The Rain Barrel & Water Conservation

The initiative behind out rain barrel project is to move away from pumping water from a well & instead, collect rain water; this water is used to irrigate the vegetable garden, our fruit trees and eventually, the rest of the gardens here at HollyHedge. We even keep the water bowls full in the barn yard! Because such a large quantity of water can be consumed here during events of up to 200 people at a time, we are making a concentrated effort to conserve water wherever we can.

So far, we have installed a 1550 gallon barrel at the back of the tractor barn. A hose connects the barrel to the drip irrigation lines that we have set up in the vegetable garden. Gravity, water pressure & manually opening the water line are the basics of the system; no electricity (nor fuel) is required to operate the system.

The drip irrigation lines slowly deliver water to the roots of the plants.Water isn’t wasted on surrounding soil (or weeds) and you lose a lot less to evaporation. The combination of mulch (be it straw, leaves, woodchips or black plastic) with the drip irrigation maximizes the effectiveness of the water. Using water efficiently doesn’t just cut back on wasted water. Keeping plant leaves dry also helps prevent diseases in the garden.

As we’ve mentioned repeatedly, it was a hot, dry summer. With such infrequent rains to fill the barrel, one barrel proved not to be enough during a dry season. We would like to implement more rain barrels throughout HollyHedge to capture rain from other roofs. It is important to note that the water collected is runoff that would otherwise be diverted off the property. Even with this recent summer, efficient water use helped this garden flourish.

Summer Crops

The spring heat carried through into the summer months. Excessive hot weather usually means watering is inevitable. Calculated irrigation & mulch played a key role in keeping our plants healthy & prolific.This summer, like the summer before, we grew our staple crops... heirloom & cherry tomatoes... zucchini, eggplant, jalapenos & herbs in addition to a few new vegetables... tomatillos, purple string beans & a medley of hot peppers. (Visit Cross Country Nurseries, a great local farm that specializes in hot pepper plants.)The cucumbers were especially prolific, so we made pickles, relishes and, of course, used them fresh.There was a lot of excitement over the Asian Pear tree this year. Not only did it bear fruit, we managed to keep the squirrels from getting to it & earned a beautiful harvest!Mid-July also brought us chicks. In an attempt to help supply the kitchen with eggs for breakfast, we rescued 2 chicks from a shelter and bought 6 more locally. Fric, Frac, Sally, Lola, Cecelia, Corrina, Eleanor & Roxanne are all growing up, their first eggs expected late fall.

Lastly, our edible flower project has been going well. Short of a wedding or two, we managed to supply the kitchen with enough edible flowers for each dinner or salad plate.

Spring Crops

This spring's harvest was certainly challenged by the early heat. Unlike last year's endless rainy days, this spring was much drier.

Despite the hot weather, our sugar snap peas (strategically planted under the filtered light of an old ash tree) were a delightful spring success, a whopping 68 lbs. The plants grew almost as tall as last year, making us glad we also experimented with a shorter variety. Perhaps next year, we will not have to pick on our tip-toes. From plant to plate, the kitchen was supplied from the end of May through the end of June with a fresh & crunchy vegetable.

We experimented a little more with radishes & greens in hopes of having early cool weather crops and were thrilled with the bright red radishes & 2 varieties of kale.This year, the blueberries came early, thanks to the heat. However, our harvest was noticeably less than prior years, making us glad we had planted six beds this past fall... ... six new beds we hope will provide fresh berries for the kitchen & the birds for years to come. Once again, as tradition carries, as our harvest petered off, we turned the remainder of our crop over to the birds. You are welcome Catbirds.

The raspberries were ushered in early with the heatwave, thriving in the heat. Without lots of spring rains, the raspberries could sit & ripen without worries of rotting. We used some fresh in the kitchen, but kept a tidy quantity to make jam & vinaigrette dressing later.

Solar Powered

We are proud to announce the completion of the solar project with our new 90, 230-watt panel installation.We owe a huge thanks to the crew from Heat Shed, who not only installed the system, but also designed it. Their work kept the environment in mind as impact from installation was kept at a minimum. No concrete was poured and no heavy machinery was used; it was all clever design, the right equipment and a hard working crew.Using a 78ft by 21ft space), we are now creating a potentional of 25,000 kwh (kilowatt-hour) of energy annually. This offsets our electric consumption of the reception barn, where we hold many of our events. We also anticipate live tracking to monitor our solar production (which will be posted when available).We are happy that by producing solar power, we are positively impacting the world around us. We hope all of our customers share our excitement & our commitment to reducing our footprint.

Hoo -RAY!

Coming Soon

Solar Power at Holly Hedge.

We are excited to announce that this April, we will be breaking

ground on our solar power project. Now, not only will the sun lift our spirits, but it will also help power your event.

Where does all the soap go?

Our inn keeper, Trish, and house keeper, Debbie, had noticed "our total waste of soap."
Each time a guest used a fresh bar......it had to be thrown away. While attending a Green Seminar, Trish was told about the non-profit organization Clean the World and their soap recycling program.
Now, we collect our used soaps & send them to the program. There, they are sterilized & reformed, then distributed to impoverished communities throughout the world. Simply providing soap to these communities helps prevent potentially fatal diseases.

Winter Renovations

Each winter, we use down time to tackle needed renovation projects

In keeping with our commitment to being green, we work to use sustainable products, practices and solutions.
This winter, three bathrooms were completely renovated. We used bamboo floors, a rapidly renewable resource & made a point of considering our paint options. We chose Mythic paint, supplied by Ethos - a local store that specializes in healthy paints & wall coverings; it is a non-toxic, ultra low odor, zero VOC paint.

We also painted some of the bedrooms... ...the living room... ... & the library with the Mythic paint. We're happy with the outcome and feel good knowing we have created a healthier environment for our guests.