Ramble On
Agroforestry Farm and Events Venue
About The Farm
Ramble On’s mission is to make
agroforestry culturally accessible:
financial viability, aesthetic vitality, vibrant ecology
42.50, -76.59 — 15 minutes north of Ithaca
What’s on the farm
15 acres of chestnuts: 30 different seedling varieties of Chinese and Chinese-American hybrids
10 acres of timber: Black Locust and Hybrid Poplar
3 acres deer-fenced with black locust fenceposts, and irrigated
1 acre of orchard, planted with 16 types of fruit, with vegetables grown in between the trees
4 acres of riparian forest along the 600 feet of Willow Creek
Farm Practices that build Organic Matter & Biodiversity
Site Ripping
Cover Crops
Compost & Woodchip Application
Windbreaks
Soil Inoculants & Beneficial Foliar Sprays
Riparian Tree Planting
Biodiversity Tree Plantings
Fields & Buildings
Event space
The events barn is round pole timber-framed, and made with 95% local wood, much of which was harvested from the farm’s forest. It serves as an 860 sq. ft. venue, with a 10x12 ft stage. The 400 sq. ft. loft-office is furnished and heated.
High Intensity Multi-Species Orchard
3 acres is deer-fenced with black locust fenceposts, and irrigated. One acre of orchard is planted with 16 types of fruit, with vegetables grown in between the trees.
Camping & Riparian Corridor
4 acres of riparian forest along the 600 feet of creek frontage invites with a trail, campsite, and stage. 10 acres of flat hardwood forest is connected by hedgerows of black locust, aspen, ash, and linden.
Black Locust Trials
Black locust is a native, rot-resistant hardwood that thrives in the soils of The Finger Lakes. A substitute for tropical hardwoods such as teak, the lumber is used for high-end decking and fenceposts.
Upcoming events
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Tree Planting Workshop
Saturday morning in April. Specific date TBD.
For small producers and anyone interested in planting trees! We’ll talk about fitting the right tree species to the right soil, see and experience different soil prep methods, and walk through how to plant fruit trees, chestnuts, black locust, willows, and a few other species. Participants can observe or be hands on.
No need to RSVP! Just show up!
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BIRDING MAN
Saturday May 3rd, 2025
Music! Birdwatching! Farm tour! Local food!
Come spend a Saturday afternoon and evening celebrating avian biodiversity amidst agroforestry, dancing and marveling at early May peak migration.
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Farm Planning for Agroforestry
Aug 29 - Sept. 1, 2025
With Darren Doherty of Regrarians and the Propagate Team, this is the opportunity to lightspeed skip your understanding of whole-farm planning for trees and more.
Keyline planning from Climate to Forestry.
Come network and learn.
Rent the Farm
The Campsite
A place to camp, a forest classroom, or your own woodland venue.
Fall asleep to the sound of the creek, make dinner and memories around a campfire, host a show…
or do all of those things.
This piece of forest was one of the main reasons I fell in love with this property. It’s cool in the summer, with minimal mosquitos.
The platform is 10x12 feet, with a roof over it, and doubles as a stage. The slope of the land creates a natural amphitheater.
The campfire has 4 benches around it, and a grate for cooking. There is ample firewood and buckets to douse.
The Barn
A place to dance, host a down-to-earth get together, or a backyard concert.
Whole trees, rich in character, frame this piece of architecture. An 800 sq ft ground floor invites with sliding barn doors, and an ash staircase leads up to a 320 sq ft furnished loft.
Coppiced willow trees and Jerusalem artichoke encircle the 4,000 sq ft back yard, where there are sit spots, picnic tables, a campfire, and a tetherball pole.
There is a 10x12 foot stage, sized for a 4-person band, or a DJ. The stage is made of black locust. There are picnic tables to seat 40 people.
The barn has electricity.
There is a dry toilet, and hand washing station.
Lease Land at Ramble On
Access good land, with good tenure.
When I was starting out farming, 10 years ago, one of the major constraints was access to good land, with reasonable tenure. Some landowners are up for a tenant using their land on a year-to-year handshake lease, and improving it on their own dime. But this doesn’t enable a farmer to build a business, and attracts naïveté on all sides.
We have 2 half-acre plots available for lease, in part or in full, starting as early as fall of 2024. Both are irrigated, and inside our deer fence. Risers are on 48” centers, spaced for 30” beds, and beds are 100 feet long. The soil type is: Conesus gravelly silt loam.
Plot 2 is ready to be planted into. It was amended with composted wood chips and sand in 2022, cultivated with a rock burrier, cover cropped in 2023, and tarped over the ‘23-’24 winter. One half of the plot is currently planted with nursery stock, so total available acreage is about 1/3 acre.
Plot 1 was cover cropped with rye, but needs about $3,000 worth of work to get it ready for vegetables, including compost addition, disking, and rock burying – for which we’re open to a cost share. Alternatively, this could be an excellent space for a small poultry operation: layers, broilers, or ducks.
There is additional ground available for lease outside the deer fence, for pastured poultry or other non-deer-sensitive enterprises such as garlic or onions.
We’d love to have bees on the property. Our neighbor saw a bear on his trail cam two years ago, but that’s the only one we’ve seen or heard of.
There aren’t a lot of bears in the area.
The woods might be shady enough for shiitake enterprise, if you can make it work financially. Using creek water to force the logs is very doable.
For what it’s worth, we like people.
The more good energy there is in a place, the better.
Who we’re looking for:
You have a decent amount of farming experience, and you want to start your own business without buying land. You’re communicative and honest with yourself about your capabilities and your financial situation. You feel comfortable talking about money. You have startup capital (ideally $10,000 at minimum) and a proven business model. You value your own time. You keep your space presentable to a farm audience, but not like a boutique status-farm on Nantucket (although it’s fine if that’s your thing). You’re outgoing enough to talk to visitors for 2 minutes, but know how to excuse yourself if you’re busy. You’re committed to organic practices, and don’t use synthetic herbicides, synthetic pesticides, or chemical fertilizer. You’re innovative and have a positive attitude.
What we’re offering:
Aside from the physical assets, we’ll draft and co-create a lease that makes expectations clear and fits your context. We think in tree-based 20-year timelines, so we’re not strangers to long-term leases.
We have a solid amount of work-hours available throughout the growing season, if you’re looking for supplemental income, either weekly or ad-hoc.
Good-fit enterprises:
Market gardening
Retail or wholesale tree nursery
Pastured poultry or compost chickens
Value-added herbal products
Flowers, Woody florals
No goats…they delete trees. (sorry!)
Bees
Mushrooms
Other creative endeavors!