ABOUT US

The Farm:

We purchased the farm in the summer of  2011, and  we look forward to farming together as a family.  The farm is close to Woodstock yet still in the country.  It is adjacent to Route 105 with an old house up on the hill overlooking the Saint John River.      The farm requires a lot of work to get up and going again, but it is filled with promise and we look forward to the adventure of returning it to a productive and interesting farm; a place where all are welcome and a place of peace and happines.

The farm is located on Strawberry Hill Road in Pembroke, New Brunswick.  Although we plan to grow strawberries, that is not our main crop.  Doug and Mary Patterson, and later Jimmy and Lynn Patterson grew many acres of strawberries here with their families from the 1940's and on.  They are well loved and respected in the community, so the name is in honor of them.  We frequently meet people who fondly remember the Pattersons and their service to the community, many of whom also helped them in the summer to weed or to pick berries.

 

 

Tim and Kirsten Livingstone:  

Tim grew up on a farm in New Hampshire and helped with the care of a variety of livestock.  He also managed pasture for grazing sheep.  His family grew a big vegetable garden every year as he was growing up.  After school, he worked for about 20 years in the greenhouse industry primarily raising bedding plants.  In 2001 he started with the production of organic soils and then compost and compost teas.  In 2003 Tim and Kirsten took training in soil biology and biological farming.  This training continued into 2006 meanwhile Tim worked with growers, landscapers, and farmers to use more biological methods of growing and incorporate compost teas, etc.  Ever since his time with the sheep, he's wanted to have the opportunity to manage pasture again and he loves to take on the challenge of growing crops, now all organically.  During the last three years, Tim has been the grower for Jolly Farmer's outdoor vegetables and been heavily involved in their weekly box program.  Now that Jolly Farmer is stopping their program, Tim looks forward to doing a similar program here on our farm.

Kirsten grew up in New Hampshire and worked in the greenhouse industry for many years as well.  She took laboratory training and water purification courses putting her in good stead for when she and Tim went to Oregon to learn the Soil Foodweb methods of biology testing.  Kirsten has always been one to take on a challenge.  In the early 1990s she grew sweet potatoes because she was told it was not possible where she lived in New Hampshire.  She is an excellent cook and enjoys interaction with people.  She has helped with Tim with a variety of jobs involving growing and soil biology.

 

 

 

Elton is our oldest son.  He is 14 years old, loves to work on fixing up old things, and likes dogs.  In the photo to the right Elton is putting the snow blower on our old Massey Fergusen lawn tractor.

 

 

 

Our daughter Nollie, is almost thirteen and she wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up.  She loves to help around the farm and especially enjoys working with the chickens and other animals.

 

Bruce is our youngest son at age 3.  He likes to be a part of any activity on the farm.

 

Nollie and Bruce are so excited to have found the first two eggs from our chickens.  It has been almost 6 months' wait!

 

 

Norton and Annie are Kirsten's parents and are building a house on a lot on the farm.  They look forward to helping us as they are able.  Norton was in the coast guard as a young man and has worked on electronics and radios throughout his adult life.  He's also done surveying and a wide variety of carpentry and building jobs.  Annie is a very artistic person and has done catalog layouts, web design, and other promotional literature work for the last 35 years.  She has also managed small stores from time to time and looks forward to helping to manage our farm retail stand located on the farm by route 105 here in Pembroke.