Name:              Daniel Price & Ginger Dermott

                         Freedom Farm

Location:         355 Greeley Road

                          Freedom, Maine 04941

Email:              freedomfarm@fairpoint.net

Phone:              207-382-6007

Products and Services:

-fifteen acres of MOFGA certified organic 

vegetables and culinary herbs

-CSA (Community Supported Agriculture)

-grower of ginger

-wholesale accounts

-Portland Farmers’ Market

-cut flowers

-culinary herbs

-naturally-raised meat and fiber

-sheep

What Makes Freedom Farm So Unique?

If you attended either the Common Ground Fair or the Portland Farmers’ Market this past year, chances are that you noticed the Freedom Farm’s beautiful displays.  Daniel Price and Ginger Dermott sell a wide variety of certified organic vegetables and herbs.  The quality and vibrant colors of their vegetables and herbs are difficult to overlook. Two of their offerings at the farmers’ markets that really set them apart are the roasted chili peppers that they serve directly from their barrel roasters and the ginger that they grow on their farm.

Daniel and Ginger have been farming at Freedom Farm for the past eight years.  It is a fifty-five acre farm that is located on Greeley Road in Freedom. When one visits Freedom Farm, the several large verdant fields with the orderly rows of all types of vegetables immediately stand out.  There are several greenhouses and high tunnels. Row covers are utilized on some of the crops.   

Various pastures have been set up at Freedom Farm for the cows, draft horses, and calves.  There are sheep that are raised for fiber and meat.  Some chickens and a few dogs and cats add to the menagerie.  Barns and outbuildings are scattered around the property.  One of the structures houses an impressive collection of antique farm equipment.  There is a large vegetable washing station in the largest barn. Another barn is filled with tools, biodiesel, welding equipment, and parts for the tractor and farm machinery.

An amazing diversity, consisting of over fifty organic traditional vegetables and herbs, are grown on Daniel and Ginger’s farm.  They are especially well-known for their selection of peppers and melons.  Several unique vegetables are also grown including boc choi, arugula, celeriac, daikon radish, kolrabi, and radicchio. 

Individuals who sign up for Daniel and Ginger’s Community Supported Agricultural program agree to pay $100 by April 1, to help Freedom Farm purchase the necessary materials for growing their crops.  In return, the participant in the CSA program receives $110 credit for their choice of products from Freedom Farm that can be picked up at the farm or at the farmers’ markets.  Many CSA members prefer this method to the common CSA distributions at other farms where participants have no choice in the weekly food allotments. Benefits of Freedom Farm’s CSA also include the ability to choose meat products, as well as vegetables. CSA

participants can look forward to receiving recipes, food preparation advice, and food preservation and storage tips. 

Freedom Farm has learned to be innovative.  They have managed to be able to sell some of their vegetables that they have placed in storage throughout the year.  Daniel and Ginger encourage bartering arrangements at the farmers’ markets.  If someone is interested in working on the farm in exchange for a CSA share, they will consider that, as well.  There are even potluck suppers that are offered to CSA members at their farm.

The large supply of ginger that Daniel and Ginger grew in the two hoop houses on their farm was quite the attraction at farmers markets and fairs.  Freedom Farm sold 350 pounds of ginger at the Common Ground Fair this past September. 

The cultivation of ginger has a vibrant history that goes back thousands of years. It is widely regarded for its use as a spice in Asian cooking. It is incorporated in many beverages and food dishes.  It also is valued for its medicinal uses in treating digestive issues and assisting with the relief from nausea, arthritis inflammation, heartburn, and colds.

Daniel and Ginger are the largest growers of ginger in Maine.  They were asked to speak at the Farmer-to-Farmer conference in November at the Point Lookout Resort in Northport about growing ginger in high tunnels and their experiences with ginger.

Daniel and Ginger have become well-known for their innovative specialty items such as their ginger and their roasted peppers.  It will be interesting to see what other creative agricultural projects they will incorporate at Freedom Farm in the future.