MEMBER PROFILE 



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ors." About half are sold retail; the 

 rest go to local flower shops. A 

 niche that's developed in recent 

 years has been the holiday decora- 

 tion of churches, not only Christ- 

 mas, but Easter and Thanksgiving 

 as well. Last year, the Goudreaults 

 were asked to decorate St. Joseph's 

 Cathedral in Manchester. A small 

 niche perhaps, but powerful and 

 satisfying public relations 



Two nearby farms have cut-your- 

 own Christmas tree operations, so 

 rather than compete, the Goud- 

 reaults sell only poinsettias, wreaths 

 (they buy in 25 dozen, make their 

 own bows) and roping. This sense of 

 proportion helps out everyone and 

 gives increasingly urbanized custom- 

 ers a genuine "country outing." 



CUT FLOWERS ARE A IV1A|OR CROP. 

 The Goudreaults grow Asiatic (early 

 blooming, with three- to-four-inch 

 blossoms) and Oriental (later 

 blooming, scented, six-inch blos- 

 soms) lilies. They began eight 

 years ago — learning as they went — 

 and now produce 150,000 stems a 

 year. Two houses are in Asiatic lily 

 production year-round; a third is 

 used from the first of |uly until the 

 first of February for the production 

 of Orientals. 



They grow "quite a few types" — 

 on the Wednesday after Christmas, 

 Richard brought stems of 13 Asiat- 

 ics and four Orientals to the Bos- 

 ton Flower Market (he goes three 

 times a week). For both types, 

 pink is the favorite color. 



The year's supply is ordered in 

 |uly ("a third of a year's crop can 

 be new varieties," Cynthia says. 

 "Sometimes a type will grow quite 

 differently than described — so we 

 always have our fingers crossed") 

 The first six-months' supply is 

 brought to Connecticut the first of 

 lanuary; there they are stored in a 

 freezer; 2700 bulbs are shipped up 

 weekly. The Asiatics are planted 

 in 3 1/2x90 ground beds, six beds 

 per house. Orientals are grown in 

 peat-filled crates (the peat is after- 

 wards used to amend the ground 

 beds; unused crates support 



benches). The amended beds are 

 rototilled, then steamed. Richard 

 uses a Fulton natural gas steam 

 boiler; a canvas hose is placed 

 down the center of the bed and 

 the bed covered with a sheet of 

 heat-resistant plastic. The heat is 

 kept at 160 F for an hour. 



The wire that later is used to 

 support the plants is used as a 

 pattern and three bulbs per 

 4x6-inch opening are planted. It's 

 done on your knees with a trowel, 

 but it's quick and the soil is easy 

 to work. On constant feed once 

 they're three inches above ground, 

 it usually takes thirty days from 

 planting to bud formation. 



During bud formation, lilies 

 need light (buds will blast and 

 stems will be weak without it) and 

 from October through March, so- 

 dium vapor lights extend day 

 length to 11 at night. The lights, 

 fastened to the purloins, can be 

 moved to the appropriate bed. (A 

 good lily has three-to-six buds and 

 a stem strong enough to be held 

 horizontally without bending.) 



GOUDREAULTS IS THE LAST work- 

 ing farm in Plaistow and the new 

 marketing capitalizes on this tradi- 

 tional image. A major change was 

 the simplest — a new sign out front. 

 Wooden, with hand-painted letter- 

 ing, modest by many standards, 

 but much larger than what was 

 there before, it "has brought more 

 business than anything else we've 

 done." 



Customers that sign up receive a 

 newsletter. Three years old now, 

 its readers (now 1400) receives a 

 four-page letter ("Dear Friends of 

 the Goudreault Farm") three or 

 four times a year, it's basically a 

 series of tips about what's avail- 



able at the farm combined with 

 friendly cultural advice (caring for 

 hanging baskets) and odd bits of 

 information (Did you know that 

 Veronica is associated with fidelity 

 or the Red Poppy with consolation? 

 Goudreault Farm newsletter read- 

 ers do.) 



School children now come on 

 tours to see what a "real farm" is 

 all about. A real farm is mostly 

 about work, but the children are 

 give a gentler introduction — a hay 

 ride around the perimeter and a 

 chance to gather grape vines and 

 dried weeds with which to make 

 wreaths back at their classrooms. 

 Future plans in this educational 

 side of marketing include a display 

 of antique farm equipment and 

 tools — an ox-yoke, butter churn, a 

 saw used to cut ice... 



A unique attraction is the farm's 

 nine ewes (not "yews," Cynthia 

 points out), which are bred in De- 

 cember, allowing a sheep-sheering 

 day in mid-May before the Iambs 

 are born and a chance for custom- 

 ers to see the new lambs soon 

 after. 



Of course, the strong point is 

 simply that Goudreault's really is a 

 farm. The big practical buildings — 

 the original 1763 house with two 

 centuries of alterations and addi- 

 tions, the barn, the silo, various 

 sheds — clustered on a hilltop with 

 fields and greenhouses sloping 

 away around them — rings true. 



It's still unclear what the final 

 mix of economic components will 

 be: a line of pottery was sold last 

 year — gardening items may be 

 added this; show gardens are 

 evolving; strawberries may be 

 grown again ("to fill a gap"). But 

 maybe — as in any living organism — 

 and a working farm is as living a 

 organism as there is — the mix is 

 never static: nothing is "final." And 

 the mix for future Goudreault gen- 

 erations will be as complex and 

 fluid as the mix at the farm today. 

 (B.P.) 



{Goudreault Farm & Greenhouses is at 

 82 Newton Road in Plaistow. Tke phone 

 number there is 603-382-8298.) 



February & March 1995 



