Name: Middle Intervale Farm &
Vegetables Dance
Address: John Carter & Cynthia Flores
Middle Intervale Farm &
Vegetables Dance
758 Intervale Road
Bethel, Maine 04217
Phone: 207-824-2230
Intervale Farm
207-890-6859
Vegetables Dance
Websites: www.middleintervalefarm.com
Email: vegetablesdance@gmail.com
Products and Services:
-large selection of vegetables and garlic
-farm-raised beef
-dairy operation
-cut flowers
-Farm Stand
-farmers’ markets
-CSA shares
What Makes Middle Intervale Farm and Vegetables Dance Unique?
Many factors contribute to having Middle Intervale Farm and Vegetables Dance qualify
as “unique.” For starters, they are the only two
farms in the Unique Maine Farms’ project that are combined into one profile. It seemed
right to proceed with a unified story because
John Carter and Cynthia Flores are partners who are sharing land, resources, and efforts.
John Carter owns Middle Intervale Farm. He is the seventh generation in the Carter family to farm the land. The farm was first settled by Dr. Timothy Carter in 1791. The farm is located on 350 scenic acres of pastures, fields, and woods. It is surrounded by stunning views of the western foothills of the Appalachian Trail. The brick end farm house is a historic gem.
Approximately 270 Holsteins are raised on the farm. Wood from the farm was cut and used to build a new 100x100 barn in 2011 for the dairy herd. The milk from Middle Intervale Farm is sold to the AGRI-MARK cooperative and used in dairy products marketed by Hood and Cabot Creamery. Naturally-raised Black Angus cattle and pork are raised for meat. On occasion, veal and lamb are also available. John raises twelve acres of sweet corn, winter squash, and pumpkins. Meat and sweet corn from the farm are sold to several stores in Portland and Bethel. The farm also has some accounts with the school system.
Middle Intervale Farm practices rotational grazing and the hay and silage to feed the cows are produced on the farm. Several different grasses are grown including orchard, canary, alfalfa, timothy, and native.
In 1999, Cynthia Flores, the partner of John Carter, attempted to establish a vegetable garden at Middle Intervale Farm. It proved successful and Vegetables Dance was born! There are now two acres in small vegetable production. The gardens are managed with standard organic practices and multiple succession plantings that begin in April. Cynthia has expanded the operation to include cut flowers, a large selection of garlic, operation of a farm stand, and participation in several farmers’ markets.
Vegetables Dance at Middle Intervale Farm participates in the Bethel Farmers’ Market on Saturdays from May 25 through Columbus Day from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. On Wednesdays, they head to the Portland Farmers’ Market in Monument Square from April 25 through early
December, from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. On Thursdays, from mid-June through mid-September, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. the farm participates in the Local Works Market in Berlin, New Hampshire. On Saturdays from December through April, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., products from the farm can be found at the Portland Winter Farmers’ Market at the Maine Irish Heritage Center.
If you can’t get to any of the Farmers’ Markets, the Farm Stand at Middle Intervale Farm is open every day from May through November from 7 a.m. to dusk. In the fall, the Farm Stand closes at 5 p.m. Available at the farm stand is a wide variety of vegetables and garlic, herbs, local eggs, fruit, maple syrup, Cabot cheese and butter, and naturally-raised meat.
The Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program at the Middle Intervale Farm/ Dancing
Vegetables is very flexible and affordable. When you buy a CSA share you receive the amount that you purchased plus a dividend in fresh local produce, meats or dairy products from the Farm Stand (mid-May through late November) or at their stand at any Farmers’ Markets that they attend. Because they offer the draw-down method, CSA members may choose what and when they wish to purchase a specific quantity according to the individual or family’s needs through the growing season. The minimum share required to participate is only $50. A $50 share receives a 5% dividend. The dividends increases exponentially so a $200 share would receive an 8% dividend or $16 credit.
Across the road from the Farm Stand is a Cut Your Own Flower operation where many flowers are available including snapdragons, zinnias, verbena, lupine, marigolds, gladiolus, delphiniums, hollyhocks, sunflowers, and many others. Scissors, water, and cups are available. Several brides have relied on Vegetables Dance for their supply of flowers for their wedding.
Cynthia has developed quite a reputation for the garlic that she sells. Because it is planted late in the fall during the previous year, it is ready to eat in late June when the scapes are cut and harvested. As Cynthia explains in the extremely informative brochure that she designed, the scapes are the garlic’s flower stalks. The stalk makes a curl or curls before flowering. The garlic farmer cuts the scapes before the flower blooms so that the energy goes back to the bulb.
The garlic bulbs that are raised by Vegetables Dance are ready to be harvested by late July. Cynthia explained that there are different types of garlic. Hardneck garlics produce a flower stalk and the plants are stiff so they can not be braided. Softneck garlics do not produce a flower stalk and the necks are pliable and great for braiding. Softneck garlics grow more easily and have a longer storage life.
Middle Intervale Farm grows and sells Food Stock garlic in small, medium, and large sizes. The Seed Stock garlic that they sell is marketed in large bulbs because they produce the hardiest plants.
The varieties of garlic that are available from
Vegetables Dance include the following Porcelain (Hardneck) varieties: Georgian Crystal, Georgian Fire, German Extra Hardy, Music, Rosewood, Polish Jenn, and German White. The Rocambole Hardneck varieties include German Red, Killarney Red, and Russian Red. The Marbled Purple Stripe varieties include: Metechi, Bogatr, and Siberian.
The Madrid garlic that Cynthia grows is an
Artichoke Softneck Garlic. She also grows two Uniquely Maine Hardneck Garlics. The Phillips Garlic was collected from a gardener in Phillips, Maine, by Will Bonsall (A story about Will’s work can be found in the Khadighar Farm profile on this website). Sue’s Garlic was started from a single bulb given to Cynthia by Sue Lincoln, who was living further up the Intervale Road.
Across the road from the farm is the Middle Intervale Meeting House. Although it was part of the Carter property for many years, it was purchased by the Intervale Meeting House Society in 1978, and they now maintain it. It is open very rarely for an annual business meeting and an annual quilt show or an occasional wedding.
The Middle Intervale Meeting House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. Its proximity and its presence adds to the distinctive atmosphere of the Carter farm. With the beautiful Carter brick end farmhouse across the road, the beautiful gardens, the cows grazing in the pasture, the Middle Intervale Farm and Vegetables Dance would be a most fitting photo for a New England post card or the cover of a Maine book.