By Dominik Lobkowicz
A brother and sister are teaming up to establish a high-density orchard on the site of Commodore Samuel Tucker’s former farmstead in Bremen.
Siblings Theresa “Tree” and Mark Tenney stand with their mother, Lois Gahm, on the site of their future orchard. (D. Lobkowicz photo) |
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Tucker, a Bremen notable originally from Marblehead, Mass., served as a captain in the Continental Navy and was a member of the convention that framed Maine’s constitution.
His farm, located between what is now Route 32 and Webber Pond, has been marked since 1946 by a marker placed by the Daughters of the American Revolution, but the site became much more noticeable over the winter as about eight acres were cleared of trees in preparation for the new orchard.
Mark Tenney, of Gorham, and Theresa “Tree” Tenney, of Hollis, are chipping away at the project in preparation for retiring to Bremen in coming years.
“It’s appropriate in our mind that we turn it back into a farm like it once was,” Tree said in an interview May 2.
The property was purchased by the Tenneys’ grandfather 65 years ago, and their mother, Lois Gahm, has lived in a house there for nearly 30 years.
“The dream is a state-of-the-art orchard and farm, producing the most food as possible on the smallest acreage,” Tree said. “Bremen hasn’t got that much farmland. They need more farms desperately. We can be an example of how people can do that.”
According to Tree, the high-density orchard concept is primarily European in origin, and will produce about three times the amount of fruit as a standard orchard.
The trees grow no more than 10 feet tall, and are kept narrow – the trees are planted around three to four feet apart.
The trees, which are grown by grafting different apple varieties on special “precocious” rootstock, will start producing fruit two to three years after they are planted, Tree said. “That’s way quicker than a standard apple tree.”
“And they reach full production in five to seven years, which is almost twice as fast as a regular apple tree,” Mark said.
The downside is the trees will start declining after about 20 years, he said.
The pair also hope to grow peaches, and those trees will be planted in shifts to accommodate their 10 to 12 year life span in Maine, Tree said.
The orchard will be the farm’s mainstay, but the Tenneys are planning to grow “grocery-type crops” on the property as well.
“Our primary focus will be perennial edibles rather than annuals, because it’s less intensive, and once you have your perennial crops established, they’re a lower maintenance product as a general rule,” Mark said.
The Tenneys say they are shooting for a small impact on the area, and purposefully kept the cut for the orchard well away from the shore of neighboring Webber Pond – something Tree said has been a concern for people over the winter.
“We stayed away from the pond so we could cut here and not impact the pond with erosion and runoff and things like that,” Mark said. “It’s a beautiful pond and we don’t want to have any negative impact.”
“I know this is shocking and hard to see,” Tree said of the cut, “but we hope there’s a wonderful outcome out of it, eventually.”
Until the ball gets rolling, the Tenneys are planning to focus their attentions based on their experiences.
Tree, who manages a high-bush blueberry farm and has managed an organic orchard in the past, will take lead on the agricultural side of things, while Mark, who has renovation and building experience and has worked for Home Depot for the last 12 years, will focus on building the farm’s barn and building homes on site for himself and Tree.
“Once the ball’s rolling, I will teach Mark everything that he needs to know that he doesn’t know,” Tree said, and Mark will eventually focus more on the crops while she focuses on the orchard.
The operation may eventually call for some local jobs, too, Tree said.
“Right now it’s something that we could do ourselves, and that has to be the main focus. If it’s successful we could expand,” she said.
Along with raising a barn this summer, the Tenneys plan to continue clearing stumps and preparing the site this year and begin planting the orchard next spring.
