The second season of Harvesting Rhode Island, this visually beautiful and historically important chronicle, returns to Rhode Island PBS in August. Episodes of the 11-part home-grown series will encore back-to-back on Sundays at 7 and 7:30 p.m. beginning August 5.
Executive producer Alex Caserta, director and editor Soren Sorensen, and director of photography Jason Rossi, have captured the richness and diversity of Rhode Island's farming traditions - vegetables, fruits, flowers, trees, animals, bees, shellfish... and more.
If you missed season 1, episodes are available at the Harvesting Rhode Island website. Click "Season Two" for beautiful images of this season's locales.
Season two of Harvesting Rhode Island visits these locations:
Ep #201 Oysters / Mussels / Quahogs
Allen Harbor Oyster is located in Johnston, but the oyster farm is located in the West Bay of North Kingstown. The farm is operated by two commercial shellfishermen who apply their years of experience with wild shellfish to cultivating the ultimate oyster. They are also conducting research on the development of an oyster reef in Narragansett Bay.
American Mussel Harvesters / Salt Water Farms LLC, located in North Kingstown, ships mussels across the country as a “Fresh Restaurant-Ready Product.” The company also conducts research on deep water cultivation of mussels and oysters in Narragansett Bay.
Oysters | Mussels | Quahogs Click to watch the episode online
Ep #202 Bees / Flowers
Don Joslin Beekeeper, located in Hopkinton, raises bees and produces different varieties of honey. Don also teaches courses on beekeeping.
Dutch tulips in Rhode Island! Wicked Tulips, located in Johnston, grows hundreds of thousands of bulbs each year. Using organic practices, the husband and wife team grow the tulips on the historic Snake Den Farm. The early field is 2 acres (200,000 tulips) and has a smaller show garden of 5,000 tulips. The early field is open until late April or early May. The larger late field is on 4.5 acres and has 400,000 self-pick tulips and 200,000 show garden tulips.
Bees | Flowers Click to watch the episode online
Ep #203 Historic Farms
Sunset Farm in Narragansett raises Black Angus beef and grows a large assortment of fresh vegetables. Since 1999, the Farrell family has transformed Sunset Farm into a local icon in Narragansett. Sunset Farm pastures a herd of 100 head of Black Angus beef cattle, born and raised right on the farm. Sunset Farm also grows a wide variety of produce in their fields located behind the historic Kinney Bungalow.
Pezza Farm in Johnston grows a large assortment of fresh vegetables including flowers and plants. Family owned, operated and maintained by the Pezza family since 1947, Pezza Farm also has goats, sheep, chickens, turkeys, and miniature horses to visit.
Historic Farms Click to watch the episode online
Ep #204 Farm Stand / Historic Topiary
Walker’s Roadside Stand, started by Coll Walker, Sr., more than 40 years ago, and run by Coll, Jr. and his son Ian, has been a mainstay of Little Compton. The farm stand grows and offers a large variety of fresh produce including tomatoes, corn, squash, lettuce, as well as flowers. Coll Walker is famous for the corn and tomatoes he grows.
Green Animals, owned by The Preservation Society of Newport County, is located in Portsmouth. The site is the oldest topiary garden depicting animals in the United States. There are also vegetable and herb gardens, flowers, orchard trees, and a Victorian House. There is an education program for children on growing food.
Farm Stand | Historic Topiary Click to watch the episode online
Ep #205 Hops / Vines
Tilted Barn Brewery is located in Exeter, where they grow hops that are harvested for brewing a local beer, available for tasting on location. Located in an historic barn, this is Rhode Island’s first farm brewery. Tilted Barn Brewery conducts tours of the brewery, including walks through the fields to see, touch, and smell the ingredients that go into the small batch, hand-crafted ales.
Newport Vineyards is located in Middletown. An active vineyard with production of Chardonnay, Merlot, Reisling, and more. Tours and tastings also keep the farm busy.
Hops | Vines Click to watch the episode online
Ep #206 Young Farmer / Seasoned Farmer
Luckyfoot Ranch, founded in 2009 as a hobby garden, quickly grew into a full working farm. Located in Saunderstown, the farm grows a large variety of produce ranging from their famous tomatoes to watermelons, and a variety of seasonal vegetables on 5 acres.
