Stowe Farm

A truly beautiful section of town, in a beautiful part of the state. Unfortunately, the Stowe's farm I remember from my childhood is no more. I looked past the fact that I was nickel and dimed for every activity offered at the slightly run-down farm (after I was charged $3 a head for admission to basically walk around their field and decide what to spend yet more money on). More important than this was what I saw growing abundantly under almost every tree in the orchard; rampant poison ivy. People were unknowingly traipsing through it while picking apples; the apples on the ground were sitting in poison ivy. I do know that most, if not all, orchards harvest fallen apples for sauces and juices. I am sure these apples go through a sanitizing process when sold commercially, but what about the apples the orchard decides to use for its own baked goods? Not to mention the countless small children I observed climbing around under the trees. Getting poison ivy is certainly no fun, but God forbid one of these children picks up an apple from a nest of poison ivy and eats it. Poison ivy of the face and lips is a very serious condition that requires treatment and medications from a doctor. There is also a small percentage of the population that is highly allergic to poison ivy, and for whom getting the disease means a trip to the doctor or hospital. This is no uncontrolled area of wilderness we are talking about; this is a farm that caters to the public. The staff at the orchard, when I spoke with them, indicated they were aware of the problem and shrugged it off as unavoidable. The people in charge at Stowe’s are being too cavalier with the health and safety of the public, whose money they are quick to take. A responsible and well-run farm-- and there are many out there-- would take measures to eradicate the plant from their orchard, or at least from their public areas. Stowe's is, unfortunately, not taking care of the very public they seek to attract to their farm. Sadly, I won't return and I recommend going elsewhere for your fall activities.