APRIL 2026 BROADSHEET

THE KINGDOM AT ITS FINEST

Seedlings sprouting, grass greening, calves calving, piglets snuffling, chicks peeping, and kids running wild and free…it’s spring in the Kingdom and wow, it is pure medicine for the soul.

I’m sure you feel it wherever this broadsheet finds you, too.

The soft breeze, the gentle warming of the sun, the smell of Earth, the sound of the peepers as you tuck yourself into bed; signs of energy shifting and life awakening.

A lot has been happening these last 4 weeks at Root to Rise that we’d love to catch you up on, so go on. Pour a cup of coffee, brew a cup of tea, settle down into your favorite nook, and take a peak through the window into our farm this month.

SOURDOUGH

SEASONAL SHIFTINGS AND EVOLUTIONS

I created our Sourdough CSA as the weather turned last autumn, hoping to provide fresh, high-quality nourishment in a way that felt true to the quiet coziness of the upcoming season. What began as a simple winter offering has blossomed into a cornerstone of our farm—a reminder that bread has served as a form of societal glue for centuries. From historic communal village ovens to our present-day farmhouse kitchen, the act of sourdough remains a subtle yet "deep-in-your-bones" kind of connection that binds us together.

You see, there is a quiet alchemy in sourdough, a thread that ties us to those who came before. Sourdough is built off of a live, active culture called a starter or “The Mother.” This starter is tended to and fed humble ingredients of water and flour daily and used to create fermented, flavorful doughs, baked goods, and pantry staples.

Some starters are hundreds of years old, cared for and passed down from generation to generation, neighbor to neighbor. In every sense, to tend to a sourdough starter is to care for a living legacy—a pulse of life that gathers the essence of every kitchen it inhabits while carrying the whispered wisdom of its ancestors.

My own loaves begin with a starter gifted by a dear friend six years ago; her spirit tucked within the flour, water, and active culture. Each time I begin the ritual of building my dough, I am turning memory into sustenance and weaving together past and present.

This CSA has been a quiet touchpoint through the long hibernation of a Vermont winter. Beyond the warmth of your own tables, this collective act of bread has reached deep into our community. Through CSA Members grassroots donations of $1 here or $3 there, I was able to bake and provide nearly 200 loaves (and counting!) of sourdough directly to our neighbors in need through our local Vermont Food Bank partners. It has been a profound honor to see this "Mother" culture support not just our members, but the wider local food web that sustains us all.

Now, as we move into the vibrant, pulsing energy of spring, our rhythms are shifting once more. The Sourdough CSA will soon adapt to the long days of the growing season, transitioning into our Field Share offerings and the reopening of the Farmstand (more on this below).

To my CSA Members, thank you for allowing me to be a small part of the rhythm of your lives over these last six months. It is a joy and an honor that holds a very special place in my heart. I’m looking forward to moving into this new light-filled season with you!

ROOTS

THE SPRING SPRINT

When you open the door to our deep winter greenhouse, the feeling of spring is so abundant that it is a whole body sensory experience: the warm, humid air that envelopes you with the smells of soil and growth, the various shades of green instantly sending dopamine hits to your brain, the tenderness of leaves as you gently brush your hand through them.

It’s, hands down, one of the happiest places on the farm.

It’s shelves are filled to the brim with hundreds and hundreds of veggie, herb, and flower seedlings, all in their unique stages of development with some brave little ones are chomping at the bit to get themselves settled into their freshly broad forked, compost-amended beds. But, in true northern Vermont April style, we have had 70 degree bluebird days followed by 18 degrees with snow and it’s not quite time…yet.

Regardless of the swings of the NEK weather pendulum, we are deep into a little phenomenon called The Spring Sprint.

When your growing season is as short as ours, things go from ‘slow, slow, slow. wait, wait, wait. steady, steady, steady’ to a very decided: ‘RUN!’ in April. No matter how many seasons I live here or how much I try to prepare, April always feels a little like cars merging onto a high speed freeway with the convergence of all the projects.

It’s both grounding in a literal “hands in the dirt” kind of way, and it’s exciting, invigorating, and hopeful (okay, okay…let’s be real. It’s a touch overwhelming, too).

There’s so much love, energy, effort, and care that goes into this time of year and I cannot wait for you to get to share in it. If you’d like to get your own little virtual dose of Greenhouse dopamine, click the button below.

THE FIELD SHARE

A RE-IMAGINED SEASONAL CONNECTION

There is a quiet, enduring magic in the rhythms of the farm—the scent of rain on Vermont soil, the warmth and crackle of a sourdough loaf fresh from the oven, the vibrant hue of a snap pea plucked in the early morning light. At Root to Rise, we believe nourishing yourself should feel like a homecoming. We have reimagined the traditional CSA to offer a softer, more flexible way to stay connected to the land, the humans who tend it, and your local food network.

The Field Share is a partnership built on choice, designed to rhythmically move alongside the modern needs of your own kitchen and schedule.

Your 6-week Field Share begins with a $30 membership (or $75 if you choose to join us for the full 18-week season), securing your place in our intimate circle of neighbors. Each Thursday, you will receive an early menu drop for what’s available from our gardens, pastures, and microbakery In the week ahead via our private virtual storefront on the app Hotplate.

