Dave Craxton Award
2021 Coos County County Conservation District Legacy Award
The Coos County Conservation District is pleased to announce David and Andrea Craxton as the recipients of the 2021 CCCD’s Conservation Legacy Award! The couple moved to Dalton in 1980 during the grow your own food movement and over the 42 years have created 2 acres of beautiful gardens called Roots & Fruits Farm in Dalton, NH.
Andrea grew up in Lisbon, NH and was a photographer and 1st grade teacher for over 30 years. While David grew up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. He majored in Chemistry during college and focused on soil microbiology, soil building and composting. (Later in life this led to his farm becoming organic certified for 30 years from 1990-2020.) Although gardening was a second passion at the time, David was a carpenter and retired in the 1990’s. Gardening then became his retirement plan and primary focus, along with running the Community Support Agriculture program, Lost Nation Cider Mill, and the Lancaster Farmers Market. Currently, Andrea and David are homesteaders, supplying what they need to survive for the year and only sell his famous 35 varieties of garlic at the farmers market. David really emphasized on how important it is for the two to have quality food year-round and how important it is for children to also have clean food! The couple also enjoy mentoring local farmers who are interested in increasing their crop yields and attending the Lancaster Farmers Market. 
When asked, “How have you directly contributed to conservation success in Coos County” the couple had multiple stories, pictures, and newspaper clippings that they showed me highlighting all the large topics mentioned above and beyond! I believe it is important to go into more detail about these grand topics!
First, I would like to highlight the two pictures below. The top pictures are when the couple moved to their land in Dalton 42 years ago, the land was sandy and not very nutrient rich. Now the number of gardens they have, soil nutrition and crops that are grown are endless!
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The Craxtons’ first big task was running the Community Support Agriculture (CSA) program where upfront money was paid to farmers pre-season based on a share of vegetables each week through the growing season. This served 25 families for eight years. It was a great start for the community however, once the farmers market got bigger over the years, their primary focus was shifted to growing the ever-exciting Lancaster farmer’s market! (More on this soon!)
During this time the Craxtons also took on being partners in the Lost Nation Cider Mill operation. They only operated for five years in the mid-nineties. However, the cider mill had its own certified organic orchard, and bought apples from Maine. They planted many heirloom varieties but did not have much harvest from them, due to the operation stopping before most bore any fruit. They did produce a fair amount of cider and retailed most of it at the mill. Orchard tours were also offered to school classes and the pressing of cider was a great draw. David explained that, “the cider mill had a hydroelectric generator in the cellar of the mill. The press was a very old hydraulic press and my main job was being the pressman, blending apple varieties, crushing, and squeezing the pomace to yield their delicious brand of cider. It was well received by the public.” The Lost Nation Orchard is currently still operating with their partner but is located elsewhere.
The Craxtons have been supportive of the Root Seller in Lancaster and Taproot for the NH Gleans Program where they would ship bunches of carrots and other veggies to local food pantries for at least five years.
David and Andrea, along with Bill MacInvaille were founding members of the Lancaster Farmers Market in 1997! Previously they were very involved with the Franconia Farmers Market and thought it would be wonderful to start a farmer’s market closer to home in Lancaster. When they started this venture, they had six different vendors, now there are over 25 vendors that come to share their goods with the community! The Craxtons used to sell all their fresh fruits and veggies at the market too, now David just sells his 35 different varieties of garlic- which he is famously known for in the area! If you have not tried it, you better get some before it is sold out! 
Not only have Dave and Andrea been super supportive of the all the topics listed above, they also enjoy working with the UNH Cooperative Extension! The have participated in the lunch and learn series, zoom sessions, worked on practice trials with Kale and hosted workshops at their farm. The kale workshop for an example was a huge hit! This was back in 2003 before kale became really popular. CCCD’s supervisor Steve Turaj teamed up with David where they offered a kale taste testing workshop open to the public. David grew three different varieties of kale over the summer that had been with sulfur over different rates. The taste testers were asked to rate the different varieties of kale based on taste and texture. After this event kale became more popular at the Lancaster Farmers Market! Thank you David!
David and Andrea were also great hosts for the District at their home to highlight our once new tool rental program. David and Steve highlighted the amazing tools that we received from a Specialty Crop Block Grant, most tools were purchased at Johnny’s Seeds and demonstrated the use of these tools in their gardens. We have over 50 hand tools, ranging from seeders, broad forks, hoes, rakes hoop benders and more! It only costs $10.00 per tool to rent, which is great for back yard farmers who do not wish to purchase rather expensive hand tools.
David is very curious when it comes to trying new things and conducting studies! This can be seen with his kale taste testing workshop and the multiple people/organizations he works with! One study he enjoyed working on was growing sweet potatoes and working with Becky Sideman a UNH Field Specialist to compare notes on how sweet potatoes grew in the zone in northern NH verses growing in Durham- southern NH. David also works with the Department of Agriculture, where they have set up bug traps throughout the gardens to see what they catch and how to mitigate pests from their gardens.
“What does conservation mean to you?” When I asked David this question he replied, “Sustainability and add to soil rather than take away”. It is important to have no erosion issues, increase the organic matter in the soil, and keep ground covers year-round to add to nutrient diversity. David was happy to say that their gardens have not been tilled for the past five years, he simply uses a broad fork. Wow! The methods that he has been using absolutely work, they can be seen in his many gardens and throughout the yard which I would like to highlight next!
