Matt Carney at the entrance to the Baker Woods Preserve, which he stewards with his family
The leaves were in their prime as we took in the peaceful woods on a short loop walk and learned about the land-use history and the diverse ecosystems of the preserve.
Part of the Indian River Lakes Conservancy, the 354-acre Baker Wood Preserve is named for the former owners, Doris and Norman Baker, a New York City couple who summered in the North Country until they passed away. Their gift of this wild land, and the dedicated stewardship of it by the Carney family has made the preserve a beautiful public resource. Read more Trip to the Baker Woods Preserve and the Peacock and Pony Farm
You may not think of cranberries as a North Country crop, but we have one commercial bog producing over 80 acres of this autumn fruit. Deer River Cranberries was established in Brasher Falls over 20 years ago and the Local Foods team at Extension caught up with the managers to learn about and photograph the entire harvest.
So how do cranberries get from the bog to your table?
Each ‘bog’ is like a garden bed that’s sunk a foot or two deep and is 5 acres in size. With 15 bogs currently in production, Deer River produces 1 million pounds of berries in an average year (though this year’s crop was earlier and smaller than usual due to cranberry tipworm).
The harvest starts with water being released into the bed, flooding the plants with enough water to just cover the vine tips. Water is reused between bogs, by opening and closing the flumes connecting each bed.
In September we said goodbye to Daun Martin-Poole. Daun’s life was well-lived, and included a stint as an innkeeper in San Diego and as a resident in remote Alaska where she had to haul in drinking water! When she finally settled in the North Country, Daun became a dedicated volunteer in her Dekalb community, at Extension, and beyond.
Daun was an active Master Gardener Volunteer (MGV) until this year, but her involvement at Extension predated that role. She was a passionate 4-H Project Leader who greatly enjoyed sharing her baking and knitting talents with youth. She excelled as both a 4-H public speaking evaluator and St. Lawrence County Fair judge, where her expertise was put to work in the home arts division. Daun also served two terms on the Extension Association’s Board of Directors from 2007 to 2012, during which she functioned as a Board Representative to the 4-H Youth Development Program.
Daun trained as a Master Gardener Volunteer with the county’s first cohort in 2013. Among other projects, she was dedicated to improving and maintaining the Dekalb Historical Garden alongside gardeners Bryan Thompson and Bonnie Gardinier. Bryan said of her “Daun was one of the strongest, most resilient women I have ever known. She just never gave up. Facing incurable macular degeneration, she continued to work in my office wearing glasses and using a magnifying glass at the computer. When she got her diagnosis of breast cancer she continued to come to work and keep busy. There was almost no stopping her.”
The Watchman Hollyhock, credit: Chiot’s Run
Members of the Master Gardener program plan to create a new pollinator garden over the next year alongside the Local Foods office at the Extension Learning Farm in Canton. We will dedicate this life-giving space to Daun, and honor her by including plants that she enjoyed and that mirror her resilience. One such plant is a lilac, which are often found in clearings where houses once stood 100 years prior. We will also plant black hollyhocks, which were a popular cultivar in the 1800s, which Daun sought to include in the Historical Garden. And last but not least, bee balm which was a favorite of Daun’s and of many pollinator species.
Erica LaFountain is Community Horticulture Educator and Master Gardener Coordinator for St. Lawrence County. She has a background in organic vegetable farming, gardening, and orcharding and has a homestead in Potsdam, NY.
