Blog
Meet Advanced Apprentice | Ivana Zivkovic
Ivana Zivkovic
Post Quail Hill Plans
What a great summer it has been! During my time at Quail Hill I’ve learned so much about nourishing soil health through a diversity of cover crops such as buckwheat and various types of clover.
I’ve also learned about great plant varieties such as Listada eggplant, Jimmy Nardello sweet peppers, and Matt’s Wild cherry tomatoes. Most importantly, I have been a part of a food system that is feeding over 700 people and will continue to do so into the winter!
As the season changes, I am thinking about my next steps and returning to the world of baking. I have been baking bread professionally for the past three years and will be working at Gramercy Tavern this winter to hone in on my pastry skills before starting on the trek of opening a farm and bakery next spring with my girlfriend Sarah and friend Hannah in Troy, NY.
This past year we have been looking for land in Troy and the surrounding area and we are now the proud owners of this plot right in the city:
Hannah is at “The Land” now and will be preparing some no-till beds for the spring by laying out cardboard to kill the sod over the winter. Next season, we will be starting off small by breaking down the fence and replacing some of it with raspberries and other perennials, remediating the soil, and continuing to work with our neighbors to build a space that is feeding the community in more ways than one.
We will also be producing food in someone’s backyard (once a farm) outside of the city and I will be baking from home with the goal of making a name for our business. Our eventual goal is to buy a separate piece of land outside of the city where I can build a commercial space for baking, but in the mean time we will be growing annually, like all of our favorite vegetables!
If you’d like to contribute in any way to this project, I would love to be in touch. I have this page set up for donations https://www.gofundme.com/theland and I would love to hear any advice you have. I would also love to bake some bread for you or teach you about bread baking in exchange! My email is zivkovici@greenmtn.edu
Thanks!
Ivana Zivkovic