When given a tour of their land it was easy to see the pure amount of hard work and dedication over many decades put into this farm yielded remarkable results! It was amazing to see all the different fruits and vegetables planted throughout the yard. First, I visited the two high tunnels where David grows spinach, lettuce, kale, grains (oats, barley, wheat that was sold to local bakers), tomatoes, peppers, okra, poppies, figs, and peanuts. I found it very exciting to see the okra, figs and peanuts being grown as it is something I have never seen grown in Coos County before! You can see in the pictures the okra is small with a pretty yellow flower, however once mature it will become a woody 3 feet tall plant! Okra is very popular in southern United States and is very tasty when pickled. Also seen in the picture are the beautiful fig trees! My 5-year-old daughter was very amazed to know that this plant produces the figs (small round balls) that are used to make a fig cookie! The peanuts were also a highlight as they are actual grown underground and he has been growing them successfully for 12 years! I think it would be exciting to grow these in Coos!
Other fruits and veggies that David has planted are raspberries, strawberries, sweet potatoes, celery (pictured below), leeks, radishes, carrots, beets, onions (also pictured below), string beans, squash, flint corn, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, cucurbids and of course his famous garlic! As some of you may know celery and leeks are very thirsty plants, David has done an awesome job with establishing drip irrigation for most of his plants. He waters two times a day and completes some hand watering. Andrea also keeps very busy with mowing the grassy areas to collect the clippings that she spreads on the garden for mulch (see picture below). Mulch is put in between the rows to keep the moisture in the soil and the weeds at bay. David easily spends six hours a day or more out in the gardens. Currently they only sell the garlic at the Lancaster Farmers Market and the rest of the fruit and veggies are grown for their own year-round food supply.
Speaking of own food supply, David and Andrea also have raised their own chickens for 45 years, these birds supply meat and eggs to the couple. They usually have a fun chicken day where friends and community members come and help butcher 90 birds. Talk about true homesteaders!
In between the gardens there were beautiful hazelnut trees, chestnut trees, hickory, 100 red oak trees (that were just planted this year), a beautiful apple orchard, plums, and pears.
Not only are the gardens inspirational, but the tall Red Pines and Norway Spruce planted along the roadway for a wind break and privacy are magnificent! These giant trees were planted in 1982 and were staggered in rows for a reason. David always has a plan! The red pine along with roadway and the land are pruned 16-18 feet, they also tend to lose their lower branches, whereas the Norway Spruce- which are planted in the middle keep their lower branches therefore creating the ultimate wind block and privacy barrier between the road and the gardens.
I also want to highlight the gorgeous pine alley way! This is where David planted 3,000 conifers! They range in size and age from 20-38 years old! He prunes them each winter, and you can see they form a beautiful grid, are all in a straight line and diagonal line from each other. This landscaping is truly an art!
Photographs are courtesy of Brendan Prusik, UNH Cooperative Extension County Forester.
Amazed with all this land has to offer, it is well noted that conservation has been a HUGE part of their lives at Roots & Fruits Farm for many decades! It seems that their goals have all been accomplished. However, when I asked, “What role does conservation currently play in your lives”, David responded with an exciting answer! He is excited to be more involved with the public! He encourages others to grow their own food and was happy to state how he is currently mentoring a local famer who has a high tunnel and now brings fresh vegetables to the Lancaster Farmers Market. He is “happy for her to scale up and pass information along” to others so they can reach their goals! David is open to public visits at his farm in the future and is delighted to visit other gardens and provide feedback based on his 42 years of experience and college background. How exciting! I may ask him for some gardening advice myself!
One other thing David did mention is that it is important for him to try and “conserve my body to have appropriate workload”. At 70 years old, his passion of gardening and homesteading becomes harder on his body each year. However, he loves what he does and hopes to keep doing it as long as he can!
After reviewing the past newspaper articles, pictures, and the farm I asked David, “What is your biggest success story”? He said “Garlic!” David started growing seed garlic back in the early 80’s and he could not give it away. People were simply not interested in garlic. Now in 2020-2021 he sells out at the farmers market fast! At one point he was growing 6,000 bulbs of garlic to sell at the market! That is a lot!! He has been very happy with the community involvement in his garlic success and spoke about how he hosts a garlic cleaning night on Monday’s where locals come to help clean the garlic to sell at the market. Toothbrushes for cleaning and adult beverages for added motivation are provided! The couple are truly thankful for the support!
“Dave Craxton is an enthusiastic grower and forest land owner. He implements excellent practices, based on science and professional advice. Dave is a local authority for many aspects of thoughtful farming and season extension techniques. Dave has found and enhanced a market niche with his garlic production. His products are in high demand at farmers markets.” -Brendan Prusik, UNH Cooperative Extension County Forester
When David and Andrea are not seen in their gardens or at the Lancaster’s Famers Market, they can be found enjoying local businesses, such as the Polish Princess, The Root Seller, the Copper Pig and their local church.
David and Andrea will be presented with a plaque for their dedication to conservation in Coos County! They both were very surprised with receiving a phone call and interview for the nomination of the Conservation Legacy Award. They were not expecting any award at all, but to “be recognized for all the work we have done, it is very satisfying! We were surprised with the nomination; it is truly an honor” stated David at the end our farm visit.
In summary, David and Andrea Craxton are a remarkable couple that have come so far in the past 42 years! Their impact on Coos County with the fresh veggies and fruits they have supplied, the programs they have started, the involvement in multiple organizations and their offering of community support in gardening and encouraging others to grow their own food is spectacular! The Coos County Conservation District is pleased to announce them as the 2021 CCCD Conservation Legacy Award nominees!
The CCCD’s 5-year-old daughter enjoying a fresh picked strawberry from Roots & Fruits Farm.