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 Scott Farm Scott Farm in Dummerston, Vermont sits high in the Connecticut River Valley surrounded by hills and just minutes away from busy downtown Brattleboro and Interstate 91. The farm, once home to Rudyard Kipling, houses one of the most beautiful collections of old farm buildings in all of New England. Scott Farm has been cared for by several generations of the Holbrook family. In 1995 Fred Holbrook, a bachelor in his mid 70's and last in the Holbrook line, donated the farm to the Landmark Trust, an independent U.K. building preservation charity , with the stipulation that it remain in agricultural use. Zeke Goodband is now the farm manager and the orchard's caretaker. An accomplished horticulturalist, steeped in knowledge about heirloom apples, Zeke describes a walk through an apple orchard as a walk through history. "You can learn about the trees right from the time they were planted," he notes, "I can tell that Fred Holbrook cared deeply for his orchard." Zeke first came to love apple orchards as a student visiting old Maine farmsteads. He has spent the past 30-some years in close company with several heirloom orchards, learning the craft of tending trees from old-timers and adding his own experience. Since taking over in February of 2000, he's grafted thousands of trees onto the rootstock planted by Fred Holbrook. There are over 70 varieties of heirloom apples, including some rarely seen on this side of the Atlantic. Each tree has its own personality, and Zeke knows the look, taste and character of each type of apple. Scott Farm supplies Red Tomato with Eco Apples, including heirlooms.
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