Help Bone Mountain Farm and Family Recover from VT Floods

To learn more about what this flood has done to us, and hear about our story and who we are, please read further.

What happened

July 11, 2024. Exactly one year ago when the flood came through VT and so many farms and towns were devastated, Bone Mountain Farm was spared. Not so today. Everyone is safe, but the damage is immense. Not only did Bone Mountain lose almost all of this season’s crops, but we lost tons of topsoil in our fields, and gained tons of sand, river rocks, and debris.

On top of that, the Andrews-Modrak homestead and farm base down the road in West Bolton was gouged out as the river flash flooded through the backyard, burying vehicles, and depositing rocks and silt. Sometimes trouble comes all at once - and we are humbly asking for our community to step in and help us as we recover from these challenging losses.

Our farm

The day before the flood, Tucker and Morgen had just taken a farm walk through the fields - the lush onions we planted at just at the right time, healthy squash, tidy tomatoes, beautiful brussel sprouts, lovely gems of radicchio and lettuce. We commented that Bone Mountain had never looked better. Now it’s a changed landscape; although much of the water has receded, the river is still running through the fields, carving deep channels between our beds.

Bone Mountain is a labor of love for seed, food and community, donating thousands of pounds to Transition Town Jericho and other community organizations annually, holding a beloved community squash harvest, and hiring locally, often offering neighborhood teenagers their first job.

Who are we?

Many in the West Bolton/Jericho and Burlington communities know Tucker Andrews and Thomas Case, co-owners of Bone Mountain, and members of our small and motley - but mighty! - crew. Tucker grew up in West Bolton and has been farming ever since.

Tucker and his wife, Kaelyn, live on Nashville Rd, raising their children in a vibrant community. Thomas has spent the past 28 years farming in the Burlington area and ran Arethusa Farm for 13 years in the Burlington Intervale, until the devastating floods from Irene made it untenable to continue.

What’s ahead

There’s so much clean up to do with row cover, irrigation, and large flood wood and debris strewn across the fields. We hope to get this cleaned up and quickly cover cropped, and keep our workers employed as long as we can. Our employees are awesome and some of them - like Morgen LaCroix down the road - have worked for us for years, and helped to build and manage the farm in its current location; we need to make sure that they are ok, and pay them for their work. We have watched almost our entire season’s harvest wash away. It’s hard to know what to do.

Rays of Hope

Not ALL is lost. About 15% of our seed crop tomatoes are still standing. Our remaining squash plants are vigorously flowering, but their soil was heavily eroded by the water channeling between the beds, their roots are exposed and foliage coated with silt and debris, increasing chance of disease.

The hoophouse tomatoes were flooded, but fruit was untouched and we hope with heavy pruning and care they will produce. The bees are miraculously fine despite an inch of mud in the bottom, and no longer on a soggy island in the middle of a broad river.

The Vermont Youth Conservation Corps came and did an incredible job hoeing the silt out of our greenhouse; Bria, Willa, and Eva, our local youth workforce, rode their bikes up Notch Rd, despite its closure, to harvest what they could and clear mud from vehicles and sheds; our friends came and helped us remove trash and gut our flooded basement.

We are all still healthy and blessed with a large network of caring friends and neighbors, a constant stream getting in touch and stopping by to see if we need any help.

And we do. Please consider a donation to support Bone Mountain as we recover from this profound event - any amount will truly help - or please share our story. We thank you and wish you all the best!