FARM PROFILE Cheshire Garden • Winchester, NH

A sign for "Berry Pies — homegrown-homemade" on Route 10 South in Winchester directs visitors to the "Tiny Farmstand" a mile and a half up Burnt Hill Road. Here, Patti Powers and Ralph Legrande sell sweet, 5-inch berry and peach berry pies they make from the organic fruit they grow. Full-size pies can be ordered with advance notice. &emsp;Other offerings include Patti Pops (frozen fruit pops), dark chocolate mooncakes, tomatoes rustica, homemade herb vinegars, elderberry syrup, pepper preserves and a variety of fruit preserves. &emsp;In-season flowers, plant starts and produce are sold under a tent beside the building. &emsp;"We love making 5-inch pies; it's a convenient size and it feeds two people," says Powers, adding that this is a more affordable option than paying for a full-size pie without knowing if they'll like it. Once they've tried one, they usually buy multiples when they return. &emsp;Powers says a lot more business came in after Legrande posted the sign on the main road. Word-of-mouth has also been effective. &emsp;When Powers joined Legrande in Winchester, New Hampshire in 1986, she transplanted herself, her berries and her extensive growing background. There, the former long-time friends who are now married established Cheshire Garden. &emsp;One of the first farms in New Hampshire to be certified organic, they continued with that certification from 1987 through 2005. After this they continued growing organically but chose not to continue paying the fees and completing the huge amounts of paperwork required to be federally certified, they explain. &emsp;Power's long years of gardening and preserving produce, along with Legrande's experience as a former chef at Northfield Mt. Herman in Northfield, Massachusetts and his skills as a jack-of-all-trades make them an excellent team to run their farm. &emsp;Legrande built their house, greenhouses, solar electric systems, the "Tiny Farmstand," sheds and other buildings on the property using nearly all recycled materials. &emsp;Gardening and farming stretch back through centuries of Powers' family from western Massachusetts, she says. &emsp;"So, it's in my blood," shares Powers, who worked alongside her mother in the garden and kitchen as a child, learning about growing and putting up fruits, tomato sauce and salsa. &emsp;Powers says her mother baked all the bread and desserts for her family; they didn't eat store-bought cookies or sweets. &emsp;Making preserves, Powers and Legrande decided, was a way for Cheshire Garden to save, sell, and provide their perishable berries year-round. They sold the preserves at farmers' markets and venues like Hannah Grimes Marketplace in Keene, New Hampshire. &emsp;Ten years ago, they began making pies and started selling them at the market on their first "pie day," choosing March 14, 2015 (3/14/15, like Pi, the math term.) &emsp;When the pandemic struck, Legrande worried about Powers' exposure to the virus at markets so he built a self-serve farm stand where customers could buy their products. &emsp;Among the garden's already harvested berry bushes, a row of vibrant zinnias dazzles in late September — a paradise for butterflies, bees and dragonflies. &emsp;Yet farther up the hill and around the corner, the late-blooming Caroline raspberry bushes tantalize the tastebuds with their plump, red morsels. &emsp;Powers shares the timing of the ripening for each kind of berry, beginning with strawberries in June. Taylor raspberries, which ripen July through August, are made into preserves, Powers notes. &emsp;Blackberries and blueberries reach their peak in July and August and July is the month for harvesting red and black currants. &emsp;During August and September, elderberries and peaches are ready, and Caroline raspberries are an autumn variety that ripen between mid-August through late October. Carolines are used in pies and dark chocolate moon cakes, she explains. &emsp;Cabot butter is mixed with high quality organic pastry flour and sugar, bought from Quebec, Canada in 50-pound bags. Legrande prepares the bottom crusts. Powers cooks the berries, using no added pectin, with just the right amount of sugar and prepares the top crusts, which incorporate cut-out designs like stars and hearts. She says the berries set up better when they can bubble through the pastry. &emsp;"I love putting the fruit into the pies that people enjoy. This (what I'm doing now) is what really sets my heart on fire," says Powers. The couple bakes every day except Tuesday, and twice a day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It takes about five hours to make 80 top crusts and 64 bottom crusts, she notes. &emsp;"We're lucky we get along so well we can work together every day," she adds. &emsp;The Tiny Farmstand opens in April, and it stays open for as long as they can keep the building warm with an extension cord from the house providing power. &emsp;Powers says they were able to stay open through Dec. 31 for the past two years and then close from January until April. BOX WITH LOGO Cheshire Garden 277 Burt Hill Road Winchester, NH 603-439-7374 CheshireGarden.com