Confreda Greenhouses and Farms, located in Hope (Western Cranston), Rhode Island, features a variety of fresh vegetables, horticultural plants and herbs. The Confreda family began farming in 1922. Farming just over 400 acres of land in Cranston and Warwick, their operations represent one of the oldest and largest commercial vegetable farms in the state of Rhode Island.
Young Farmer / Seasoned Farmer Click to watch the episode online
Ep #207 Flowers / Tomatoes
Robin Hollow Farm is located in Saunderstown, and grows more than 70 varieties of flowers, many used in flower arrangements at weddings.
Manfredi Farms, located in Westerly, is famous for their corn and tomatoes. They experiment with varieties of tomatoes, and also grow an assortment of other vegetables, chemical-free. Founded in 1939, Manfredi Farms is a 42-acre farm run by the Manfredi family.
Flowers / Tomatoes Click to watch the episode online
Ep #208 Sheep / Cattle
Hopkins Southdowns, in North Scituate, raises sheep. The farm has been in the Hopkins family for more than 100 years. They started raising sheep in 1970, and today six family members live on the farm, and four work with the sheep. Twelve of their forty acres are in pasture, on which they keep 80 brood ewes and produce over 100 lambs a year. The ewes are pastured during the summer and participate in rotational grazing, alternating across their four pastures
Windmist Farm is one of the more visible farms on Conanicut Island (more commonly called Jamestown) located in the middle of Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island. The land has been farmed since colonial times. It was in the early 1990s that the first three Belted Galloway cows arrived, and since then, Windmist Farm is becoming known for its large herd of "belties" seen contentedly grazing in the shadow of the Newport Bridge. With the help of their family, the Neales also raise Katahdin sheep, chickens, heritage pigs, and more.
Sheep and Cattle Click to watch the episode online
Ep #209 Micro Greens / Hydroponics
Farming Turtles is located in Exeter, and grows a large assortment of micro greens that are sold to distributors and can be found in local markets. Grown in rich soil, crops are certified organic and available year-round.
Acopia Harvest located in Central Falls, uses hydroponics to grow 30,000 plants indoors. Using a "Green Machine" developed for growing indoors, they also run a Green Machine school program, with a teacher-training program for growing with hydroponics. Acopia Harvest is a team of scientists, developers, entrepreneurs and businessmen dedicated to the advancement of earth-friendly technologies relating to sustainability.
Click to watch the episode online Click to watch the episode online
Ep #210 Beef / Cows / Cheese
Carpenter's Farm is located in Wakefield. The Carpenter Family has spent 5 generations working on the land, knowing what to grow and how to grow it. They raise grass-fed cattle, free-range chickens and turkeys. They are famous for their corn and other vegetables.
Located in Middletown, Simmons Farm is one of the oldest farms in the state, founded in 1880. Simmons Farm is a 120-acre family farm that specializes in growing traditional and heirloom produce. Simmons Farm also raises grass-fed beef, pastured pork, sheep, pasture-raised chickens, ducks, and pigs. They make eight varieties of goat cheese, plus fresh yogurt and butter.
Beef / Cows / Cheese Click to watch the episode online
Ep #211 Sod Farm / Christmas Trees
SODCO Farm, located in the village of Slocum in North Kingstown, has been a full service grower and provider of varieties of sod since 1981. Uses include by landscape contractors, homeowners, athletic fields, golf courses, as well as nurseries and garden shops throughout New England. Employing a crop rotation schedule to produce the best sod, the farm plants alternative crops to rest and replenish the soil after a field is harvested of sod. Crops include corn, peas, oats, soybeans, Sudan grass, and hairy vetch. Crop rotation, similar to that by organic farmers, helps change the soil’s biology, keeping pests, disease, and weeds – and the need for chemical pesticides – down to a minimum.
Pachet Brook Tree Farm is located in Tiverton and grows 11 varieties of Christmas trees. Operated by the same family for the past 100 years, the farm is located on a hill and has scenic views of the surrounding countryside. At this Blue Ribbon Christmas tree farm, visitors can select, tag, and cut their own trees.
Sod Farms and Christmas Trees Click to watch the episode online
