About the Farmer
I am Dulli Tengeler. I have been living at Birdsfoot Farm since 1991 with my husband Steve. We raised two children who are now adults, on the farm. Our daughter Kira is in college and our son Seba is a professional jazz musician in Boston. At Birdsfoot we live together as an intentional community, currently with seven adults and two other children.
I am originally from Hamburg, Germany. After high school I had a formal two year farming apprenticeship in Germany and four years of farming college. As part of that college experience I interned at Birdsfoot Farm in 1990 and joined the community a year later. During ny first ten years here I worked at Birdsfoot with Doug Jones (founder) and other partners and interns in the veggie business where I learned the art of growing intensely and with low input and using cover crops.
The Birdsfoot Farm veggie business is structured as a partnership and I am looking for more partners. We hire 3-5 part-time and full-time workers during the season and work as a team. Working together as a group is rewarding and important to me as is living in community.
I believe it is good to have several markets, retail and wholesale to minimize risks and be able to expand if more partners want to join in. We also sell to the Canton Farmers Market, The Potsdam Food Coop, Natures Storehouse in Canton and Nori's in Saranac Lake.
The CSA is important to me, because the CSA members and I have personal contact and great appreciation for each other. Members commit and learn to eat in-season produce and are part of the blessings and troubles of growing veggies. In our biweekly newsletters we share stories of the farm and explain how we grow and how to prepare the goodies.
I believe in organic farming because I want to offer healthy food to my family and to you, because I want the soil to be healthy and long lasting and because our water, air and all are precious.
In 2020 we grew over 5.5 tons of veggies on 2.2 acres. To replenish the soil we do cover cropping with buckwheat, clovers and grains. We add manure (our own cow manure) to some of the fields and mulch crops adding organic matter to the soil. I recognize that we still “import” local hay and haylage (seed free) and don’t have a closed circle yet. Our soils have 4.5-6% organic matter.
To minimize weeding we grow intensely with row spacing of 6” for cilantro to 12” for spinach and carrots to 18” for parsnips and celeriac. Using this approach we have less area to water and are able water a lot of our crops, which is essential in dry periods. There are many more details…
I also love cows. Our cow Goldie Locks gives us creamy milk and we make our own butter, yogurt, ice cream and a variety of cheeses. I like to watch indie movies and dance salsa and play games with the Birdsfooters. I have a full life in the Birdsfoot community.
I am originally from Hamburg, Germany. After high school I had a formal two year farming apprenticeship in Germany and four years of farming college. As part of that college experience I interned at Birdsfoot Farm in 1990 and joined the community a year later. During ny first ten years here I worked at Birdsfoot with Doug Jones (founder) and other partners and interns in the veggie business where I learned the art of growing intensely and with low input and using cover crops.
The Birdsfoot Farm veggie business is structured as a partnership and I am looking for more partners. We hire 3-5 part-time and full-time workers during the season and work as a team. Working together as a group is rewarding and important to me as is living in community.
I believe it is good to have several markets, retail and wholesale to minimize risks and be able to expand if more partners want to join in. We also sell to the Canton Farmers Market, The Potsdam Food Coop, Natures Storehouse in Canton and Nori's in Saranac Lake.
The CSA is important to me, because the CSA members and I have personal contact and great appreciation for each other. Members commit and learn to eat in-season produce and are part of the blessings and troubles of growing veggies. In our biweekly newsletters we share stories of the farm and explain how we grow and how to prepare the goodies.
I believe in organic farming because I want to offer healthy food to my family and to you, because I want the soil to be healthy and long lasting and because our water, air and all are precious.
In 2020 we grew over 5.5 tons of veggies on 2.2 acres. To replenish the soil we do cover cropping with buckwheat, clovers and grains. We add manure (our own cow manure) to some of the fields and mulch crops adding organic matter to the soil. I recognize that we still “import” local hay and haylage (seed free) and don’t have a closed circle yet. Our soils have 4.5-6% organic matter.
To minimize weeding we grow intensely with row spacing of 6” for cilantro to 12” for spinach and carrots to 18” for parsnips and celeriac. Using this approach we have less area to water and are able water a lot of our crops, which is essential in dry periods. There are many more details…
I also love cows. Our cow Goldie Locks gives us creamy milk and we make our own butter, yogurt, ice cream and a variety of cheeses. I like to watch indie movies and dance salsa and play games with the Birdsfooters. I have a full life in the Birdsfoot community.
