Producer
Swallowtail Forest Farm
Contact: Ethan Stickler
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Website: https://swallowtailforestfarm.com/
About Us
Ethan Strickler, tree enthusiast and avid garlic eater, loves watching his trees grow. From transforming row crop fields into chestnut orchards to practicing sustainable woodlot management for shiitake mushroom production, Swallowtail Forest Farm is founded on the philosophy that perennial and tree crops are key players in a regenerative food system. Ethan and his family enjoy farm walks with Silas the farm dog, the first and last Pawpaws of the season, and persimmon pudding, chestnut stuffing, and other culinary adventures sourced from the orchard all winter long.
The name Swallowtail came naturally, as Ethan, an avid butterfly enthusiast, has been planting pawpaws, milkweed, and other interesting host plants to attract these beloved insects for decades. The farm’s logo is an artistic rendition of the zebra swallowtail, which are abundant on the farm today.
We grow a wide variety of different crops on the farm, but our production focuses on our diversified Chestnut and Pawpaws orchards, our Garlic and Winter Squash vegetable crops, and our shiitake mushroom yard.
The name Swallowtail came naturally, as Ethan, an avid butterfly enthusiast, has been planting pawpaws, milkweed, and other interesting host plants to attract these beloved insects for decades. The farm’s logo is an artistic rendition of the zebra swallowtail, which are abundant on the farm today.
We grow a wide variety of different crops on the farm, but our production focuses on our diversified Chestnut and Pawpaws orchards, our Garlic and Winter Squash vegetable crops, and our shiitake mushroom yard.
Practices
As a highly diversified farm, we are always revisiting how to best work with the land. We are guided by what will provide the greatest benefit to our diversified orchards over the long term.
Our decisions are largely driven by our primary land management goals, which include building soils, capturing and utilizing water on the landscape, and, of course, putting our orchard trees in the best possible situation to produce a valuable crop.
We encourage pollinator habitat within our tree rows and act to maximize this habitat as much as practically possible. We also plant tree species other than our main crop trees for the many benefits they provide our orchards, including dappled shade, protection from prevailing winds, and beneficial insect habitat.
Our decisions are largely driven by our primary land management goals, which include building soils, capturing and utilizing water on the landscape, and, of course, putting our orchard trees in the best possible situation to produce a valuable crop.
We encourage pollinator habitat within our tree rows and act to maximize this habitat as much as practically possible. We also plant tree species other than our main crop trees for the many benefits they provide our orchards, including dappled shade, protection from prevailing winds, and beneficial insect habitat.