Letter to the Editor

Friends of Ambler Farm Support Budget

A letter from the President of Friends of Ambler Farm

As a representative of the Board Volunteers and Friends of Ambler Farm, I have been a keenly interested participant in this year’s budget process. I would like to commend the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Finance for the effort they have made to present the voters of Wilton with both a responsible budget and a thoughtful slate of capital funding projects. Naturally, all of us associated with Ambler Farm hope the voters will approve the funds needed to restore the 200 year old Raymond Ambler Farmhouse, which the Town of Wilton owns. This work is required by the property’s deed. We are confident that investing in this unique historic, cultural and educational resource will yield many dividends for our community. At the same time, as …

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Ambler’s New Farmer Doesn’t Stand Alone

Jonathan Kirschner, the new Director of Agriculture of Wilton’s beloved Ambler Farm, looks forward to being part of Wilton community.

This is the second of two articles taking a look at what’s happening at Ambler Farm. While it was the cheese that stood alone in the nursery rhyme, “The Farmer in the Dell,” Ambler Farm’s newest farmer will certainly have more of a community standing with him. Jonathan Kirschner was welcomed as the farm’s first Director of Agriculture in early March of this year, and the Friends of Ambler Farm—the board that oversees operations at the 200 year old, town-owned working farm—is excited about the kind of change he’ll bring. “Jonathan is a great new addition,” said Neil Gluckin, president of Ambler’s board. “’Director of Agriculture’ is a new title and it reflects the potential for someone in this role. Jonathan has a very important job in …

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David Ertischek

7:40 pm on Monday, April 30, 2012

Jonathan is a dedicated community farmer with a heart of gold. I wonder what his favorite vegetable is?   more ›

Wilton’s Ambler Farm Sowing Seeds of Change

A new Director of Agriculture and optimistic momentum on the Raymond Ambler renovation help the town-owned farm Spring forward.

In this article, the first of a two-part series on what’s happening at Ambler Farm, Patch takes a look at how planned renovations of the Raymond Ambler farmhouse will be funded and what the Friends of Ambler Farm—the operating board of the Farm—sees for the future of this town-owned property. Spring has definitely sprung in Wilton, and the season has everything coming up roses at Ambler Farm. “Things are going very well. There’s a tremendous amount of momentum,” said Neil Gluckin, president of the Friends of Ambler Farm, the board that oversees the running of the 22-acre, 200-year-old property. Surprisingly, two of the main things currently sprouting up at the town-owned, working organic farm actually aren’t edible. For one, the board …

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From the Driver's Seat

And the 2012 Wilton MOMMY Award Goes To...

The 2nd annual awards recognizing those who go above and beyond in the name of Wilton's children and families.

Another year, another birthday—the 15th anniversary of my 29th year, in fact—and suddenly, it’s time again to bestow awards to those deserving of recognition. Hopefully you remember that last year I created the MOMMYs, an award I want to give annually to recognize commitment, dedication and demonstration of care for Wilton’s families and children.  I tied the timing of the awards to coincide with my birthday, as a present to myself of the gift of giving to others. It also seemed appropriate to present the MOMMYs in February, since we’re in the middle of award season—the Oscars, Golden Globes, Grammys and what seem like countless others are given this same time each year. It’s just like last year: I’m the sole judge. There’s no panel, no …

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From the Driver's Seat

You've Got REAL Mail!

Opening the mailbox during the holidays may be the best present to open of all.

  In the modern era where electronic communication dominates, our snail mail mailboxes are bearing less and less bounty—at least the 11 other months of the year. But in December, oh how they overflow! I don’t know about you, but our mail seems to be coming later and later these days. Wilton’s overburdened Post Office (the local outpost of the overburdened US Postal Service) recently ‘streamlined’ the mail delivery routes and were able to eliminate-slash-condense three of the routes into the others. The result? We used to get our mail around 4 pm every day; now, it sometimes doesn’t get delivered until after 7 pm. Even still, no matter how late the mail does eventually get to us, we’re totally eager to open it. It’s much more personal and …

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The Hiving of the Bees

With a number of residents looking on, Ambler Farm introduces three new hives to its property.

