Showing Tag: ""orchard hill" "land reclamation and regeneration" lambs "broiler chickens" turkeys ducks rabbits pigs oxen "grazing animals" "rice paddies" "wildlife habitat" "national resource and conservation service" "fruit and nut trees"" (Show all posts)

Dear Village Roots supporters and friends...I have an unusual request...in the name of land reclamation and regeneration

Posted by Marty Castriotta on Tuesday, June 17, 2014, In : News and Updates 

A small bit of history. Village Roots leases about 13 acres of pasture from Orchard Hill on which we graze lambs, broiler chickens, turkeys, ducks, rabbits, pigs (who also pasture in the woods) and our oxen, Boss and Chez. We hay another 7 or 8 acres for winter forage. When I say pasture, I mean cleared land that was once considered prime agricultural soil, but has been over grazed, compacted with heavy machinery and chemically fertilized until about 10 years ago. When Orchard Hill bo...

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About Me


Marty Castriotta Marty grew his first potato when he was 12 year old on a worn out piece of ground behind his parents’ house. He’s been attracted to the idea of growing food ever since. He started growing seriously in 2001 with his wife Ellen’s guidance and has worked on several organic farms prior to moving to Orchard Hill. His passion is in integrating all aspects of the farm; the gardens, animals, buildings, water systems and so on. Marty has been raising heritage farm animals since 2003, and started training his young oxen Boss and Chez to do some of the farm work in the winter of 2012. Marty graduated from Antioch University New England with an MS in Environmental Studies and currently teaches Farmers & Foragers and summer camps at The Orchard School, as well as Permaculture Design Courses at Orchard Hill.