On Sunday, September 15 from 2-4pm, you can taste hot peppers from around the world at a tiny farm in Woods Hole, and help raise funds for the Woods Hole Library at the same time.
A “hobby gone wild” is how Rooster and Marianne Fricke describe their Woods Hole micro-farm, tucked behind their house on Nobska Road in Woods Hole. After a lifetime of unusual learning experiences ranging from camping in the Arctic to commercial beekeeping in Texas, the couple settled in Woods Hole in 2010, where Nobska Farms grew out of their interest in gardening and their love of peppers. The micro-farm specializes in growing exotic, rare, hard-to-find, and super hot chili peppers from which they create products for commercial sale with names such as “Demon Dust Chili Powder”, “Rooster’s Spicy Ghost Pepper Chocolate”, and “Pocket Rocket Hot Sauce”. The farm caters to chili enthusiasts and regional chefs and Rooster and Marianne can often be found at regional farmer’s markets.
The farm began as a summertime activity but expanded to a year-round operation with the acquisition of a greenhouse, which has allowed them to continue production despite New England winters. The operation has sustainability as a core principal. The farm minimizes use of electricity, fuel, fertilizer, and water and focuses on harvesting as much as possible of what comes out of the sky. As Rooster says, “in come sunshine and rainwater, out go chili peppers”. The couple is interested not only in producing peppers, but in developing growing systems that can be tailored to high intensity food production for other crops. Research is on-going to develop ways to increase production intensity through the application of science and technology in integrated systems.
Come join Rooster and Marianne Fricke at Nobska Farms, 9 Nobska Rd in Woods Hole on Sun. Sept 15, 2:00-4:00PM, learn about the hundreds of varieties of peppers they’ve grown and what makes their micro-farming system successful. In addition to a guided tour and tastings, Nobska Farms products will be available for purchase. This event is a benefit for the Woods Hole Public Library.
Tickets are $40 and may be purchased at the Library or online by clicking here. Space is limited to 20 participants, so buy your tickets today!
Rain or shine.
Parking info: Attendees may park at WHOI’s Winding Lane property which is on the left off WH Rd, just after Nobska Rd if you are heading toward WH Village. (there is a path from the parking lot through to Nobska Farms).