The more bees, the better in Wilton.  Ambler Farm's Hiving of the Bees event brought folks out, even in the rain, to see three new hives set up which will increase pollination in the area and hopefully give the farm some honey.  And as luck would have it, just as the event got underway, the downpours ceased and all were able to experience the important day completely dry.  "Bees have been dying off in increased numbers," explained Kevin Meehan of Ambler Farm.  The reason is not officially known, but outdoor lawn chemicals that humans tend to use are suspect. "Bees pollinate 33% of food in our country and Einstein predicted that if the bees die, we die."  So Ambler Farm is doing its part to keep the honeybee population alive and pollinating…

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Ambler Making Hay Despite Cloudy Funding

Ambler Farm receives approval to go ahead with its second phase of construction and renovations on the Raymond-Ambler House.

Ambler Farm is still planning on making hay in the coming year, even if the shining sun is being blotted out by a cloudy economic forecast. The farm and the town began a large bonding initiative in 2007 to restore the Raymond-Ambler House and make various improvements around the property. The $1 million project was to be split into two payments, both of $500,000, with one coming that year and another set for 2011. Unfortunately, the second $500,000 installment is being delayed due to the tight constraints of Wilton's FY 2011 budget. Luckily for the Friends of Ambler Farm's board, they have been biding their funding carefully. "We've been trying to backtrack and make the project fit into the town's budget process," said Ann Bell, the board'…

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Christian Camerota

11:54 am on Thursday, April 29, 2010

It's a slightly archaic use, and it's almost always paired with time, but I believe you can well bide your funding...the word can be used to mean "to endure" or "to bear," which was supposed to be the tacit implication here.   more ›

The Gardening Guru

Ambler Farm Transplants

With the weather warming, it's time for Ambler Farm's annual transplant sale and some advice to go with it.

Ambler Farm's second annual organic transplants sale is here and Ben Saunders certainly puts a lot of time and energy into the care of the fragile young sprouts.  The day that I spoke to Saunders, the farm manager and transplants farmer, the mercury on my thermometer topped 91°F, a sudden rise in temperatures that isn't good for some seedlings. Saunders was hurriedly moving lettuce to the shade underneath the greenhouse.  "It's a bit of a shuffle trying to move things around," said Saunders.  "Lettuce won't germinate in temperatures this hot." Saunders grows all the transplants himself from seeds purchased from suppliers like Hi Mowing Organic Seeds of Vermont, Johnny's Selected Seeds out of Maine, and Fedco, which is located in Waterville…

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Ambler Farm Seeks Capital

The renovations on the Raymond-Ambler House need funding to complete their final phase.

It's not a great time to be asking for money in any respect, but that it was Ambler Farm has had to do with an eye toward completing its renovations. With two of the farm's three historic buildings complete and the third building, The Raymond Ambler House, entering its third and final phase of construction, it's time for the project to seek further funding. The town bought the historic farm in the late 1990s and had it designated as a non-profit to be used for agriculture and educational purposes. The farm was a working agricultural site owned by one family from 1799-1998, when the last family member, Betty Ambler, passed on and the town purchased the property. The first two buildings, the red barn and the carriage barn, are already …

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The Farmstand's Pinch

Is eating green worth the green?

It’s like comparing apples to... well, apples. Wilton residents who order groceries from Stop & Shop's Peapod.com can either buy an organically grown Fuji apple for 89 cents or a conventionally grown Fuji apple for 79 cents.  Both types deliver that same fall-fresh crispness, that burst of tartness; both contain the requisite vitamins and fiber, and neither hides fat, sodium or cholesterol. But one costs a bit less than the other. So what’s one to do?  At $7.7 billion a year, the market for organically-grown produce is here to stay. But whether it’s actually healthier is another question. In fact, no evidence exists that the content of organic food is significantly more nutritious than non-organic food, according to a recent American …

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Christian Camerota

10:43 pm on Monday, October 12, 2009

A good point. It's also no small thing to note, as the article points out, that organic food is typically healthier for the planet, too.   more ›