At Tripple Brook Farm we strive to make our gardens as productive, attractive, and interesting as possible – and to help others do the same with their gardens. We are a small nursery, but we currently offer over 100 species of plants for sale. Some of these are commonly available from other commercial sources, while quite a few of the others are harder to come by. Many of the plants which we list are natives (meaning, for our purposes, native to some portion of eastern and central North America, east of the Rockies.) In 1983, Tripple Brook Farm became a small native plants nursery. We have since evolved into a permaculture and food forest farm offering a wide selection of plants – our website is a small sample of the plants we offer. You are welcome to contact us at: info@tripplebrookfarm.com if you are looking for anything not listed on our site. Stephen Breyer, the founder, has propagated many native, edible, medicinal and otherwise useful and attractive plants on the 90-acres of land and forest since its inception.

While we do offer exotic plant species, we feel there is much to be said for getting to know and cultivate the plants native to our region. This emphasis on natives is reflected in our plant offerings, especially in our newer additions. Natives at Tripple Brook are available in a great range of sizes, shapes, appearances, flower color and time, fragrances, and other characteristics. We carry plants suitable for a wide range of growing conditions and to suit a variety of uses. There are many mature groves of cold-hardy Bamboo on the farm, including some species of clumping Bamboo. Beautiful groundcovers blanket areas of the land, demonstrating their usefulness to keep out unwanted plants. Many medicinal, pollinating, or otherwise useful and attractive perennials are scattered in habitats where they thrive thoughout the land. Our objective is to acquire plants from other sources just for the purpose of establishing foundation stock.

In the process of learning to manage our gardens in the way that will yield the greatest benefits, we have grappled with the question of whether to use chemical herbicides and pesticides. We minimize the use of herbicides as much as is practical. For pest control, we rely chiefly on biological controls, with occasional recourse to non-toxic oil spray. Wherever possible, we control weeds with a combination of ground cover plants, mulches, mowers and string trimmers, hand weeding, heat pasteurization of soil, and boiling hot water dispensed from a portable tank. We feel that the ultimate solution to the weed control problem is to carpet potential weed habitats with suitable ground cover plants and to use mulches in the occasional situation where this is not feasible. We regard the other methods of weed control mentioned above as means to help us establish ground covers wherever possible, and we are actively working in that direction. The diverse mix of plants that we grow apparently helps to maintain a healthy ecological balance, and we normally have very little trouble with plant pests.

We aim to educate the community, locally and afar, with the sustainable resources that long-lived edible and useful plants offer. Our small team is dedicated to providing knowledge, as well as healthy plants. Your satisfaction is guaranteed! If you are a landscaper, inquire about our trade discounts. We also offer educational discounts. We have donated many plants to various causes over the years. We welcome visitors of all walks of life to tour the farm throughout the year. Spring tours include sampling Bamboo shoots and observing flowers. Summer tours include sampling a wide array of Berries and nature observation.  Fall tours include sampling Hardy Kiwi, and Persimmon.

For many years we have offered plant trade to volunteers looking to experience the farm and learn more about permaculture and the plants we offer and propagate. We also offer discounts to landscapers and educational institutions.

We hope you will find that we offer plant species that will fit into your landscaping plans, and we hope that you will enjoy the process of acquiring new plants and learning to use them in your landscape as much as we do.

Sincerely,

Stephen Breyer and the staff at Tripple Brook Farm