by Kristen Levine
After moving to Sterling last September, Andrea and Paul Agra brought a long-discussed idea of self-sustainability to life with Flittermouse Farm.
“We had been talking about it over the course of the pandemic, about becoming more self-sustainable,” Andrea Agra said. “I have a background in engineering with solar interconnections, and my husband is an artist; our backgrounds don’t lend themselves to farming, but our experience is YouTube based along with support from friends.”
With the internet and social support providing the means to self-teach farming methods, the Agras turned talk into action with Flittermouse. A desire to go green brought in ideas of modern homesteading, which focuses on subsistence agriculture and preserves.
“We realized while learning the skills that it’s easier to produce more than you could ever consume or save,” Agra said. “We specifically overproduced so we could do farmers markets.”
A regular attendee of markets in Sterling and Lunenburg, Flittermouse has made its presence known by providing unusual produce. Vegetables such as trombone squash and snake beans are regular contributions to the markets, with plans for more diverse offerings in the future as the Agras determine what grows best.
“One of our best crops is okra. With luck we figured out how to transplant it with no losses,” Agra said. “[And] we have an African melon that we’re doing next year…[this year] was a learning year. Whole crop families didn’t do well, like tomatoes did great but broccoli didn’t. The goal is a market garden, beyond what a homesteader would aim to do.”
The trial and error process for Flittermouse’s crops allows the new farmers to best determine what their farm will yield in the coming seasons, and how best to diversify their garden. Agra noted that Flittermouse is currently focused on vegetables and eggs from their chicken and duck flocks.
“Other homesteaders do meat or dairy animals, which we don’t do yet but may in the future,” she said. “What it all boils down to is self-sufficiency. Some people say do everything yourself, others that it’s better when the community comes together to do it.”
The overarching plan for Flittermouse is “very pie in the sky,” according to Agra. “It’s a year by year situation given where our lives are right now. The next two years are to experiment, lock in on what people expect from us….we like to grow really weird things to see if people are interested.”
So far, the so-called weird things have brought in popular interest from market attendees. Snake bean squash, which Agra says is a delicious new offering to squash fans, is one of many offerings that will likely become Flittermouse staples.
“We’re trying different kinds of beans and growing chickpeas,” Agra said. “The next five years overall will be to figure out what works for the farmers markets and what we’re good at growing. We’re not trying to compete with the other farms. We want to find out what [consumers] want and concentrate and diversify our crops.”
The reception to Flittermouse Farm has been welcoming thus far.
“[We were] really impressed with the response we got on Facebook,” Agra said. “The Sterling street market has been great too. People have been coming over saying thanks for being here. It’s been great to meet people; there’s new faces most Saturdays. Everyone’s been welcoming when we get to meet them.”
Overall, Agra is pleased with Flittermouse’s first year as a working and producing farm, and how it’s joined in with Sterling’s farming and agricultural community.
“The project is completely different from where we started,” she said. “Personal sustainability turned to us wanting to be part of a sustainable community. Trials and tribulations from year one, trying new things… it started as something very personal and moved towards what we want to do with the community.”