MACBRIDE & GILL FALCON RIDGE FARM: A Sustainable Fruit Farm fulfilling Niche Markets - Howard County Farmers' Markets Profiles, No. 2

“I always wanted to own an orchard,” says Stanton Gill who owns MacBride & Gill Falcon Ridge Farm along with his wife, Nancy MacBride and his two daughters, Chelsey and Kelly. “The need to own an orchard goes back to my great grandfather in Pennsylvania who had his own orchard.”
 
In 2000, Stanton and his wife purchased the farm now known as Falcon Ridge Farm in the rolling hills of Westminster, Maryland. Once a multi-generational farm, the land produced corn and soybeans but had been fallow for several years since its last owner passed away. After months of work spent clearing, adding organic material, bring up the soil fertility and preparing the land, the new orchard was planted and has since flourished.
 
Stanton and his family have long been growing fruit on one acre at their home in Brookeville, Maryland before they expanded to owning the farm in Westminster. Stanton also brings a wealth of professional knowledge as an Extension Specialist with the University of Maryland, specializing in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Entomology, in addition to teaching classes as a professor with Montgomery College.
 
Falcon Ridge Farm’s growing season begins in June with asparagus, rhubarb, sweet cherries, sour cherries, and currants. Summer crops include blueberries, red raspberries and black raspberries, blackberries, peaches and seedless grapes. Fall brings over 40 varieties of apples, 11 varieties of Asian pears, oriental persimmons, pawpaws, and bogless cranberries.
 
Stanton’s personal favorite is the seedless grapes that come in August. The plump, high natural sugar grapes are not only beautiful on the vine, but are also very flavorful. Apples are the all-around favorite for eating in the family, with a range of flavors coming in from September through November. Although apples do very well at the farm markets, Falcon Ridge Farm’s most in-demand crop is peaches.  “Growing peaches is not for amateurs,” warns Stanton, “People are not the only creatures that favor peaches. Insects and wildlife favor this crop making producing great peaches a challenge. Through careful attention to our crops we are able to produce high quality fruit.”
 
What sets Falcon Ridge apart from others, says Stanton, is that “we grow unusual things that are not found in the typical marketplace.” They grow native fruits such as pawpaws, persimmons and beach plums which are not run of the mill fruit crops.  “It’s things like this – fulfilling that niche market – that, besides our high quality, also sets us apart.”  His wife, Nancy, takes the fruit grown on the farm further by making it into fruit pies, fruit cakes, jams, and jellies. She also makes specialty products for those who are vegan or are lactose intolerant.
 
Bringing high-quality fruit to the farmers’ markets takes many steps, starting from the ground up. For example, to continuously improve the quality of the soil, leaf compost is brought in every year to be turned in to the shale-heavy soil, while daikon radishes are grown amongst the trees to aerate the soil. Falcon Ridge Farm has constructed high tunnels (looking like open sided greenhouses) over some of the fruit trees as a part of Integrated Pest Management as way to combat insect damage, reducing the need for insecticide. Farm maintenance, such as weeding, is handled by a careful hands-on work and constant assessment. Irrigation is done with a trickle system that provides the trees’ roots with just the right amount of water.
 
Falcon Ridge Farm prides itself on using sustainable practices such as the trickle irrigation system, and has taken it even further in recent years. Running the orchard uses a lot of energy; everything from tractors, irrigation equipment, and cold storage is needed.  In lieu of taking electricity from the grid, “we produce our own,” says Stanton, who installed solar panels on both the barn and farmhouse to supply energy for the farm. “We often produce more energy during the summer than we use.”
 
Stanton Gill and his family look forward to continuing on as innovative farmers, introducing people to interesting, locally-produced fruit. "We pride ourselves in not just selling fruit, but also sharing in knowledge on improved ways of growing crops and sustainable agriculture," conveys Stanton. "We look forward to many more years of fruit at Falcon Ridge Farm."

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MacBride & Gill Falcon Ridge Farm sells at the Friday Howard County Farmers' Market at Howard County General Hospital.  MacBride & Gill Falcon Ridge Farm may be found on facebook at www.facebook.com/falconridgefruit.