the protection of the structures 

 around it, the whole hilltop heats 

 up quickly in spring. This allows 

 plants to be brought outside fairly 

 early and the greenhouses to be 

 refilled with new material. She 

 chooses hardier types — coral bells, 

 foxgloves — but by mid-April, 

 they're out for good. 



She opens around May first; 

 she closes in July. She does most 

 of the work herself and after 

 three months of dawn-to-dusk 

 days, is glad for a break and is 

 only open by appointment after 

 that. 



Another sales outlet is Valley 

 Artisans, a 32-member craft co-op 

 in Epsom. She sells both plants 

 and plant products there. The 

 products include homemade 

 relishes, jams, and jellies. (The 

 Greenes have a variety of fruit 

 trees and a large vegetable gar- 

 den.) She makes sachet bags 

 filled with dried lavender and 

 herbal moth repellents — small 

 bags of lavender and dried 

 camphor southernwood. And 

 potpourri. And dried bouquets.... 



SHE PUT OFF becoming a certi- 

 fied organic grower for three 

 years — she hates paperwork. 

 Finally her husband said, "You 



are one anyway. Why not be offi- 

 cial?" So she did it. 



It's not complicated, but it 

 does take some time. The nine- 

 page 'Organic Certification Pro- 

 gram Producer Application' asks 

 for detailed information about 

 things like field layout, mixed 

 organic/conventional production, 

 soil-building programs, fertilizers, 

 seed treatments, and pest control. 



Soil tests must be taken in 

 the different crop areas — one in 

 a garden area, for example, and 

 another for an orchard. 



The applicant reads and agrees 

 to abide by the 22-page 'New 

 Hampshire Code of Administra- 

 tive Rules.' And signs and has 

 notarized an affidavit attesting to 

 the truth of what he's said. And 

 there's a $35.00 fee. 



There is an initial inspection 

 in the spring, and then — if 

 approved — an follow-up visit 

 during the growing season. 



Certification is for one year. 

 Next year, the entire process will 

 be repeated. The advantage of 

 being certified by the state is that 

 you are 'officially' organic. You 

 can follow the state's rules and 

 say you're organic, but consumers 

 want assurance that what you're 

 saying is true. (There are sixty 



m. 



'.?,:Y'f »;3sv--'?^-'^' '"r,'#,;-f^ ^;»»•^■.^ ?fiy:,..f^r ,? ^r^-lr,r-:,^ 



state-certified organic growers in 

 New Hampshire — up from 42 the 

 previous year. And the people at 

 the Bureau of Markets expect the 

 number to grow.) 



When the soil in the gardens — 

 a series of beds below the crest 

 of the hill — was analyzed as part 

 of her certification process, it 

 was found to be one of the most 

 fertile tested. Susan has no expla- 

 nation (she remembers the soil 

 being mostly clay — and gardening 

 around tree stumps, before they 

 had the money to remove them), 

 but says that during the first two 

 years here, she and Michael 

 would go to the beach and load 

 their pickup with seaweed, then 

 bring it back and rototill it into 

 the beds. She still mulches 

 heavily in the fall, using maple 

 leaves ("they're sweeter"). And 

 she rotates crops and plants win- 

 ter rye in paths and empty plots. 

 The soil is very good. 



The only insect control was 

 done when she bought a package 

 of praying mantis cocoons and 

 another of ladybugs and released 

 them. She still sees a lot of lady- 

 bugs around. Praying mantis are 

 harder to spot (although we did 

 see one in a greenhouse). 



She does spray — she uses the 

 organic insecticide BT [Bacillus 

 thuringiensis] against caterpillars 

 on spruce trees. (The Greenes 

 have a small Christmas tree 

 plantation.) 



IN THE GARDENS, as in the 

 greenhouses, the ordinary and the 

 unusual grow side by side. Short 

 shade plants grow in the shadow 

 of taller sun-lovers (Gold-edged 

 Thyme under Lavender); there's a 

 block of everlastings — she whole- 

 sales to a garden center; Garlic 

 Chives grows next to her grand- 

 mother's Blue Star [Amsonia 

 tabeinaemontana). Common Col- 

 umbine is alongside Globe Cen- 

 taurea, alongside Plume-poppy 

 [Macleaya cordata).... 



...surprises keep appearing — a 

 fall-blooming white clematis is 

 working its way over a wall. ("I 

 like fall-blooming plants; I hope 

 to propagate cuttings for sale next 

 year.") 



Most of her advertising is 

 word-of-mouthand some of her 

 best comes from the field trips of 



1992 & January 1993 

 19 