With Hotplate’s ordering capabilities, you have the freedom to hand-select exactly what resonates with you—perhaps it’s a crusty sourdough boule and some freshly baked sourdough cookies one week but a dozen farm eggs, a bundle of heirloom greens, and a rustic farm bouquet the next. You shop and pay only for what you need for your kitchen in the days ahead, signaling for us to gather your custom share with intention, having it ready for a seamless pickup at the farm or in the heart of Lyndonville on your share day of choice (Tuesday or Wednesday).

Over the summer, we will follow the changing heartbeat of the Northeast Kingdom through three distinct blocks:

The Awakening Season (June/early July): blossoming with greens, whimsical bouquets, fresh homemade preserves/ jams, and seasonally inspired sourdough bread, baked goods, and pantry staples

The High Season (mid July/August): featuring peak summer vegetables, cheerful fresh cut flowers, seasonal, homemade jams, pickles, and freshly canned goods, our first available pasture-raised chicken, and all the sourdough microbakery items you have come to love

The Golden Season (end of August/September): a bounty of fall sourdough, veggies, canned goods, textured blooms, pasture-raised chicken, farm fresh eggs, and priority access to order from our upcoming pork, beef and, Thanksgiving turkey meat program.

For those who wish to walk with us through every turn of the summer, our Full Season members enjoy an additional $20 "Growers Bonus" account credit on Hotplate to apply toward any menu throughout the season.

As a member, we want the farm to become an extension of your home. Some extra benefits:

• You’ll receive a durable Root to Rise canvas tote to utilize on pick up days as well as "Farmer’s Extras" tucked into your orders each week—from seasonal recipes to an extra jar of jam to a bundle of fresh herbs.

• At the season’s end, we’ll invite you to the farm for a members-only celebration to enjoy light drink and fare while walking the pastures, meeting the Scottish Highlands, getting to know your growers and community better, and seeing exactly where your seasonal nourishment has come from.

It is all the sweetness of an old-fashioned harvest, refined with a modern twist. Come grow with us and strengthen the roots of our shared community.

SCOTTISH HIGHLAND CATTLE

FIRST CALVING OF THE SEASON

On a golden Friday evening in early April, we welcomed our first calf of the season. One of our newer cows, Iseabail (Scottish Gaelic for Isabel), delivered a handsome black bull calf named Forest out in pasture while the rest of our Highland fold stood by—a calm, noble matriarchy bearing witness to their growing lineage bellowing calls of welcome.

Knowing the mild air would soon turn to a late spring snow dangerous enough for a brand new calf, we began the task of ushering mother and her little lad toward the maternity ward in our barn. It was no small feat; the path was long, the mud ran deep, and the distance between the open pasture and the cozy sanctuary of dry hay felt vast. As if by a stroke of luck, two incredible neighbors appeared on an evening stroll. On our farm, a walk past the fence can very often become an invitation to join in the rhythm of whatever’s unfolding—a recruitment of true Vermont hands and hearts that we repay in Northeast Kingdom style: expressions of humble gratitude, warm sourdough goodies, and a promise of returning the favor.

We swaddled Forest in blankets, Lizzie holding the small bundle on the tailgate of the Mule where mum could see him at all times, Tom drove, our neighbors walking alongside Iseabail with arms out and gentle encouragement. Though the fold grew excited (thinking we might also just so happen to give them a new round bale of hay or a handful of treats) and we eventually chose to let mum/ babe find their own peace in the pasture that evening to prevent stress, the next morning brought a success. Tom and I worked in tandem and with our dog, Mac, to finally settle them into the safety of the barn before the weather turned.

For ten days, they remained in that quiet corner, sheltered from the moody weather, bonding and finding their own natural rhythm. Now, as the air softens and becomes a little gentler, they have returned to the pasture.

Forest spends his days in a dance of zoomies and joyful calf kicks, a small, little fluffball romping around while the elders keep a watchful, tender eye over him.

NEW NOTE-WORTHIES

PIGLETS, CHICKS, NEW TEAM MEMBERS

When we first arrived in Vermont in 2023, the land our farm is on held a quiet stillness, showing very few signs of the vitality it once knew in its 250 years as an agricultural home (and even further back as a potential trading post/ dwelling for the indigenous Abenaki People who inhabited the fertile floodplains of Guildhall, the Coos band (pronounce Cohass, translating to ‘Place of the White Pines’), and the Upper Connecticut River Valley.

Slowly, over the last three years, we have been gently peeling back the layers, helping the farm find its voice again through the healing practices of regenerative farming. It is a slow awakening, a patient unfolding that honors the history of the soil while inviting a vibrant future to take root.

This past month has felt like a sudden, joyful exhale as the farm truly begins to smile. There is a steady hum of new energy, especially with the arrival of our incredible Herdswoman and Farm Operations Lead: Madison DuPuis.

Alongside her, the farm has grown more spirited with the addition of ten pigs (York/ Berkshire/ Duroc crosses). We also have over two hundred chicks on their way in the next week or so—a mix of Rainbow Eggers and Freedom Rangers (layers and meat birds respectively)—who will soon spend their days under the open sky, rotationally grazing behind our Highland Cattle.

The silence that was once here has been replaced by a purposeful buzzing, the sound of a landscape returning to its happy place. Every new life added is a testament to the land's resilience and a celebration of its restoration. We are so grateful to be the stewards of this transformation, watching as the heartbeat of the farm grows stronger with every passing season.

UNTIL NEXT TIME,

LIZZIE,TOM, AND OUR WEE LASSIES