive in Whitefield where they are growing a variety of produce including lettuce mixes, tomatoes, carrots and cucumbers that they sell at the Root Seller and the Lancaster Farmers Market and where they also keep overstock annuals and perennials for their retail greenhouse.
 
This will be Stockton’s first season managing Stalbird Brook Greenhouse, but he comes with many years of experience in the industry. “I solidified my interests [in farming] in the high school horticulture program and continued to pursue my dreams at the Stockbridge School of Agriculture at UMass Amherst where I received an Associate’s Degree in Sustainable Horticulture.” After graduation, Stockton worked for Cavicchio Greenhouses, Inc. in Sudbury, Massachusetts, one of the largest wholesale growers of bedding plants in New England. While there, he was a greenhouse section grower responsible for managing two acres of greenhouse space. And it was also at Cavicchios where he and Jenn met. But it was the pull of the north country and wanting to raise Oliver in a similar childhood setting that he experienced growing up that brought them back home to Whitefield to start their own farming venture…and we couldn’t be happier about this.
 
This is Stockton’s first year growing produce for retail sales and in his words, he’s “wondering why I didn’t start sooner.”  As a Local Direct Vendor at the Root Seller, he is pleased with how the community is responding to their products: “It is tough, especially in today’s society to think that you could make a living off of farming when you are battling against ridiculously low supermarket prices and produce towers. Selling our produce at the Root Seller has made it more than clear that there IS a demand for fresh, local, nutrient dense produce and I couldn't be happier to be one of the vendors.”
 
Like all farmers, Stockton’s days are busy and not routine: “My favorite part about farming is that it is a job of many hats. One day you might be fixing a broken water pipe, the next chasing escaped pigs. There is never a dull moment when surrounded by farm animals and greenhouses…everything about farming is tough. You are in a constant battle with the weather, weeds, disease and insect pressure. This year has been a learning curve for me, and I would say one of the hardest things has been nailing down timing of succession plantings in order to have a constant supply of produce.”
 
We are extremely happy that Stalbird Brook Greenhouse has joined us as a Local Direct Vendor at the Root Seller. We hope that you will stop in and pick up some of their fantastic produce…and when you do, say hi to Jenn who has been our sales associate for just about a year.  Their greenhouse opens for the season on May 9, just in time to get a perfect hanging plant for Mother’s Day! 

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Fun Facts...
 

What is your favorite beer:  Maine Beer Company’s "Lunch". It is an IPA with an orange haze and fruity notes best enjoyed anytime anywhere!!
 
The last movie you saw in theaters: "Black Mass" based on the story of Whitey Bulgur.
 
What was your first car? A green 1994 Toyota pickup.
 
Cookies or cake? Carrot cake!
 
Do you have any unique fears or phobias? My only fear is a world without local farms and fresh food.