Cotyledon {kot~l~eed~n}
Cotyledon are the first leaves that appear after a seed has sprouted. They are distinctly different from a plants true leaves, because they develop in the embryo-and therefore are present before germination. The cotyledon contain the stored food reserves in the seed. Some cotyledon begin to photosynthesize and stay with their host plant for a long time, while others shrivel and die after the true leaves take over food production for the plant. There is an essence in each of us that makes us who we are-even before we are born. But, it’s how we nourish, care and tend to that seed and plant that truly determines its fate.
Cotyledon Farm is located at at 253 Henshaw Street in Leicester, MA just a few miles from the City of Worcester.
Farmer Amanda, who lives on the property, leases land to operate her business, Cotyledon Farm. There are about 60 acres of land encompassing with stone walls, perennial gardens, diverse forests, pasture land and wetlands and make this place a truly ecologically diverse landscape worth preserving. The vegetable production is nestled amongst these biomes and great care is taken to build soil and preserve surrounding ecosystems.
Cotyledon Farm’s physical infrastructure consists of permanent and cultivated row crop agriculture, perennial herb gardens, a farm store, two high tunnels, a greenhouse, a packing shed, a chicken grove, grain shed a tractor, many hand tools and an incredibly supportive community of people.
Bigger Picture
As a community farm, the mission is to nourish and enliven a diverse community of members, neighbors and friends with life-sustaining vegetables and herbs to engage one another and actively participate in the world around us.
Vision: To join together in community to create and enjoy a diversified, small-scale, organically-grown vegetable and herb farm. The farm will be a place alive with art, collaboration, organizing and activism with those who share in the labor and love of the land their food is grown on, as well as the community that it brings together. This vision is to foster a sustainable livelihood for the farmer while fostering and developing a social-justice oriented community. In doing that, we honor the needs of those who both work and benefit from the land for respect, dignity, community and mutual-aid.
Goals: To nourish existing communities of radical, social-justice oriented people in a mutually beneficial way. To offer a platform of support and encouragement for the work we do in the world. Members and participants who work on the farm will experience and co-create a dignified, centered and loving environment.
Amanda in the earliest days, learning to use the walk-behind tractor, in the plot now named The Spring Garden
Cotyledon Vegetable Farm 